HLS Dissertations, Theses, and Third Year Papers in the Library
The following is a brief introduction to the various types of student-authored works held by the Library. Over the years, there have been changes in written work requirements for HLS degrees, changes in Library collection practices, and also changes in the way these items are described in the HOLLIS catalog. For instance, many early third year papers are designated as theses in the catalog, and early LL.M. papers are described only as student papers. For these reasons, the linked lists of documents below may not be complete. Best access for any specific paper is by author.
For assistance locating HLS student papers of any kind, please consult a librarian in either of the reference departments or in the Special Collections Department.
Note that recently acquired papers may not be fully processed for use. If the catalog record lacks a call number, providing instead only a link to "Availability," please fill out this form to have the item "rush cataloged."
LL.M. Papers, LL.M. Theses
The Master of Laws degree has been awarded since 1923. About half of the LL.M. candidates write a 75- to 100-page paper on a topic developed in consultation with a faculty supervisor (“LL.M. paper”). A handful write the more extensive LL.M. thesis, an option aimed at those with previously published scholarship. LL.M. candidates from the United States holding a J.D. must write either the LL.M. paper or the LL.M. thesis. Since 1993, international students in the LL.M. program may opt to do neither but instead complete, at minimum, a research paper of 25 or more pages.
The library generally holds HLS LL.M. papers, theses, and shorter papers. In the HOLLIS catalog, no distinction is made between any type of written work created in satisfaction of the LL.M. degree; all are described as an LL.M. thesis. Numbers of pages are indicated, however, which provides a hint of whether the piece was a thesis, paper, or shorter work. The Library holds two copies of each item, one in the general collection shelved by subject matter, and one in the Red Set, an archival collection of works authored by HLS affiliates. Please consult the general collection copy whenever possible. Red Set copies can be viewed in the Special Collections Department at the south end of the Reading Room.
Besides Library copies, some theses are available in a microfiche collection, Hein’s Legal Theses and Dissertations, described below.
Browse Harvard Law School written work for the LL.M. degree including papers, theses and shorter papers in reverse chronological order. (Date ranges designed to produce less than 1000 results in order to optimize HOLLIS performance.)
1999-2006
1986-1998
1923-1985
Browse Harvard Law School written work for the LL.M. degree as well as S.J.D. dissertations in reverse chronological order. (Date ranges designed to produce less than 1000 results in order to optimize HOLLIS performance.)
2000-2006
1987-1999
1910-1986Selected papers authored by students pursuing the LL.M. with a concentration in International Finance are available from 2000 to present.
To find an LL.M. paper or thesis on a particular topic, use the HOLLIS Expanded Search Screen and search for title words Harvard Law School Thesis and your topic terms as keywords anywhere. Note that S.J.D. dissertations may be included in your results.
S.J.D. Dissertations
The Doctor of Juridical Science program began at HLS in 1910. The Library holds nearly all HLS S.J.D. dissertations. The few exceptions are due to scholars’ requests to withhold Library deposit. These requests are now rarely accommodated. The Library holds two copies of each dissertation, one in the general collection shelved by subject matter, and one in the Red Set, an archival collection of works authored by HLS affiliates. Please consult the general collection copy whenever possible. Red Set copies can be viewed in the Special Collections Department at the south end of the Reading Room.
Browse S.J.D. Dissertations in reverse chronological order.
To find a dissertation on a particular topic use the HOLLIS Expanded Search Screen and search for title keywords Harvard Law School Thesis, use the not connector for keyword LL.M., and your topic words anywhere. For help constructing this search, please see a reference librarian. Either of the sources listed below may also be used to identify a dissertation on a particular topic.
Dissertations and Theses Full Text (Harvard ID and PIN required) This resource contains dissertations and masters' theses from most North American graduate schools and some European universities. It contains some HLS dissertations, but not theses. Although this resource has many dissertations in full text, it does not provide full text for HLS dissertations. The coverage of HLS dissertations begins in 1972 and is selective; there are fewer listed here than in HOLLIS. Search by Harvard in School Name/Code and S.J.D. in Degree. (Include the periods in S.J.D.)
Hein’s Legal Theses and Dissertations Mic K556.H45x 1995 (Drawer 948-949)
Produced in 1995, this microfiche set includes copies of legal theses and dissertations from Harvard and other premier law schools including NYU, Yale, Columbia, and Berkeley among others. (See the HOLLIS record linked above for a complete list of schools.) Years of coverage for each school vary, but usually begin from the earliest dissertations and theses produced at the school. Most HLS dissertations and about half of the theses are included. HOLLS records indicate whether or not an HLS thesis or dissertation is included and provide the Hein finding number, e.g. 002-00052. There is a print numerical index to the set organized by school available in the Microforms Reference collection at K556.H45x, but this index is nearly useless. It is not in chronological, subject, or alphabetical order. For better access to the collection, consult the CD Index described below.
