JSD Application Steps For Those Who Have Attended UChicago Law

In a typical year approximately three – five JSD applications will be submitted to the Law School from prospective students who have already been enrolled at Chicago. These candidates usually have maintained a cumulative average of at least 178. From this group of candidates the Graduate Studies Committee has annually offered admission to one - three applicants. The following procedure describes how candidates for the JSD Program, who have participated in our LLM Program, may apply. Submit as attachments in one email message to jswinsick@uchicago.edu these documents:

• A filled out application form.
• A description - in the form of a resume, curriculum vitae, or similar document - of your academic and professional background. This should include the following items: name, address, e-mail address, phone number, fax number, any academic honors you have received (describe as fully as necessary the significance of any honors or distinctions so that the Graduate Studies Committee may compare your academic performance with others), scholarly publications, employment in law or related fields including employer, title, dates of employment, and description of duties, membership of honorary, professional, or other societies. It may be helpful to look at the sample resume PDF posted on our Web page before preparing this document.
• A dissertation proposal of the topic you would like to develop in the J.S.D. Program. Include at the end of your proposal the names of the Chicago faculty members you would like to supervise your dissertation. Most Law School faculty members are willing to discuss dissertation topics with current students and graduates. A few may decline to do this until a candidate has been admitted to the JSD Program. The Graduate Studies Committee may consult with proposed faculty members before making a decision on your application.  There is no expected length or font size for this document. Dissertation proposals vary in size depending on how detailed a candidate wishes to make the proposal. The norm for proposals is 4-10 pages.
• A statement describing why you wish to pursue the J.S.D. degree and how that degree will be useful in your future career. There is no expected length or font size for this document. Normally the statement of interest is about 2-3 pages long.