ACADEMIC POLICIES OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF LAW

San Beda College (Mendiola)

VISION

We envision the Graduate School of Law of San Beda College

as a center of scholarly studies in the discipline of law making
available the highest standards of advanced legal education
in the country.

Mission

We make it our mission to contribute to the development of the

scholarly study of the law in the country, inspired by the mission
of the Church and animated by the Core Benedictine Values.

Goals – Departmental Output

The Graduate School of Law will graduate professionals and

academics who, having developed strong research
competencies and acquired an academic approach to the
study of law as a distinct academic discipline, and faithful to
their vocation as Christians, shall contribute to the
understanding of law in relation to social order and the
country’s role in an integrated region and a global community.
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I. Admission Requirements

1. Admission to the Graduate School is discretionary upon the Dean

of the Graduate School of Law.

2. Candidates for admission must subscribe to the educational

philosophy as expressed in the vision and mission of San Beda College
and must be willing to conduct themselves, both in their academic and
private lives, in a manner, consistent with the moral teachings of the
Catholic Church. Non-compliance in this aspect shall be ground for the
Dean to refuse admission to the student, or to terminate the tenure of
a student in the Graduate School of Law.

3. For the MASTER OF LAWS (LLM) program, only those may be

admitted who have completed a basic law degree, including Bachelor
of Laws (LLB) or Juris Doctor (JD), with a general average of not lower
than 85% and who shall not have incurred any failing mark in any
subject carrying a weight of three units or more. Any departure from
this rule is discretionary on the dean.

4. For admission to the MASTER OF LEGAL STUDIES, the candidate

must have completed in college at least eighteen (18) units of social
science subjects and are currently enrolled in a basic law program may
be admitted.

For admission to the MASTER OF LEGAL STUDIES, major in

Criminal Justice Administration, the applicant must have completed a
basic college or university-level degree with a general average of not
lower than 85% in any of the following courses: Criminology, Public
Safety, Public Security, Political Science, Legal Management or any
related course.

For the MASTER OF LEGAL STUDIES, major in Canon Law, the

student must have completed a basic college or university-level degree
with at least 18 units of theology.

5. Only those who have a Master of Laws, Master of Comparative

Law, or Master of Juridical Science degree may be admitted to the
DOCTOR OF THE SCIENCE OF JURISPRUDENCE (S.J.D.) program.
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6. The decision of the Dean whether to admit a candidate for

admission or not shall rest on the following considerations:

a. Entering credentials
b. Attitude of the candidate towards graduate education as
far as can be determined
c. The time the student can give to research and study.
d. The Academic Standards of San Beda College.

II. Class Days and Attendance

1. The delivery method of the Graduate School of Law of San Beda

College consists of a mix of guided research and classroom
sessions. Class sessions in the Graduate School of Law are held at
least once a month, on a Saturday to be designated by the dean.

2. In between classes, the professor assigns the students research

topics and requires the submission of research papers, or any other
written or structured exercise, or meets with them on-line at his
option. A research paper, in completion of any subject, must not be
less than thirty-five (35) pages long.

3. A student who incurs two (2) absences is automatically dropped.

He may appeal his separation to the Dean who may re-admit only if
the professor concerned does not interpose an objection. The
absences are reckoned commencing with the second meeting day of
the semester.

4. Attendance at academic activities – such as symposia,

congresses, seminars, etc. – when directed by the dean shall be
considered curricular and absence therefrom may constitute ground for
academic demerit if not termination of tenure in the Graduate School
of Law.
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III. Professors and Lecturers

1. To give the students the benefit of different perspectives and

approaches, subjects will be, as may be feasible, team-taught or one
subject may be assigned to different lecturers.

2. The minimum academic requirement for professors and lecturers

is that they hold a Master of Laws degree, or any other master’s
degree in the juridical or related sciences. For this purpose, the
professors upon whom the Graduate School of Law confers the title
“Diplomate in Juridical Science” shall be considered to possess the
master’s degree.

3. Justices of appellate courts even though they do not possess

graduate degrees may be invited to deliver lectures or to form part of
a lecture team of any subject that the Dean may assign. Foreign
experts may likewise be invited.

4. All professors and lecturers of the Graduate School of Law are on

contractual engagement only. They never attain tenure or
permanency. A professor is one who possesses the requisite doctoral
or master’s degree or diplomate title and is listed in the roster of
professors of the Graduate School of Law. A lecturer is one who may
be invited to deliver one or two lectures because of his or her expertise
in a given subject.

5. Professors and lecturers may not invite others to lecture or teach

in their stead without seeking clearance from the Office of the Dean.

6. Professors and lecturers shall be compensated for each lecture

session and shall thereafter have no more monetary or compensatory
claims against San Beda College.

