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Degree Requirements

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D.)

The Doctor of Philosophy in law and society affirms that recipients have a comprehensive knowledge of social science theories and research in the interdisciplinary field of law and society, an in-depth knowledge of the theories and research in one chosen subfield of law and society, a basic knowledge of one of the social science disciplines engaged in disciplinary research in law and society, and systematic training in the quantitative and qualitative social science methods used in law and society research. Students are advised by the director of graduate studies during their first year. After the first year of study, students select one of the law and society core or affiliated faculty as an adviser. Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program in law and society may take up to 12 credits in the School of Law after consultation with their adviser and with the permission of the instructor. Ph.D. students may also take a maximum of 24 credits in reading and research.

General Degree Requirements : To qualify for the doctorate, a student must satisfactorily complete graduate studies totaling at least 72 graduate credits, with a minimum of 32 credits at the doctoral level in residence at New York University and a cumulative GPA of B (3.0) or better, pass comprehensive qualifying examinations, and defend an acceptable dissertation. Most graduate courses carry 4 credits. Students may petition that a limited number of law and society graduate courses taken elsewhere be transferred and credited toward the degree requirements, but only after completing three courses at New York University . Only relevant law and society courses approved by the DGS and the GSAS may be transferred.

Foreign Language Requirement : Proficiency in at least one language other than English is required of all doctoral candidates. Currently, a student may choose to demonstrate proficiency in ancient Greek, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, or Spanish. Students who use a foreign language other than the above as an integral part of their dissertation research may petition for a substitution. Language proficiency may be demonstrated by any of the following: (1) passing the foreign language proficiency examination given by the GSAS; (2) passing the departmental examination, if one is regularly scheduled by the department in which the student is registered; or (3) completing, or having completed, not more than two years before matriculation, with a grade of B or better, a full or final intermediate-level college course in the language. Students who have met the foreign language requirement in another graduate school not more than two years before matriculation in GSAS may request that such credentials be accepted, with the approval of the dean. The foreign language requirement may be waived with approval by the law and society DGS and the GSAS.

Basic Law and Society Course Requirement : This requirement ensures that students receive a comprehensive knowledge of the social science theories and research in the interdisciplinary field of law and society. To meet this requirement, students must take the two basic law and society courses with a minimum grade of B in their first year of study: Sociolegal Seminar (G62.1001), offered each fall, and Law and Social Policy (G62.1002), offered each spring. Students should complete this requirement by the end of the first year of Ph.D. studies.

Methods Course Requirement : To ensure that students receive adequate methodological training for conducting research, they are required to take one quantitative methods course in statistics and one qualitative methods course in historical, interviewing, or ethnographic methods. While not required, it is highly recommended that students take one advanced course in either quantitative or qualitative methods. The advanced methods course typically focuses on the methods used for the dissertation research. Students should complete this requirement by the end of the second year of Ph.D. studies.

Disciplinary Minor Course Requirement : All students are required to acquire a basic knowledge of one of the social science disciplines engaged in disciplinary research in law and society. After selecting a discipline, each student is required to take three non-methods courses offered by the selected disciplinary department. A grade of B is the minimum grade required for each of the three courses.

Law and Society Colloquium and Workshop Requirement : Law and society Ph.D. students are required to attend the law and society colloquium and workshops during their first year of Ph.D. studies.

Law and Society Written Field Exam : The law and society field exam requires that students demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of the interdisciplinary field of law and society. The examination covers material from the two basic law and society courses and supplemental readings from the law and society reading list. The law and society written field exam committee is composed of the 2 faculty teaching the two required basic law and society courses. The law and society written field exam is a 24 hour take-home exam that is graded as a pass or fail; it is given twice a year. If students fail, they may take it again but are not permitted to retake it more than once. Students should complete this exam by the end of the second year of Ph.D. work. A more detailed discussion of the exam is included in a later section.

Law and Society Oral Subfield Exam : Students are required to demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of one of the subfields of law and society. Each student selects three NYU law and society faculty to serve as the law and society oral subfield exam committee. Two of the three oral exam committee members must be NYU GSAS faculty or NYU School of Law faculty with a Ph.D. These faculty assist the student in developing an appropriate reading list for the exam. The law and society subfield exam is given twice a year. If students fail, they make take it again but are not permitted to retake it more than once. The exam is a two-hour oral exam graded as a pass or fail by the three selected faculty. A pass requires that two of the three selected faculty pass the student for the exam. Students should complete this exam by the end of the third year of Ph.D. work. A more detailed discussion of the exam is included in a later section.

