Application Process for SJD Direct Admission:

Please send us only your complete application, including in that single submission every document required below for the application. We cannot accept or save incomplete applications that require further documentation; failure to submit a completed application will require a new, complete resubmission on the part of the applicant. Upon receipt, we will send a one-time acknowledgement indicating whether the application is complete or not. Thereafter, due to the volume of applications we receive, we will not be able to respond to further inquiries about SJD application receipt and status. Should the SJD Admissions Committee need additional information about your application, you will be contacted. You will receive both an email and a letter informing you of the admissions decision once the Committee has acted.

Required Materials:

To apply, applicants must send the following materials, in electronic form, to sjd@uconn.edu. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis but should generally be submitted by May 1 for fall admission and November 1 for spring admission. Attach all of the documents requested in items 1 to 9 below in one email and label the attached files according to the descriptions indicated below:

1.  A completed application form. Please label this file “1. last name, first name (application form)”. The application form also includes a checklist, which will help ensure that your application is complete. We cannot accept or save incomplete applications pending further documentation. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the application is complete.

2. A (non-refundable) check (in U.S. Dollars) travelers check, or international money order payable to "UConn School of Law" in the amount of $100 (U.S.) for the application processing fee. 

3.  A personal statement of no more than 500 words, summarizing the applicant’s background, reasons for pursuing an SJD, and how the degree will further the applicant’s professional aspirations. Please label this file “2. last name, first name (personal statement)”.

4.  A resume or curriculum vitae. Please label this file: “3. last name, first name (CV)”.

5.  Electronic (scanned) copies of official transcripts from each university and law school attended with English translations, if applicable. Please label this file: “4. last name, first name (transcripts)”. Please then send us as soon as possible a hard copy of certified original transcripts from each university and law school attended with English translations, if applicable. Transcripts from law schools outside the United States must be submitted through LSAC (please provide your LSAC number on the space provided on the Application Form, if applicable). If you have received your LLM from UConn Law School you simply need to have the registrar send us your official transcript. Applicants who apply prior to the end of their last LLM semester who have not received final grades, should submit the most current transcript available.

6.  A copy of the applicant’s LLM thesis (or its equivalent). Please label this file: “5. last name, first name (LLM thesis)”.

7.  A dissertation proposal of not less than 2,000 words (including footnotes). Please label this file: “6. last name, first name (dissertation proposal)”. The dissertation proposal must include the following:

(a) A clear, law-related research question or problem that will be addressed;

(b) A review of the literature addressing the question or problem (including any relevant literature from other disciplines, such as economics, sociology, or history) that demonstrates an ongoing debate among scholars, policy makers or other professional groups on the proposed question, or a lack of recognition of, or attention to, the problem;

(c) An explanation of the methods, theories or approaches to be used to answer the question or resolve the problem and, if an empirical or comparative project, a discussion of the kind of evidence to be produced that will answer the question or resolve the problem; and

(d) An explanation of the expected contribution of the independent research project to the scholarly literature.

8. A copy of a letter or email from a UConn Law School full-time faculty member stating that he or she agrees to serve as the SJD dissertation adviser. Please label this file: “7. Last name, first name (UConn dissertation adviser).

International applicants must also submit the following:

9.  Financial Declaration Form. Please label this file: “8. last name, first name (financial declaration form)”.

10.  Evidence that the applicant meets the requirements for English language proficiency (below). Please label this file: “9. last name, first name (English language proficiency).”

Recommendation Letters:

Please arrange to have two recommendation letters sent separately (or directly by the recommender) to sjd@uconn.edu or through LSAC. The two letters must arrive no later than the designated application due date. One letter may be from an individual familiar with the applicant’s professional work. This second letter must come from a faculty member at the law school from which the applicant obtained her or his LLM degree and this second letter must specifically address the feasibility of the dissertation proposal. For applicants who received their LLM degrees from UConn Law, this second letter should generally be from the UConn Law School full-time faculty member who has agreed to serve as the SJD dissertation adviser.