Home › Graduate Studies › Ph.D./J.D.

Doctor of Philosophy/Juris Doctorate Information

Justice and Social Inquiry is proud to offer a joint Juris Doctorate (J.D.)/Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program with the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. The program allows qualified students to earn a Juris Doctorate from the ASU College of Law while simultaneously earning an interdisciplinary Doctor of Philosophy in justice studies. ASU's Graduate College also permits our students to pursue concurrent graduate degrees in other fields (e.g., joint master's and J.D. degrees). Students must apply separately to both programs.

For additional information on Justice and Social Inquiry graduate programs, please see our Graduate Handbook (PDF).

Qualifications for Admission

Prospective students must apply for admission separately and be accepted for admission by both the Sandra Day O'Conner College of Law J.D. program and the justice studies Ph.D. program. Students request special approval to pursue concurrently the J.D. and Ph.D. A limited number of students will be permitted to pursue concurrent degrees.

Requirements for Concurrent Degrees

Requirements for the concurrent degrees are designed to ensure the integrity of both the J.D. and Ph.D. programs and to enable students to earn concurrent degrees in five to six years. Students earning concurrent J.D. and Ph.D. degrees enroll solely in law school courses the first year, beginning Ph.D. course work in the second year.

The concurrent degree allows qualified students to earn the J.D./Ph.D. degrees after completing 120 credit hours of course work. These requirements apply only when the J.D. and Ph.D. degrees are awarded concurrently and not if one degree is earned prior to the other. The completed and approved dissertation will satisfy the writing requirement of the law college.

Throughout candidacy, students pursuing the concurrent degrees must maintain the grade point averages required of both programs and fulfill all other stated requirements. Candidates pursuing concurrent degrees will not be held to the law school's five-year limit on graduation.