First year S.J.D. students receive training in oral presentations and practice their skills in moot sessions for the Mid-Atlantic S.J.D. Roundtable at the end of the fall semester.

Upon completion of this course, students will have a greater understanding of and enhanced professional skill in creating and presenting listenable research and instructional presentations.

The S.J.D./Fellows Seminar is intended to provide our graduate students and fellows who hope to enter the legal academy with a shared body of knowledge regarding jurisprudence, legal theory, and interdisciplinary movements in law, as well as a place to "workshop" their works in progress.  The Seminar alternates between "workshop" meetings, in which graduate students and fellows may present their work in progress to the group and invited faculty members and receive critical feedback, and  "seminar" meetings.  

The S.J.D. Core Curriculum is for all students in residence and consists of four  components:  the S.J.D. Colloquium, the S.J.D. Seminar, Supervised or Independent Reading, and the S.J.D. and Fellows Seminar.

The S.J.D. Colloquium meets weekly, focusing on different themes each semester. These may include American Legal theory, Law and Society, Comparative Law, Law and Development, and other topics of special interest to S.J.D. students. Leading scholars in these fields teach segments from time to time.

The S.J.D. Workshop meets weekly to discuss students’ work in progress. Students present one or two times a year during which their faculty supervisors are encouraged to attend.  The goal is to improve the quality of their work in a collaborative and supportive environment. NOTE: During their fall semester, 1st year students take S.J.D. Methods in lieu of the S.J.D. Workshop.

S.J.D. Methods meets weekly in the fall semester for 1st year students in lieu of the S.J.D. Workshop. Students refine their dissertation topics, write their thesis statements, prepare for the National S.J.D. Roundtable, and learn writing strategies.

In Supervised or Independent Reading, students develop reading lists with their faculty supervisors to focus on particular research areas for their dissertations. In their first year, students engage in Supervised Reading with someone on the faculty, not necessarily their supervisor. Students take Independent Reading starting their second year.

The S.J.D. and Fellows Seminar meets weekly, alternating between seminar meetings and workshop meetings.  The seminar covers one topic per semester over a two-year cycle:  Law and Social Sciences, Law and Humanities, American Legal Theory, and Contemporary Legal Scholarship.  The workshop is primarily designed for those actively on the “academic market” to present works in progress for feedback.

The S.J.D. Core Curriculum is limited to S.J.D. students and requires departmental approval.

The S.J.D. Seminars are small group classes consisting of 6-8 students. Each seminar group meets weekly to discuss students’ work in progress. Students present their work two times a semester on a rotating basis. The goal is to improve the quality of their work in a collaborative and supportive environment.