7|HARVARD LAW SCHOOL S.J.D. APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
12. S.J.D. RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Please describe in at most 2,500 words what research you propose doing as an S.J.D. candidate. Your description should
include what significant novel contribution to the literature your proposed project would make, how you foresee doing the
research, how the fields of study (see below) you propose will prepare you to do it, and what you see as the biggest
challenges to making this a viable project.
Your S.J.D. research proposal must be no more than 2,500 words in length, not including footnotes. It must be typed
using 12 point font, with at least one inch (2.5 cm.) margins on each side.
A word on footnotes: Please do not try to evade the 2,500 word limit by squeezing ideas and discussions into footnotes if
they really belong in the text.
Please follow the instructions on the Documents Uploader page of the online application to upload your proposal. Note that
your S.J.D. research proposal must be uploaded and submitted with the rest of your online application. We will not accept an
S.J.D. research proposal sent to us separately from the online application.
13. FIELDS OF STUDY
The S.J.D. Program page of the application asks you to name three or four fields of study (and the proposed faculty supervisor
for each field) as part of your proposed program of study. In your S.J.D. Research Proposal, you are also expected to explain
how these fields of study will prepare you to carry out your research project (see above).
Fields are areas of study in law or other disciplines in which you can imagine teaching a course, of which you plan to gain
working knowledge, and which are germane to the dissertation topic. You may include one interdisciplinary field – that is, a
field that seeks to combine study of the law with insights from a discipline other than law (such as anthropology, economics,
history, philosophy, or political science, etc.).
Definition of fields may be difficult and require some thought, and you may wish to consult your proposed supervisors about
field definition. Here are some general guidelines: First, a field may be viewed as a particular group of authors and/or texts that
are part of a discursive community or tradition. Thinking of a field in these terms may be helpful later when you begin putting
together reading lists for each field as part of your overall study plan, leading up to your oral (or general) examination, at which
you will be examined on each field. Second, fields should not be so broad that they would be impossible to master in one year.
Third, skills areas such as statistics, calculus, languages, etc., generally are not considered fields. However, a course in such
a subject may appropriately be included as part of the study plan for a particular field. Finally, in identifying possible fields, you
should be realistic about your abilities and experience to date in particular areas of study. Most S.J.D. applicants select fields
that are related to some aspect of their LL.M. Paper or academic/professional experience.
For each field you must propose a faculty member who will supervise your readings and study in that field. If a proposed field
supervisor is not a member of the Harvard Law School faculty, you must indicate the field supervisor’s institutional affiliation.
Your proposed principal supervisor – that is your overall dissertation supervisor – must be (a) a tenured member of the
Harvard Law School faculty, (b) must provide a recommendation in support of your application, and (c) must also supervise
one of your fields of study. At least two of your field supervisors (including your principal supervisor) must be full-time
members of the Harvard Law School faculty. Together, the supervisors of your respective fields will constitute your eventual
Oral Examinations Committee.
14. LL.M. WAIVER (Current Harvard Law School LL.M. Candidates ONLY)
Current Harvard LL.M. students applying to the S.J.D. program are permitted to “waive” the LL.M. degree by answering “Yes”
in response to the question “Do you wish to waive your Harvard LL.M. degree?” on the S.J.D. Program page of the online
application. If admitted, applicants who have waived the LL.M. degree will not be awarded the LL.M. degree upon completion
of their LL.M. studies at Harvard. However, they will be permitted to count the tuition paid for their LL.M. year in satisfaction of
the Harvard University requirement that a student pay at least one year’s full tuition for every degree that they receive from
Harvard. For the first year of S.J.D. studies, students who have waived the LL.M. degree are charged tuition of $500.
Otherwise, tuition for the first year of S.J.D. studies is the same as tuition for the LL.M. and J.D. degrees at Harvard.
The election to waive one’s LL.M. degree from Harvard has no effect on admissions decisions or the academic requirements
for the S.J.D. degree. Waiving the LL.M. degree does, however, generally preclude the candidate from taking courses for
credit during their S.J.D. studies. (In exceptional cases, the Committee on Graduate Studies may approve a candidate’s
petition to take a particular course for credit if the candidate’s principal supervisor supports the request on academic grounds.)