Doctor of Juridical Science in Environmental Law

The Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) in Environmental Law at Pace prepares legal scholars to teach environmental law in the United States and abroad. Admission is highly competitive and requires completion of an LLM in Environmental Law with distinction either at Pace or at a comparable program at another law school.

We thoroughly review a candidate’s SJD application and require one or more interviews with members of the environmental law faculty. We admit only one or two applicants annually and expect them to begin residency in late-August.

SJD Degree Requirements
Candidates must enroll in an SJD tutorial – a thorough introduction to the design and theory of the environmental law curriculum, its bibliography and research tools, methods of teaching and applications in the field. We also require a seminar in Advanced Legal Research. We strongly recommend that candidates who have not taken an advanced seminar in the history of jurisprudence of environmental law or in comparative environmental law in their LLM studies do so for the SJD.

The primary focus of the SJD is preparation of an original research thesis of publishable quality. SJD candidates prepare their theses under the direct guidance of our environmental law faculty who engage candidates in a close, collegial relationship. We expect SJD candidates to be in full-time residence at Pace for at least one year.