The SJD program is for individuals who already hold an LLM degree or its equivalent either from Tulane University or other accredited American universities or foreign universities which the Graduate Affairs Committee has ascertained have good standing among the higher education community in the home country. Candidates must have received their LLM or the equivalent degrees with honors or distinction. A Tulane LLM graduate will need to have a 3.5 average or better to graduate with distinction.
Applicants must apply online, directly thorough Tulane's Graduate Admissions Portal. This method enables candidates to complete the application materials online, upload attachments, and submit the application over the Internet. All submissions must be on file with the Office of Admission by April 1st.
A summary of the application requirements can be found below.
1. Complete the Application Form
Please provide a personal statement or essay as required by the application. The statement should be used to provide information about yourself and your interests that you consider significant to our evaluation of your file.
Provide a brief description of your reasons for wishing to pursue the SJD at Tulane Law School.
Provide a brief statement describing the area of law you will pursue as a candidate for the SJD.
Submit a résumé or curriculum vitae.
If applicable, submit a list of citations of any published work, and submit copies of any unpublished relevant writing as evidence of ability to perform scholarly research.
2. Academic Transcripts
Tulane Law School requires complete, official transcripts of work at all colleges, universities, and law schools attended, whether a degree was granted. For your initial application, you may submit to us unofficial copies. If the faculty are interested in advancing your candidacy, you will then be asked to submit official documentation.
If your law transcripts do not include your class rank, arrange for Tulane to receive documentation from your law schools indicating your class rank and/or an evaluation of your strength as a student as compared to others in your graduating class. A rank is requested for your first law degree as well as for your LLM degree.
3. Two Letters of Recommendation
Letters of recommendation should be written by two faculty members from the institutions where you received your degrees or from others who can speak directly of your ability to undertake original academic research.
Letters can be sent by the recommender directly to Tulane Law School. Letters of recommendation should be scanned by email to lawadmissions@tulane.edu.
4. Non-Refundable $100 Application Fee
5. Official TOEFL Score Report or Official IELTS Score Report
English proficiency testing is NOT required if the applicant's native language is English or if English was the language of instruction during the applicant's first law degree. All other applicants should arrange for Tulane Law to receive an official test score report.
Applicants who must complete English proficiency testing should take:
The TOEFL internet-based test , or
The International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
Most of our admissible applicants achieve a score of 90 or higher on the TOEFL Internet-based test. Most of our admissible applicants who take the IELTS achieve a band score of 7 or higher.
Please request that ETS forward TOEFL scores to Tulane Law School (Institution #6832, Department 3). Please request that IELTS test scores be sent to Tulane Law School, Office of Admission – Graduate Programs, 6329 Freret Street, New Orleans, LA 70118.
6. SJD Research Proposal
Provide a dissertation in such detail to allow the Graduate Affairs Committee to determine the originality and feasibility of the proposal and the likelihood that the research will result in an original contribution to the scholarly literature.
