Programme Information - Professional Doctorate Programmes (PD)

Doctor of Juridical Science

法學博士

Year of Entry	2013
Mode of Funding	Non-government-funded
Programme Code	JSD
Mode of Programme	Combined ^†
Class Schedule	Classes are mostly held during daytime. Classes may be offered in weekday evenings / Saturdays only in exceptional cases.
Indicative Intake Target	10
Minimum No. of Credits Required	46
Normal Duration of Programme	3 years
Maximum Study Period	6 years
Programme Website	Click here to open
Tuition Fee	Click here for more information
Application Deadline	30 Jun 2013 (Local & Non-local)
Programme Leader	Dr GUAN, Wenwei LLB (Zhongshan), LL.M. (Peking), MA and Ph.D. (UBC)
General Enquiries	+852 3442 8008 slwjsd@cityu.edu.hk

† Combined mode: Local students taking programmes in combined mode can attend full-time (12-18 credit units per semester) or part-time (no more than 11 credit units per semester) study in different semesters without seeking approval from the University. For non-local students, they will be admitted to these programmes for either full-time or part-time studies. Non-local students must maintain the required credit load for their full-time or part-time studies and any changes will require approval from the University.

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Programme Outlines

Programme Aims and Objectives

The Doctor of Juridical Science (JSD) programme provides an opportunity for students who wish to pursue higher studies in law in Hong Kong. It aims:

to provide an integrated curriculum of theory, practice and research methodology;
to develop an advanced knowledge and understanding of law in the particular areas of research chosen by the JSD students;
to promote scholarship in the areas of law that are relevant to contemporary society with a view to understanding their current content and proposing required changes; and
to provide a sound framework for pursuing postgraduate legal research in an intellectually stimulating environment with a view to making a significant contribution to the particular field of research.

The successful completion of the programme will lead to the degree of Doctor of Juridical Science. The JSD is well-recognised doctoral degree that entitles graduates to use the abbreviation “Dr” before their names.

Entrance Requirements

Applicants should hold one of the following qualifications:

an LLM degree from a recognized university (admission will be restricted to those whose performance in the LLM indicates a level of attainment sufficient to justify admission to a doctoral programme); or
an LLB degree, JD degree or equivalent from a recognized university with first class honours or equivalent; or
an LLB degree, JD degree or equivalent from a recognized university with upper second class honours or equivalent plus 3 years relevant professional experience; or
any relevant professional qualifications or scholarly achievements recognized by the University.

English Proficiency Requirement

Applicants whose entrance qualification is obtained from an institution where the language of instruction is not English should fulfil the following minimum English proficiency requirements:

a TOEFL score of 595 (paper-based) or 97 (internet-based); or
an overall band score of 7 in IELTS; or
a score of 500 in the Chinese mainland’s College English Test Band 6; or
other equivalent qualifications.

(The School of Law has stipulated a validity period of three years for results of the above tests. Applicants are required to provide their English test results obtained within the three years preceding the commencement of the University’s application period.)

Course Description

The programme consists of a taught component and doctoral thesis.

Taught Component

The taught component is designed to ensure that a JSD student attains a very high level of academic skills through the study of taught courses. He /she will then possess the appropriate academic foundation to progress to the thesis stage. Through the taught component a student is expected to learn not only advanced legal research methodology, but also substantive law in his/her chosen area of study.

Core Courses (6 credit units)

Advanced Legal Research Methodology
Jurisprudence and Political Theories

Elective Courses (18 credit units)

Select a total of at least 18 credit units from the following:

LLM taught courses (LLM Dissertation courses are excluded).
JD courses (up to a maximum of 6 credit units; JD Independent Research course is excluded).

Doctoral Thesis (a thesis equivalent to 22 credit units)

The second component of the JSD programme is the writing of Doctoral Thesis. Before submission of the thesis, a student is required to make one presentation at the JSD Colloquium. The presentation should be made after the first draft of thesis has been completed and six months before the submission of thesis (supervisors have the discretion to decide whether to shorten the six-month requirement). The student should also attend at least one presentation made by another student. After the thesis is confirmed to be of the required academic standard, the student will attend the oral examination of the thesis.

Doctoral Thesis offers students a challenging and enriching opportunity to propose, formulate and carry out an independent research project and develop research methodology to be applied in their own research. The thesis will help students to develop innovative thinking in tackling legal issues to meet the needs of the local as well as the international communities.

JSD students have to satisfy the requirements of the taught component and obtain the Programme Leader's approval of the proposed thesis topic and outline before they can start the Doctoral Thesis. After the start of the Doctoral Thesis, a JSD student must provide 11 monthly reports and an annual report on his/her progress to his/her qualifying panel until they have submitted their thesis.

The thesis must display a high level of intellectual accomplishment and must: (1) make a substantial intellectual contribution to legal scholarship; and (2) be of publishable quality. The length of a thesis should be around 80,000 words.

Research Areas

The following are the five categories of research and the possible areas under each category:

i. Commercial Law

· arbitration and dispute resolution

· banking and securities law

· comparative contract law

· comparative tort law

· corporate governance

ii. Development Law

· human rights and development

· law and governance

· law and development

iii. International Economic Law

· international financial law

· international investment law

· international trade law

· international taxation

· intellectual property law

· international transportation law

· WTO law

iv International Law

· public international law

· private international law

· law of the sea

· air and space law

v Public Law

· the Basic Law

· civil and criminal justice

· comparative administrative law

· comparative constitutional law

· comparative criminal law and procedure

· comparative legal systems and legal traditions