III. Grades and Grading System

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1. The grading system in the graduate school is as follows:

5.0 95 – 98 Excellent
4.5 93 – 94 Superior
4.0 90 – 92 Very Good
3.5 87 – 89 Good
3.0 83 – 86 Good
2.5 80 – 82 Passed
----------------------------------------------------------------

2.0 77 – 79 Passed, but non-credit for

G.S. Law
1.0 70 – 76 Failed

For doctoral students, now grade below 3.5 will be given credit.

2. A student has one semester within which to complete

requirements for course completion, such as the submission of
required papers or term papers.

3. A student who fails to take a written examination on the date

scheduled for the examination may request the professor for a special
test, which request must be approved both by the professor and the
dean.

4. If, after one semester, the professor concerned fails to submit to

the Dean’s Office and to the Registrar’s Office the grades of a student
in any given subject, the Dean shall require the student to submit to
the Dean a copy of his or her completion requirement and the Dean
shall give the student a grade that shall be entered into the transcript
of records of the student.

5. In giving a student his or her final grade, the professor shall give
due credit to the participation of the student in class discussions, the
compliance with course requirements and attendance at activities
required by the professor.
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IV. Graduation Requirement

1. The candidate for the degree Master of Laws, who follows the
Thesis Track must complete thirty (30) academic units divided in the
following manner:

Basic Subjects:
Any Philosophy of Law Subject 3 units

Any Subject on Constitutional Law or

Constitutional Theory 3

Any Human Rights Subject 3

Track Subjects:

Any five subjects either from

Political Law
International Law
Commercial Law
Civil Law
Canon Law
American Law 15

Cognate Subjects:

Any two subjects from a

Different Track 6

Institutional Requirement

Seminar on the Rule of St. Benedict

Non-Thesis Program:
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Candidates for the LLM degree following the non-thesis program shall
add five (5) subjects or fifteen (15) units to their major subjects (of
which, no more than 2 subjects may be cognate) for a total of forty-
five (45) academic units.

For all Master of Legal Studies students, the course structure shall be:

Foundational Subjects:

Constitutional Law and Theory 3 units

Methods of Legal Research 3
Human Rights 3

Major Subjects
Subjects in Legal Studies 30 units

Cognate Subjects
Subjects from other tracks of the Graduate
School of Law 6 units

Major Papers:

The candidate for graduation in the non-thesis track must submit three
(3) major papers – each consisting of not less than thirty-five (35)
pages that shall be referred to an Evaluator by the Dean. The
Evaluator determines whether the quality of research, the depth of
analysis, the incisiveness of the treatment and the breadth of
familiarity with the law merit as evidenced by each paper merit the
concession of the degree on the candidate. Papers may be those
already submitted as completion requirements in the different subjects
taken, but these shall still be submitted to the Evaluator by the Dean.
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Master of Laws Thesis Program (LLM Hon.)

For the Master of Laws (LLM) degree, the submission and public
defense of a thesis are required. However, a book may be submitted
by the student in substitution of a thesis. The book however, which
may be a textbook, a hornbook, or a treatise, must contain distinctive
features that warrant its acceptance as a thesis substitute. No thesis
for the maters degree shall be less than one hundred (100) pages, one
and a half-space, font twelve (12).

2. Prior to the defense, the thesis or the dissertation shall be sent

the Panel of Examiners who must interpose a written objection to the
defense of the thesis or the dissertation at least one (1) week prior to
the date of the scheduled oral defense should they deem the thesis or
dissertation deficient in any respect. When they do not do so and
allow the defense to proceed, they are not precluded from giving the
student a failing grade at the oral defense, if the student fails to
defend the thesis or the dissertation satisfactorily.

3. When a student fail in the oral defense of a thesis or a doctoral

dissertation, another defense may be scheduled as the Dean may
determine provided that the Moderator shall direct the student to
effect the amendments, revisions and changes directed by the Panel of
Oral Examiners.

Master of Legal Studies

For the Master of Legal Studies degree, the student shall be required
to submit to the Dean’s Office four (4) major papers. These may be
separately written for graduation purposes, or may be expanded
versions of papers submitted in the different subjects the student may
have completed.
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V. Transfer Units

Subjects taken and units earned in other graduate schools of law (as
well as related disciplines) may be credited at the discretion of the
dean.

VI. Consortium with the Philippine Judicial Academy

1. Under the terms of the Consortium Agreement with the

Philippine Judicial Academy (Supreme Court) any candidate who has
completed the Pre-Judicature Program and passed the Written
Comprehensive Examination given by the Philippine Judicial Academy
shall be credited with fifteen (15) units. HOWEVER, considering that
the period of the Pre-Judicature Program has been recently reduced,
the student shall be required to earn a total of twenty-one (21) units
more, effective Academic Year 2007 – 2008.

