Graduate Programs

Student Learning Outcomes


Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.)
Students who graduate with an S.J.D. degree will:

  • Compose and successfully defend a dissertation of publishable quality that constitutes an original and substantial scholarly contribution to the areas of law in which it is written.

Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.)
Students who graduate with a J.D. degree will:

  • Identify and apply fundamental principles of Civil Procedure, Contracts, Criminal Law, Property, Torts and Constitutional Law.
  • Communicate effectively with clients, decision-makers, and a range of other stakeholders in the legal system.
  • Apply strategies for identifying, analyzing, researching and solving legal problems.
  • Analyze a self-selected topic of interest in the law and write a substantial research paper on said topic.
  • Recognize and resolve ethical issues in light of the history, traditions and responsibilities of the American legal profession and its members.
  • Demonstrate mastery of at least one (1) professional skill generally regarded as necessary for effective and responsible participation in the legal profession.

Master of Laws (LL.M.)
Students who graduate with an LL.M. degree will:

  • Identify and apply fundamental principles of their selected specialty track of study.
  • Apply strategies for identifying, analyzing, researching and solving legal problems.
  • Analyze a topic in the law related to their selected specialty track of study and write a substantial research paper of publishable quality on said topic (if required by the track of study).