New law degree garners strong international interest

The University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents approved a new doctor of laws degree at the William S. Richardson School of Law at UH Mānoa.

The new scientiae juridicae doctor (SJD) program calls for a year in residence at the law school, with seminars and courses to support students in preparing their dissertation proposals and launching their research. The goal is for students to submit finished dissertations by the end of their third year of candidacy.

While the SJD is primarily intended for those who teach or hope to teach law outside the U.S., it is also aimed at those involved in policy work in research institutes and government organizations. It has often been requested by foreign-trained law scholars who are earning a master of laws degree at the law school, and who wish to continue their legal studies at Mānoa.

The program has been in development for several years at the law school, and has received broad international support. Korean legal scholar Associate Professor Tae-Ung Baik has been named SJD program director.

“By offering this degree, we join the most prestigious law schools while also enhancing the experience of all our students from across the globe,” said Dean Avi Soifer. “We have a remarkably broad and deep faculty with particular expertise in international law, comparative law, indigenous law, environmental law, business law, and the law of countries in Asia and the Pacific—all of which are of increasing importance throughout the world.”

Read more about the new SJD program at the law school website.

—By Beverly Creamer