Doctorate (Ph.D) Program
The Doctorate (Ph.D) Degree
The Ph.D. program is designed to provide advanced training
for outstanding graduate students who have already obtained
a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree or equivalent. Through this
two-year residency program, highly accomplished graduate students
will be trained to carry out advanced research under supervision
by members of the UBC Law Faculty.
Admission to the Ph.D Program
Admission to the Ph.D. The program requires a Bachelor of
Laws as well as an LL.M. or equivalent from a recognized institution
indicating a superior level of academic performance in a field
of specialization that will support the applicant's Ph.D.
research. In exceptional circumstances applicants who do not
meet these requirements but who, in the opinion of the Faculty
of Law Graduate Committee, possess qualifications appropriate
for admission to the doctoral program may be considered for
provisional acceptance dependent upon successful completion
of one or more law courses prior to formal acceptance. External
or correspondence degrees are not eligible for consideration.
click here for minimum academic standards for admission.
http://www.grad.ubc.ca/
Curriculum
The Ph.D. curriculum consists of a one year, two-part seminar
(4 credits), with the balance of each student's time being
devoted to preparing a doctoral thesis. Graduation from the
program will require completion of the doctoral seminar, successful
completion of a Comprehensive Examination, completion of a
doctoral thesis approved by a thesis reading committee; and
successful completion of an oral examination. Doctoral students
must be in full-time residence at the Faculty of Law for a
minimum of two academic years, although this period may be
reduced to 12 consecutive months pursuant to procedures of
the Faculty of Graduate Studies. Students must complete all
requirements for the Ph.D. within six years of the date of
first registration in the program. Each student will have
a Faculty Supervisor drawn from the UBC Law Faculty. The selection
of faculty supervisors will be administered by the Graduate
Committee of the Faculty of Law, subject to approval by the
Dean of Law and the Dean of Graduate Studies.
Courses required for the Ph.D. degree include Doctoral Seminar
I: Issues in Legal Theory and Doctoral Seminar II: Comparative
and Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal Theory.
| Course # |
Course Description |
Course Credit |
| Law 610 |
Doctoral Seminar I: Issues
in Legal Theory |
2 |
| Law 611 |
Doctoral Seminar II: Comparative
and Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal Theory |
2 |
| Law 649 |
Doctoral Thesis |
|
-
LAW 610 -- Doctoral Seminar I: Issues in Legal Theory.
This seminar will address salient issues of legal theory.
Topics covered will include feminism and the law; Marxism
and the law; post-modernism and the law; social theory
and the law; law and the state; legal liberalism and its
critics; and other jurisprudential discourses.
- LAW 611 -- Doctoral Seminar II: Comparative and Interdisciplinary
Perspectives on Legal Theory. This seminar will address
issues of legal theory in interdisciplinary and comparative
perspective. Discussion will focus on the applicability
of legal concepts in different cultures and societies, and
the consequences for the form and structure of law. In addition,
discussion will address the applicability of concepts drawn
from fields outside of law to legal research and scholarship.
Time Limits
Under general university regulations, a student in the doctoral
program must complete the program within six years of initial
registration. The Faculty of Law expects students to complete
the Doctorate of Laws program well before the expiration of
that final deadline. Students require permission from the
Faculty of Law Graduate Admissions committee in order to register
for a second or subsequent year in the Doctorate of Laws program.
Comprehensive Examination
Each doctoral student must complete a Comprehensive Examination
set by an Examination Committee comprised of the student's
faculty supervisor and two other examiners selected by the
supervisor in consultation with the student. The contents
of the examination will be determined by the Examination Committee
subject to the requirements of the Faculty of Law Graduate
Committee and the Faculty of Graduate Studies. The Comprehensive
Examination is in addition to any course examinations, and
is intended to test the student's understanding of the chosen
field of study as a whole and the student's preparation for
the thesis research to follow. The Comprehensive Examination
is usually taken upon completion of the student's required
coursework and prior to submission and approval of the student's
Final Thesis Proposal. Policies of the Faculty of Law regarding
the Comprehensive Examination are available from the Graduate
Program Administrator.
Doctoral Thesis
Each student in the Ph.D. program is required to complete
a thesis. A Final Thesis Proposal must be approved by the
student's Supervisory Committee. The Final Thesis Proposal
is normally submitted after completion of the student's Comprehensive
Examination. The purpose of the proposal is to establish that
planned course of dissertation research can reasonably be
expected to lead to a dissertation that is an original work
of research and analysis that makes a scholarly contribution
to a field of law. This would entail a literature review,
a discussion of the proposed original contribution to knowledge
in the context of the literature review, and a discussion
of methodology to be used. The student's thesis will be subject
to reading by a Thesis Committee comprised of the student's
faculty supervisor, not less than two other members from UBC
Law Faculty, and a faculty member from a UBC faculty other
than law who is also a holder of a doctoral degree. The selection
of the Thesis Committee shall be decided by the student in
conjunction with the faculty supervisor, and shall be approved
and administered by the Graduate Committee of the Law Faculty.
An external examiner shall read and comment on each doctoral
thesis pursuant to the procedures currently in force under
the Faculty of Graduate Studies for Ph.D., Ed.D. and D.M.A.
theses. Graduate Studies
Policies and Procedures.
Final Examination
Upon reading and approval of the written thesis, the doctoral
candidate shall present an oral defense of the doctoral thesis.
The Thesis Committee will conduct the oral examination in
accordance with the procedures currently in force for examination
of doctoral theses under the Faculty of Graduate Studies. |
