You can receive the Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.), the Law School's most advanced research degree, by demonstrating honors ability in a program approved by the graduate committee. Your program, which you must complete during at least two semesters of residence, must include a minimum of six hours of courses or seminars and the satisfactory completion of an oral examination and a dissertation that is an original contribution to the literature of the law. Most S.J.D. candidates already hold the LL.M. degree.