Dissertation : After the dissertation chair and two dissertation committee members approve a dissertation proposal and students submit a dissertation proposal acceptance form signed by the chair, the two dissertation committee members and the director of graduate studies, the dissertation may be undertaken. Two of the three must be full-time GSAS faculty. Once the completed dissertation is approved by the dissertation chair and two dissertation committee members, an oral defense form is filed, and the oral dissertation defense is scheduled. The completed dissertation is defended in a two-hour oral defense before a five-member committee consisting of the dissertation chair, two dissertation committee members , and two additional dissertation committee readers. Of the five members, three must be full-time GSAS faculty. Any dissertation members that are not full-time GSAS faculty must be approved by the DGS and the vice dean at least four months prior to the defense. A successful defense requires that four of the five members of the dissertation committee vote to approve the dissertation. A more detailed discussion is included in a later section.

 

DUAL JURIS DOCTOR AND DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (J.D.-Ph.D.)

Students with a special interest in law may wish to pursue the dual degree program leading to the J.D. and Ph.D. degrees. Students who wish to enroll in the dual degree program must apply separately to the School of Law (SOL) and to the Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS). Students may apply to both schools simultaneously or to one school while in the first year of study at the other. There are no specific admission standards or applications for dual degree applicants at either school. Once admitted to both schools, the student qualifies for the dual degree program.

General Degree Requirements : The School of Law requires the completion of 82 credits in six semesters of full-time study for the J.D. degree. Full-time study is defined as 12 or more credit hours per semester, primarily in courses commencing prior to 6 p.m. One semester of full-time graduate study, or up to 12 credits, from the GSAS is counted toward the J.D. degree. Thus, at least one of the student's semesters in GSAS must be full-time and consist of a majority of credits in daytime courses. For a complete description of courses required for the J.D. degree, consult the School of Law Bulletin . The Ph.D. degree requires 72 credits of graduate study with a cumulative GPA of B (3.0) or better, of which 12 credits are accepted from the SOL. The two degrees therefore require a total of 130 credits (70 at the School of Law and 60 at the Graduate School of Arts and Science). Because some of the credits earned in each program are counted toward the other degree, it is possible to complete the course requirements for both degrees in five years of full-time study. Students pursuing the dual degree program typically spend their first year in the GSAS, the second year in the SOL, alternating years until the requirements for both schools are satisfied. Students may also take up to a maximum of 24 credits in reading and research. Students may petition for a limited number of law and society graduate courses taken elsewhere to be transferred and credited toward the Ph.D. degree requirements, but only after completing three courses at New York University . Only relevant law and society courses approved by the director of graduate studies and the GSAS may be transferred.

Foreign Language Requirement : Proficiency in at least one language other than English is required of all doctoral candidates. Currently, a student may choose to demonstrate proficiency in ancient Greek, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, or Spanish. Students who use a foreign language other than the above as an integral part of their dissertation research may petition for a substitution. Language proficiency may be demonstrated by any of the following: (1) passing the foreign language proficiency examination given by the GSAS; (2) passing the departmental examination, if one is regularly scheduled by the department in which the student is registered; or (3) completing, or having completed, not more than two years before matriculation, with a grade of B or better, a full or final intermediate-level college course in the language. Students who have met the foreign language requirement in another graduate school not more than two years before matriculation in GSAS may request that such credentials be accepted, with the approval of the dean. The foreign language requirement may be waived with approval by the DGS and the GSAS.

Basic Law and Society Course Requirement : This requirement ensures that students receive a comprehensive knowledge of the social science theories and research in the interdisciplinary field of law and society. To meet this requirement, students must take the two basic law and society courses with a minimum grade of B in their first year of study: Sociolegal Seminar (G62.1001), offered each fall, and Law and Social Policy (G62.1002), offered each spring. Students should complete this requirement by the end of the first year of Ph.D. studies.

Methods Course Requirement : To ensure that they receive adequate methodological training for conducting research, students are required to take one quantitative methods course in statistics and one qualitative methods course in historical, interviewing, or ethnographic methods. While not required, it is highly recommended that students take one advanced course in either quantitative or qualitative methods. The advanced methods course typically focuses on the methods used for the dissertation research. Students should complete this requirement by the end of the second year of Ph.D. studies.

