Overview

Cornell University will be widely recognized as a top-ten research university in the world, and a model university for the interweaving of liberal education and fundamental knowledge with practical education and impact on societal and world problems.

Students completing a Doctor of the Science of Law (J.S.D.) degree should be able to:

• Produce original, publishable scholarship in the field of law, demonstrate independent thinking to select topics of inquiry, and develop concepts and methods.

• Demonstrate a thorough command of theoretical and empirical knowledge across several distinct subareas of the field of law, such as comparative law, international law, comparative legal history, legal anthropology and other fields related to the student’s primary area of research.

• Demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of a major area of expertise in the field of law, including a thorough knowledge of the relevant literature.

• Show effective mastery of the appropriate methodologies and techniques necessary for research, such as functionalism, legal transpant theory, critical legal studies, empirical studies, and the like.

• Show effective professional skills: keeping abreast of scholarship within the field, clear and concise writing, well-organized presentations in conference and classroom settings, and job search preparation.

• Demonstrate a commitment to advancing the values of scholarship: participate in field colloquia and conferences, adhere to ethical standards, engagement in professional societies (AALS, L&S, etc.), and other professional activities.