PhD in Law

The Doctor of the Science of Law is a research degree for people who aim to become legal scholars. Candidates pursue original inquiry into how law functions, is administered, has developed and continues to change. Students usually focus on one legal field while doing substantial work in at least one more. Residence on campus is required for a minimum period, and most candidates finish after a longer span of study. A prospectus is due in the second year, and students take the Cornell Research Colloquium in their first year. The program closes with a dissertation defense, held on the Ithaca campus.