About the Program

Berkeley Law is unique among major US law schools in housing its own interdisciplinary graduate program in the social, philosophical, and humanistic study of law, leading to MA and PhD degrees in Jurisprudence and Social Policy (JSP). The JSP Program promotes the study of law and legal institutions through the perspectives of several disciplines, including history, economics, philosophy, sociology, and political science. The first law and society program of its kind in North America, the JSP Program remains the clear leader of a vibrant and growing body of such programs, because of its deep curricular resources and its scholarly accomplishment.

Members of the Berkeley Law faculty with primary responsibility for the JSP Program are trained in a variety of academic disciplines, and also are affiliated with other Berkeley departments and research centers.

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Admissions

Admission to the University

Note: In addition to the minimum requirements listed below, the Jurisprudence and Social Policy also requires the submission of GRE scores, general exam (no more than five years old), by the application deadline.

Minimum Requirements for Admission

The following minimum requirements apply to all graduate programs and will be verified by the Graduate Division:

1. A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;
2. A grade point average of B or better (3.0);
3. If the applicant comes from a country or political entity (e.g., Quebec) where English is not the official language, adequate proficiency in English to do graduate work, as evidenced by a TOEFL score of at least 90 on the iBT test, 570 on the paper-and-pencil test, or an IELTS Band score of at least 7 on a 9-point scale (note that individual programs may set higher levels for any of these); and
4. Sufficient undergraduate training to do graduate work in the given field.

Applicants Who Already Hold a Graduate Degree

The Graduate Council views academic degrees not as vocational training certificates, but as evidence of broad training in research methods, independent study, and articulation of learning. Therefore, applicants who already have academic graduate degrees should be able to pursue new subject matter at an advanced level without the need to enroll in a related or similar graduate program.

Programs may consider students for an additional academic master’s or professional master’s degree only if the additional degree is in a distinctly different field.

Applicants admitted to a doctoral program that requires a master’s degree to be earned at Berkeley as a prerequisite (even though the applicant already has a master’s degree from another institution in the same or a closely allied field of study) will be permitted to undertake the second master’s degree, despite the overlap in field.

The Graduate Division will admit students for a second doctoral degree only if they meet the following guidelines:

1. Applicants with doctoral degrees may be admitted for an additional doctoral degree only if that degree program is in a general area of knowledge distinctly different from the field in which they earned their original degree. For example, a physics PhD could be admitted to a doctoral degree program in music or history; however, a student with a doctoral degree in mathematics would not be permitted to add a PhD in statistics.
2. Applicants who hold the PhD degree may be admitted to a professional doctorate or professional master’s degree program if there is no duplication of training involved.

Applicants may apply only to one single degree program or one concurrent degree program per admission cycle.

Required Documents for Applications

1. Transcripts: Applicants may upload unofficial transcripts with your application for the departmental initial review. If the applicant is admitted, then official transcripts of all college-level work will be required. Official transcripts must be in sealed envelopes as issued by the school(s) attended. If you have attended Berkeley, upload your unofficial transcript with your application for the departmental initial review. If you are admitted, an official transcript with evidence of degree conferral will not be required.
2. Letters of recommendation: Applicants may request online letters of recommendation through the online application system. Hard copies of recommendation letters must be sent directly to the program, not the Graduate Division.
3. Evidence of English language proficiency: All applicants from countries or political entities in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency. This applies to applicants from Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Latin America, the Middle East, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, most European countries, and Quebec (Canada). However, applicants who, at the time of application, have already completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with grades of B or better at a US university may submit an official transcript from the US university to fulfill this requirement. The following courses will not fulfill this requirement:
   • courses in English as a Second Language,
   • courses conducted in a language other than English,
   • courses that will be completed after the application is submitted, and
   • courses of a non-academic nature.

If applicants have previously been denied admission to Berkeley on the basis of their English language proficiency, they must submit new test scores that meet the current minimum from one of the standardized tests. Official TOEFL score reports must be sent directly from Educational Test Services (ETS). The institution code for Berkeley is 4833. Official IELTS score reports must be mailed directly to our office from the British Council. TOEFL and IELTS score reports are only valid for two years.

Where to Apply

Visit the Berkeley Graduate Division application page. 

Doctoral Degree Requirements

Curriculum

Faculty and Instructors

Faculty

Catherine R. Albiston, Professor. Social movements, gender, employment law, legal profession, public interest law.
Research Profile

Robert D. Cooter, Professor. Business law, contracts, torts.
Research Profile

Lauren Edelman, Professor. Organizations and employment, civil rights, social inequality, disability, research methods.
Research Profile

Kinch Hoekstra, Professor. Political theory, history of philosophy .
Research Profile

Christopher Kutz, Professor. Moral/political philosophy, ethics and laws of war .
Research Profile

Taeku Lee, Professor. Race and ethnic politics, research methods.
Research Profile

David Lieberman, Professor. History of legal ideas, legal theory .
Research Profile

Calvin Morrill, Professor. Organizations, culture, social movements, education, youth, research methods.
Research Profile

Dylan Penningroth, Professor. African American and U S socio-legal history.
Research Profile

Victoria Plaut, Professor. Diversity/Inclusion, culture, research methods.
Research Profile

Jonathan Simon, Professor. Criminal justice, punishment and society, mass incarceration.
Research Profile

Sarah Song, Professor. Citizenship, migration, race, feminist theory.
Research Profile

Rachel Stern, Professor. Courts, authoritarian states, globalization, China.
Research Profile

Christopher Tomlins, Professor. Labor, slavery, colonization, history of contemporary legal thought.
Research Profile

Franklin E. Zimring, Professor. Legal policy, criminal sanctions, policing.
Research Profile

Emeritus Faculty

Malcolm M. Feeley, Professor Emeritus. Criminal law, punishment, social policy.
Research Profile

Robert Kagan, Professor. Law and political science.
Research Profile

Kristin Luker, Professor Emeritus. Sociology of law.
Research Profile

Daniel Rubinfield, Professor. Law and economics.
Research Profile

Harry Scheiber, Professor. Law and History.
Research Profile

Martin Shapiro, Professor. Law and political science.
Research Profile