2. Judges who have completed at least three (3) round of the

Regional Judicial Career Enhancement program shall be entitled to
fifteen (15) units credit upon endorsement by the Chancellor,
PROVIDED THAT they earn twenty-one (21) units more, effective
Academic Year 2007 – 2008.
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VII. The Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D.) degree:

The degree is non-honorary and is conferred in recognition of the

degree of scholarship and expertise that a professor has achieved in
the science of jurisprudence or law.

There are two modes of earning the degree:

By coursework
By assessment

1. Earning the Degree by Coursework

The degree is non-honorary and is conferred in recognition of the

degree of scholarship and expertise that a professor has achieved in
the science of jurisprudence or law.

The degree is a research degree. This principally means that the

candidate earns the degree by engaging in research that is published,
as well as by completing a reading list that is approved by his
Moderator.

The candidate must submit a doctoral dissertation. It is reviewed by a

Panel of Evaluators consisting of no less than five members, three local
evaluators who possess the doctoral degree and two foreign evaluators
who likewise possess the doctoral degree.

Unit Requirements

The candidate for the degree Doctor of Juridical Science or Doctor of

the Science of Jurisprudence must complete forty-eight (48) academic
units, apart from the units earned for the Master of Laws degree, and
apart from the twelve doctoral dissertation requirement. Towards the
completion of this course-work, credit may also be given, at the
discretion of the dean, in accordance with the provisions that follow.
The student enrolls in any subject offered for the semester, provided
that such subject was not taken for the Master of Laws Program.
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Seminar Requirements

The candidate for the degree must have participated in at least four
important law seminars, if these are international in character, or six
seminars, if these are local in character. The seminars must have had
a duration of at least four days each, at eight (8) hours attendance per
day.

The Graduate School of Law will also offer seminars every semester for
those who do not attend law seminars in other venues. Furthermore,
the Pre-Judicature Program of the Philippine Judicial Academy will be
credited as two (2) seminars towards the doctoral degree. This will
not apply if the Pre-Judicature Program has already been credited
towards the Master of Laws degree.

Attendance and satisfactory completion at these seminars must be

evidenced by the appropriate original certificates as well as attestation
in regard to the candidate by the seminar organizers.

2. Earning the degree by assessment:

Teaching and Lecturing Requirements

To be assessed eligible for the JSD degree, the candidate must have
lectured in at least ten (10) seminars for lawyers or judges on a
subject of law.

The candidate must have also engaged in teaching in a college or

school of law with a load of not less than two (2) major subjects for at
least five (5) years.

Research Requirements

a) The candidate must have published at least one (1) book

nationally distributed, in the field of law.

b) The candidate must submit a reading list of no less than twenty

(20) books in law, that are not textbooks, of at least 200 pages per
book to a Moderator, appointed by the Dean, who must assure himself
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that the books are read, and may require an examination, oral
interview or presentation on these books.

c) The candidate must have published at least ten (10) articles of

law in a scholarly journal of law: such as the Journal of the Integrated
Bar of the Philippines or the Law journal of any reputable law school.

Assessment

Before being allowed to write, present and defend a dissertation, by

the JSD candidate who earns the degree by assessment prepares a
portfolio documenting and evidencing his compliance with the
requirements enumerated above and submits this to a PANEL OF
ASSESSORS that will be constituted by the Dean to determine whether
or not the candidate has satisfactorily met the standards for the
concession of the doctoral degree.

3. Dissertation:

a) The dissertation mentioned above is submitted to the Board of

Trustees of San Beda College through the Office of the Dean.

b) The Moderator must certify the acceptability of the dissertation

particularly that it constitutes the output of the candidate himself, and
that it constitutes an original contribution to the science of
jurisprudence or law.

c) Copies of the dissertation are sent to the Panel of Evaluators

who must certify in writing the academic acceptability of the
dissertation.

d) The candidate then defends his dissertation before a panel of

seven (7) Examiners chaired by the Dean. After the successful
defense of his dissertation, he delivers a lectio coram, a public lecture,
before at least three retired members of the Supreme Court or the
Court of Appeals and no less than seven professors of law aside from
law students. He answers questions asked him during the open forum.
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e) In exceptional cases, the Panel of Assessors may recommend

that the written and published works of the candidate be deemed
compliance with the dissertation requirements, provided: that these
embody the originality and genuine contribution to the
discipline of juridical science exacted of all dissertations. The
dean may accept or reject the proposal of the Panel of
Assessors.

VII. On-Line Subjects

Commencing with the First Semester of Academic Year 2015 - 2016,

some subjects of the Graduate School of Law will be offered on-line.
At the end of the semester, however, the students are required to
meet in the Mendiola campus for the completion exercise – whether it
be an examination, a round-table discussion or a symposium. Failure
to attend this culminating exercise will result in no credit to the
student.