Academic Policies Addendum
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 University 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 a 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 to 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 be 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 and UTRIUSQUE JURIS, the student must be a cleric recommended by his Ordinary or a religious recommended by the Provincial Superior.
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 (JSD.) program. Those who hold the degree DOCTOR OF CANON LAW (JCD) may be admitted to the JSD program provided that they complete a bridging program of two semesters at twelve units per semester on Philippine and International Law. 3
6. The decision of the Dean on 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 University.
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 students research topics and requires the submission of research papers, any other written or structured exercise, or meets with the online at his option.
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 to commence 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 e grounds for academic demerit if not the termination of tenure in the Graduate School of Law.
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 a 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 on 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 University.
IV. Grades and Grading System
1. The grading system in the graduate school is as follows:
Grade Point Equivalence | Percentage Equivalence | Grade Description | Letter Grade Equivalence | |||
1.00 | 96.00-100.00 | Excellent | A+ | |||
1.25 | 94.00-95.99 | Superior | A | |||
1.50 | 91.00-93.99 | Very Good | A- | |||
1.75 | 89.00-90.99 | Good | B+ | |||
2.00 | 86.00-88.99 | Very Satisfactory | B | |||
2.25 | 83.00-85.99 | High Average | B- | |||
2.50 | 80.00-82.99 | Average | C+ | |||
2.75 | 77.00-79.99 | Below Average | C | |||
3.00 | 75.00-76.99 | Pass | C- | |||
5.00 | 74.00 and Below | Fail | F | |||
FA | Failure due to Absences | |||||
W | Withdraw | |||||
INC | Incomplete |
For doctoral students, now grades below 2.0 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 must be approved 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, compliance with course requirements, and attendance at activities required by the professor.
VI. Graduation Requirement
1. The candidate for the degree Master of Laws, who follows the Thesis Track must complete thirty (33) 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 units)
Any Human Rights Subject (3 units)
Track Subjects:
Any five subjects either from
Political Law
International Law
Commercial Law
Civil Law
Canon Law
(15 units)
Cognate Subjects
Any two subjects from a Different Track (6 units)
Institutional Requirement
One Canon Law Subject (3 units)
The presentation of a Thesis after the approval by the Dean of the Thesis Proposal and the public defense of the thesis at which the student obtains a passing grade prerequisite for graduation.
Non-Thesis Program:
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 (48) 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 units)
Human Rights (3 units)
Major Subjects
Subjects in Legal Studies (30 units)
Cognate Subjects
Subjects from other tracks of the Graduate School of Law (6 units)
Institutional Requirement
Canon Law: General Norms (3 units)
Major Papers:
Aside from the paper requirements of each subject that the professors are at liberty to assign, every candidate for graduation must present one publishable article that will be reviewed by the professors. It is only when the professors give a passing grade to the article that the requirement is deemed fulfilled. Those who pursue the thesis track in the LLM and JSD students are to re-configure their theses and dissertations into publishable articles.
Rules for Theses and Dissertations:
1. No thesis for the master’s degree shall be less than one hundred (100) pages, one and a half-space, font twelve (12). No dissertation for the JSD degree shall be less than two hundred (200) pages, one and a half spaces, font twelve (12). The Thesis and Dissertation Writing Guide of the Graduate School of Law as written by the Dean shall be followed.
2. Prior to the defense, the thesis or the dissertation shall be sent to 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 fails 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
The following tracks are available for Master of Legal Studies students:
1. Political Law
2. International Law
3. Criminal Justice Administration
4. Economic Law
5. Utriusque Juris: For members of the clergy and religious
Written Comprehensive Examination
Starting Academic Year 2022- 2023, all students (MLS, LLM thesis and non-thesis track, JSD) must take the Written Comprehensive Examination
Each student shall choose six subjects from all the subjects taken, no two of which must be with the same professor. It is on these subjects that the student will be examined.
A student who fails the Written Comprehensive Examination is not eligible for graduation.
VI. 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.
VIII. 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 requirements. The student must take at least two canon law subjects. Towards the completion of this coursework, credit may also be given, at the dean's discretion, in accordance with the following provisions. The student enrolls in any subject offered for the semester, provided that such a subject was not taken for the Master of Laws Program.
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 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, 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 University 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 during the open forum.
e) In exceptional cases, the Panel of Assessors may recommend that the written and published works of the candidate be deemed compliant 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.
VIII. On-Line Subjects
Instruction in the Graduate School of Law is delivered online. At the option of the professor, face-to-face classes may be held. The Written Comprehensive Examination requires the presence of the students on campus, as does the defense either of the thesis or the dissertation.
When the professor chooses to deliver instruction physically (face-to-face), the student who, because of geographical distance or occupation, is unable to attend the classes, may request the Dean for permission to drop the subject and take another subject.
(sgt.)
Fr. Ranhilio Callangan Aquino
Dean
