J.S.D. Admission
A successful J.S.D. applicant must have achieved high standing in earning the LL.M. degree at Yale Law School and show promise of producing superior scholarship. Admission to the J.S.D. program is highly selective; it does not follow automatically from the award of the LL.M. degree, but rests entirely on the Graduate Admissions Committee's independent judgment of an applicant's qualifications. The Yale LL.M. degree must ordinarily have been awarded within the five years preceding the student’s J.S.D. application.
Please refer to the Yale Law School Bulletin for complete admissions policies.
The selection of J.S.D. candidates will not be influenced by the need for financial assistance. Financial aid is awarded based on demonstrated financial need, and the extent and conditions of any support will be individually arranged. Upon receiving a letter of admission, admitted students will receive the financial aid application. Financial awards are typically received by the candidate within 2 weeks of the candidate’s submission of the financial aid application documents to the Office of Student Finance.
Need-based support will be provided to all eligible students for a maximum period of two academic years (four terms) in residence. A need-based, summer stipend for up to three summers may be provided to support full-time work on the dissertation in New Haven. Students who have completed two years in residence may apply for an additional two terms of need-based financial aid, which will be awarded annually on a competitive basis.
The selection of J.S.D. candidates will not be influenced by the candidate's proposed residency plans.
Required Application Documents
1) Cover Letter: Describe individual goals for entering the program and explain why you want to pursue this research (500 words).
2) Dissertation prospectus: Describe your proposed academic research project (5000 words).
3) Literature review: Provide an analysis of how the issue has been explored thus far and describe how your project contributes to the field (1000 words).
4) Upload your unofficial YLS LL.M. transcript: Applicants should request an electronic copy of their unofficial YLS LL.M. transcript to submit with their application in Sales Force.
5) Writing sample: Provide a summary of a recent academic paper (500 words).
5) Upload a current curriculum vitae: This should include publications, work and educational experiences.
Application Requirements
To qualify to submit a J.S.D. application to Yale Law School, you must have received your LL.M. from Yale Law School within the previous 5 years. You must have confirmation from 3 faculty members who are willing to serve on your committee and arrange for two letters of recommendation from YLS faculty.
Please submit the names and email addresses of faculty who will serve on your committee or submit a letter of recommendation through the portal by 5:00 p.m. on March 1. Those faculty members will be notified with further instructions about how to confirm and/or submit recommendations through the portal and the suggested timeline for their submissions.
A step-by-step guide can be found on the J.S.D. Application Portal.
Applicants to the J.S.D. program who are currently enrolled in the YLS LL.M. program must have completed their exams and papers for the fall semester and should arrange with their instructors to have grades submitted by March 1.
Application Schedule
Applications for the J.S.D. program should be submitted through the application portal by 5:00 p.m. on March 22.
The Graduate Admissions Committee hopes to make its decisions on J.S.D. applications by the end of April.
TO GET STARTED: you must know your NetID and Password.
Qualifying applicants must have completed the Yale Law School LLM in the previous five years. If you have forgotten your NetID since your YLS LLM graduation, please contact the ITS Help Desk.
If you have forgotten your NetID password you may recover it by entering your NetID and recovery email.