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The Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) is the most advanced law degree at American University Washington College of Law (WCL). The SJD program brings together aspiring legal academics and other top legal professionals from around the world who wish to research and write a dissertation of publishable quality under the instruction of faculty members who are recognized experts and leading practitioners in their fields. SJD candidates’ areas of scholarship include international finance and tax law, criminal justice reform, intellectual property law, environmental law, and international human rights law.

Following a successful oral defense and completed dissertation, WCL proudly welcomes each candidate into an international community of alumni scholars working in academia, government, and the non-profit sector. Graduates of WCL’s SJD program include a Ugandan Supreme Court Justice; the former President of Sharia Court of Appeals in Israel; the Chief Justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals; and professors at law schools in Israel, United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Egypt, and other countries. For more information about alumni of the program, please see our alumni page.