Disciplinary Minor Course Requirement : All students are required to acquire a basic knowledge of one of the social science disciplines engaged in disciplinary research in law and society. After selecting a discipline, each student is required to take three non-methods courses offered by the selected disciplinary department. A grade of B is the minimum grade required for each of the three courses.

Law and Society Colloquium and Workshop Requirement : Law and society Ph.D. students are required to attend the law and society colloquium and workshops during their first year of Ph.D. studies.

Law and Society Written Field Exam : The law and society field exam requires that students demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of the interdisciplinary field of law and society. The examination covers material from the two basic law and society courses and supplemental readings from the law and society reading list. The law and society written field exam committee is composed of the two faculty teaching the two required basic law and society courses. The exam is a written 24-hour take-home exam that is graded as pass or fail; it is given twice a year. If students fail, they may take it again but are not permitted to retake it more than once. Students should complete this exam by the end of the second year of Ph.D. work. A more detailed discussion is included in a later section.

Law and Society Oral Subfield Exam : Students are required to demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of one of the subfields of law and society. Each student selects three NYU law and society faculty to serve as the law and society oral subfield exam committee. Two of the three oral exam committee members must be NYU GSAS faculty or NYU School of Law faculty with a Ph.D. These faculty assist the student in developing an appropriate reading list for the exam. The law and society subfield exam is given twice a year. If students fail, they make take it again but are not permitted to retake it more than once. The exam is a two-hour oral exam graded as a pass or fail by the three selected faculty. A pass requires that two of the three selected faculty pass the exam. Students should complete this exam by the end of the third year of Ph.D. work. A more detailed discussion is included in a later section.

Dissertation : After the dissertation chair and two dissertation committee members approve a dissertation proposal and students submit a dissertation proposal acceptance form signed by the chair, the two dissertation committee members and the director of graduate studies, the dissertation may be undertaken. Two of the three must be full-time NYU GSAS faculty. Once the completed dissertation is approved by the dissertation chair and two dissertation committee members, an oral defense form is filed, and the oral dissertation defense is scheduled. The oral defense dissertation committee consists of 5 members; the chair, two dissertation members and two additional dissertation committee readers. The completed dissertation is defended in a two-hour oral defense before a five-member committee consisting of the dissertation chair, the two dissertation committee members , and two additional dissertation committee readers. Of the five members, three must be full-time GSAS faculty. Any dissertation members that are not full-time GSAS faculty must be approved by the DGS and the vice dean at least four months prior to the defense. A successful defense requires that four of the five members of the dissertation committee vote to approve the dissertation. A more detailed discussion is included in a later section.

 

DUAL JURIS DOCTOR AND MASTER OF ARTS (J.D.-M.A.)

Students who wish to enroll in the J.D.-M.A. dual degree program must apply separately to the School of Law (SOL) and to the Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS). Students may apply to both schools simultaneously or to the Graduate School of Arts and Science when in the first or second year of study at the School of Law . Once admitted to both schools, the students qualify for the dual degree program. There are no specific admission standards or applications for dual degree applicants at either school. Students are advised by the director of graduate studies during their first year. After the first year of study, students select one of the law and society core or affiliated faculty as an adviser.

General Degree Requirements : The SOL requires 82 credits of study for the J.D. degree; however, in the dual degree program, 8 credits for courses taken in the GSAS are applied to the J.D. degree. For a complete description of courses required for the J.D. degree, consult the School of Law Bulletin . The GSAS requires 32 credits of study for the M.A. degree with a cumulative GPA of B (3.0) or better; however, in the dual degree program, 8 credits for courses taken in the SOL are applied to the M.A. degree. Students in this program are required to take a total of 98 credits for the two degrees (74 and 24 credits, respectively, for the J.D. and the M.A.).

Law and Society Course Requirements : This requirement ensures that students receive a comprehensive knowledge of the social science theories and research in the interdisciplinary field of law and society. To meet this requirement, students must take the two basic law and society courses with a minimum grade of B: Sociolegal Seminar (G62.1001), offered each fall, and Law and Social Policy (G62.1002), offered each spring. The remaining courses are elective and selected from the law and society course offerings. Students may also take up to a maximum of 8 credits in reading and research. There is no foreign language requirement for the J.D.-M.A. dual degree.