Admissions and Application Apply Now

Special consideration may be given to those who lack adequate research facilities at their home institution. Individuals admitted to the program must meet the admission requirements and must show substantial potential for writing a dissertation of publishable quality that will make a significant scholarly and original contribution to the field of international human rights law. Click here for the JSD application forms.

Formal Admission Requirements

1. The applicant must possess appropriate academic credentials including:

(a.) a J.D., LL.B., or the equivalent from an American law school approved by the ABA Section of Legal Education or from an accredited law school in a foreign country; and

(b.) an LL.M. degree from an approved or accredited law school or evidence that the applicant is in the process of satisfactorily completing the requirements for the LL.M. degree. Admission to the J.S.D. program in this case is contingent upon the award of that LL.M. degree.

2. The applicant must submit to the Committee on Graduate Studies of the Notre Dame Law School a 3-5 page “Proposed Program of Study for the J.S.D. Degree,” identifying the subject area in which the applicant proposes to write a dissertation, the proposed methodology and indicative bibliography.

3. The applicant must submit a writing sample that shows evidence of his or her scholarly and analytic capacity.

4. The applicant must complete and submit an application form, including two letters of reference from persons familiar with the candidate’s scholarly potential.

5. The applicant must be formally admitted to the J.S.D. program.