PhD in Law

Description

The doctoral degree is essentially an in-depth fundamental research program. The educational activities are aimed at developing students’ thesis projects, and, within the Faculty, students benefit from the skills of specialists from all major areas of law. Co-supervision by two professors is quite common, as it provides complementary expertise. Students admitted to the program receive quality supervision in a stimulating environment; they have access to a high-calibre library, major computer resources, and financial support from the institution and other granting agencies.

A doctoral degree is, essentially, an in-depth research program. Educational activities are oriented towards developing the student’s thesis project and students benefit from the skills of specialists from all major areas of law. Project orientation, provided jointly by two professors, allows the student to call upon complementary expert resources.

Doctoral candidates must complete the mandatory courses, as well as comprehensive written and oral exams, before writing a thesis on the subject of their choice.

The writing of the thesis will develop the student’s ability to design and execute a large-scale research project, which will positively contribute to the development of the legal discipline. It will also foster the student’s capacity to share research results in a clear, logical and persuasive manner.

Objectives

The PhD in Law provides training in legal research. The purpose of the thesis is to develop students’ ability to design and conduct a major research project that makes an original contribution to the development of the legal discipline.

The goal of the program is to train jurists:

1. who have knowledge of the fundamental elements of the various areas of law;
2. who have developed an integrated approach to legal issues and their solutions;
3. who have mastered the skills specific to the legal methodology, including conducting the legal characterization of concrete situations; identifying, consulting and updating documentation; and mastering oral and written argued discourse;
4. who are autonomous, adaptable to change and able to take charge of their own continuing legal education;
5. who can identify the relationships between the law and society and integrate them into the process of legal conflict resolution;
6. who employ a critical process that takes into account the plurality of conceptual approaches within and about the law;
7. who are aware of their social responsibilities, as intellectuals and professionals, respect a code of ethics that is in line with these responsibilities and are aware of extrajudicial approaches to conflict resolution.

General option

The objective of the PhD in Law, General option, is to develop students’ ability to share their research results in a clear, logical and persuasive manner.

Innovation, Science, Technology and Law option

The general objective of the option is to enable students to acquire specialized knowledge and expertise regarding the role of law in the promotion, governance, and regulation of innovation, science and new technologies in a comparative law perspective that is attuned to emerging economies.

Strengths

Several of its characteristics, including the number of professors, students and programs, make the Faculty of Law the largest in both Quebec and Canada. The Faculty has some 60 tenured professors who, with the support of several legal practitioners, teach approximately 1,300 students enrolled in a bachelor's, master's or PhD program, of which nearly one third are in graduate studies. 

The Faculty offers complete and varied legal training, so that students may practise law or pursue a career for which knowledge of the law is a major asset. Over a hundred years old, this education and research community has made significant contributions to the evolution of the law and its recognition as an academic discipline. Located in a stand-alone pavilion housing a complete library and a computer lab, its priorities are concerned with the challenges that future jurists will face.