Doctor of Juridical Science - Immigration Law

For students looking to pursue the academic side of the law through prolonged research and writing, Suffolk Law offers a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) degree. The equivalent of a PhD in other fields, an SJD is the most advanced law degree available and requires sustained academic excellence as well as the prior completion of a JD and LLM.Suffolk Law's Doctor of Juridical Science is a rigorous academic program that challenges students to expand their thinking and push boundaries in the study of law. Students are supported by experienced practitioners and surrounded by real-world thought leaders in the field. Upon acceptance into the SJD program, students must complete an in-depth, publication-quality, dissertation which makes an original and creative contribution to legal literature to successfully complete their degree.Further your studies, explore new ways of thinking, and reach your highest goals and aspirations in the field of law.The practice of immigration law encompasses a broad range of legal environments, from business immigration law in which lawyers represent corporations seeking to employ foreign born workers to deportation defense which includes representing individuals detained by the federal government seeking release from detention and relief from removal. Immigration lawyers practice in large and small firms, non-profit agencies and government.Immigration law can generally be divided into two large spheres – administrative or affirmative practice and deportation defense. Administrative practice involves petitioning the U.S. government to allow a person to migrate to the U.S. on an immigrant or non-immigrant visa or as a refugee. This practice can be further broken down into business immigration, family based immigration and humanitarian based immigration. Deportation defense involves more classic litigation including interviewing and counseling clients, motions practice, legal brief writing, preparing lay and expert witnesses, oral arguments, and appellate practice. Given the high rates of immigration detention and the defensive posture, deportation defense is most like criminal defense in its practice.

We require for admission to the SJD program minimum TOEFL scores of 100 for the internet-based test, 250 for the computer-based test or 600 for the paper-based test.Submit a 10-15 page substantive research proposal that will serve as the basis for beginning the dissertation research. It is very important that this research proposal be carefully written and well-organized. Submit two letters of recommendation, at least one of which must be from a full-time member of a law school faculty and another of which must be from a professor or faculty advisor of your LL.M. program.Submit a letter or email from the proposed Committee Chair. The Committee Chair should agree to serve as the Committee Chair for the applicant's dissertation committee, recommend admission, and provide comment on evaluating the research proposal.Submit undergraduate and graduate transcripts (including your first degree in law and your LL.M. degree or equivalent from a U.S. law school accredited from the ABA, or from a non-U.S. law school with equivalent standards). Applicants who graduated from a non-U.S. law school with equivalent standards must utilize either the Law School Admission Council's Credential Assembly Service (CAS) or World Evaluation Services (WES) at for a credential evaluation.Provide a curriculum vitae.Provide TOEFL or IELTS scores (if English is a second language); The TOEFL/IELTS score used in conjunction with your LL.M. application is sufficient. If you did not submit a score with your LL.M. application, please sit for one of these tests.