The Index to Law School Theses and Dissertations Ref Desk KF 1.S55
This CD index covers all theses and dissertations in Hein's Legal Theses and Dissertations on microfiche, as well as dissertations and theses authored between 1995, the publication of the Hein microfiche set, and 1998, the publication of the CD. This index has not been updated since 1998. The CD’s introduction provides a list of other bibliographies and collections of legal theses and dissertations.For best access, use the Thesis Standard Query, which is the last option in the Search menu. The Thesis Standard Query provides access by author, title, degree, year, school, and keyword. Results include this information as well as the fiche finding number, if included in the microfiche set.
Third Year Papers
The third year paper is the written work requirement for JD students. This requirement has been in place since 1938. The library holds a very small percentage of them. It is up to grading faculty members to deposit with the Library papers they consider outstanding. The long-standing practice of depositing papers with the library, however, has nearly ceased. Third year papers held by the Library are in the Red Set, an archival collection of works authored by HLS affiliates. To obtain a specific paper, consult the Special Collections department at the south end of the Reading Room.Browse third year papers in reverse chronological order. (Date ranges designed to produce less than 1000 results in order to optimize HOLLIS performance.)
1958-2006
1952-1957
1946-1951
1936-1945
1935-1944
1915-1934
Many third-year papers produced in conjunction with the HLS Food & Drug Law seminar are available from 1995 forward through the HLS Legal Electronic Document Archive (LEDA). Use the option to "Search local LEDA server only" and put in the subject word "food" to browse those available. Access to these papers is also available through Food & Drug Law: An Electronic Book of Student Papers.To find a third year paper on a particular topic, use the HOLLIS Expanded Search Screen and search for Harvard Law School Third Year Paper as title words and your topic terms as keywords anywhere.
Note that a significant number of older third year papers are designated as theses. For help locating these, please consult a reference librarian.
Student Papers and Seminar Papers
The final categories of HLS student-authored works are the "student papers" and "seminar papers" collections. These collections include any paper deposited with the library by a faculty member that is not clearly designated as a dissertation, thesis, or third year paper. They may have in fact been one of those paper types, but lacked clearly identifying information. The distinction between student and seminar paper is not significant. (If the paper indicates it was produced in satisfaction of a seminar requirement, it is designated as a seminar paper. Otherwise it is added as a student paper.) These collections include "pathfinders," detailed research guides created for the Advanced Legal Research course.
To find a student paper or seminar paper on a particular topic, use the HOLLIS Expanded Search Screen and search for title words Harvard Law School Student Paper or Harvard Law School Seminar Paper and your topic terms as keywords anywhere.
Prize Papers
HLS has many endowed prizes for student papers and essays. Details for each are listed in the Harvard Law School Catalog. Prize winners are announced each year in the commencement pamphlet and mentioned annually in the Harvard Law Bulletin, the alumni magazine. The Library has not specifically collected prize papers over the years but has recently initiated the practice of requesting copies when possible. When the Library is made aware of the fact that a paper in the collection is a prize recipient, a note indicating that status is sometimes added to the HOLLIS record for that paper.
Harvard Law School Prize Essays: 1850-1868
This is a collection of handwritten prize essays covering a wide array of topics studied at that time, such as torts, domestic relations, property, admiralty, partnership, common law, and pleading. See the finding aid for a full description of this collection.Addison Brown Prize Essay
Awarded annually or biannually for the best student essay on a subject related to private international law or maritime law.
Browse those papers held by the Library designated as recipients.Irving Oberman Memorial Award
Awarded annually for the best student essays on a specified, current legal subjects. See the appropriate HLS Catalog for the annual topics.
Browse those papers held by the Library designated as recipients.John Gallup Laylin Prize
Awarded annually to the best student paper in the field of public international law.
Browse those papers held by the Library designated as recipients.John M. Olin Prizes
Awarded annually for the best student paper written in the area of law and economics.
Browse those papers held by the Library designated as recipients.Mancini Prize
Awarded annually to the best student essay in the field of European Union law.
Browse those papers held by the Library designated as recipients.Sidney I. Roberts Prize
Awarded annually to the best student paper in the field of taxation.Victor Brudney Prize
Awarded annually to the best student paper on a topic related to corporate governance.Yong K. Kim Memorial Prize
Awarded to the best student paper on the law or legal history of East Asia or legal issues surrounding U.S.-East Asia relations.
Written by Deanna Barmakian.