DOCTORATE IN LAW

The Doctoral in Law is aimed at individuals who have obtained an official university Master’s degree or an equivalent qualification and who wish to specialize in the field of Law and/or Legal Sciences in order to contribute to scientific research; pursue teaching in any area or specialty of Law; or carry out high-level research in a specialized field of Legal Sciences that significantly contributes to the advancement of knowledge in their area of expertise.

Applicants to the Doctoral Program in Law should preferably possess:

• Interests: An interest in understanding how societies function; legal norms, systems, and sciences across different countries and political and cultural contexts; markets and macro- and microeconomic environments; analyzing socio-political phenomena and their interrelations; a taste for information analysis, interviewing, and human interaction; as well as promoting proposals for change, constructive critical analysis, new theories for interpreting legal norms, the creation of new concepts adapted to current trends, and solutions to socio-political phenomena.
• Aptitudes: Verbal reasoning skills, accuracy and speed in responding to work-related situations, mastery of language, strong attention and concentration, creativity, and ingenuity.
• Attitudes: A spirit of service; a positive, participatory, and critical outlook; and a desire to develop and expand opportunities within different sectors.

The main objective of this doctoral program is to train men and women with doctoral degrees who contribute meaningfully to the human, scientific, and technological development of society in the field of legal science. The program aims to educate high-level specialist professionals oriented toward the practice of research applied to solving problems in their communities and regions, in relation to their interaction within both national and international contexts.

• To create a learning environment in which students can develop their capacities for curiosity, inquiry, and the generation of formative questions, and are able to understand how to promote educational growth and implement it using the tools and knowledge acquired throughout the program.
• To provide continuous academic support to students throughout the program by a group of experienced specialist faculty members who will guide them in the development of the doctoral program, ensuring a high program completion rate.
• To foster in students sufficient theoretical knowledge so that, together with the development of their research, analytical, and critical skills, they can explore legal problems and realities, identify the theoretical models relevant to their object of study and their application, solve a problem, and generate knowledge that contributes to Law through legal science and/or the applied legal system in the Mexican context.
• To prepare doctoral students as professionals who understand the process of applying legal science theories to problem-solving with an impact on the rule of law, the legal system, communities, and regions.
• To provide an environment in which doctoral students become specialists in their chosen field of study.
• To offer a theoretical learning framework in which doctoral students achieve sufficient mastery of the use of different learning tools and methods, from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives.
• To promote in Doctor of Law students a deep understanding of organizations and legal science, from their origins to the present, so that they understand their object of study and field of action.
• To maintain, throughout the entire program, ethical reflection and a global, national, and international perspective in all activities carried out by the student.

Career Opportunities

Upon completion of the doctoral program, graduates will be able to hold senior management positions, being capable of managing and overseeing the functional area in which they work, as well as serving as academic professionals in teaching at all levels, specialized in Law. They will have access to the following career opportunities:

• Specialized lawyer

• Legal consultant

• Researcher in international organizations

• Legal advisor

• Judicial expert witness

• Director of research in legal institutions

• Public policy consultant

Study Plan

First Semester

This initial phase focuses on coordinating the program between the student and the assigned advisor. With the advisor’s support, the student will prepare a draft proposal for the doctoral dissertation. The academic organization of the doctoral program requires the development of a work plan, the outline of which must be completed during this stage. This work plan should include a timeline of research activities and must be aligned with the academic structure of the current curriculum.

Within this plan, the assigned advisor guides the doctoral candidate in defining the dissertation topic, research objectives, hypotheses, and methodology, based on the student’s chosen research area.

During the first semester, students are required to complete a mandatory course titled Constitutional Theory and Review Systems. This course is designed to provide the knowledge and competencies necessary to develop solutions that contribute to human, scientific, and technological advancement within the doctoral student’s chosen research area.

Second Semester

In this second phase, the doctoral student must continue working on the development of the doctoral dissertation, always under the guidance and academic support of the faculty. As in the previous semester, students are required to follow a timeline of activities that ensures proper monitoring and steady progress.

During the second semester, the doctoral student must complete two mandatory courses: Introduction to Research Methods and Theory and Systems of Human Rights. These courses are designed to provide the knowledge and competencies necessary to develop solutions that contribute to human, scientific, and technological advancement within the doctoral student’s chosen research area.

Third Semester

Throughout the third semester, the doctoral student is required to complete a set of courses, the first three of which are mandatory and the last one an elective chosen by the student.

Fourth Semester

In this phase, the doctoral student must continue working on the development of the doctoral dissertation, always under the guidance and academic support of the faculty. As in the previous semesters, students are required to follow a timeline of activities that ensures proper monitoring and steady progress.

The advisor will support the student in carrying out academic activities related to the research project, as well as in the drafting, review, and further development of the doctoral dissertation. The advisor is also responsible for monitoring the student’s academic progress and ensuring compliance with the minimum requirements established for the timely and proper completion of the dissertation.
During this semester, the doctoral student must also select and complete an additional elective course.

Fifth and Sixth Semesters

In these final phases, under the supervision of the dissertation advisor, the doctoral student must complete the writing of the dissertation, finalize the research, and fulfill the graduation requirements.

Academic Itinerary

Semestre 1

• Advising Phase I
• Scientific Research Methodology
• Constitutional Theory and Review Systems

Semestre 2

• Advising Phase II
• Introduction to Research Methods
• Theory and System of Human Rights

Semestre 3

• Public International Law Systems
• Civil Law
• Criminal Procedure System
• Elective I

Semestre 4

• Research Phase I
• Findings and Actions of the Research
• Elective II
• Seminar on the Evolution of Legal Thought
• Seminar on Theories of Crime and Punishment
• Legal Argumentation
• Information Law Systems

Semestre 5

• Research Phase II
• Doctoral Dissertation Initiation Phase

Semestre 6

• Doctoral Dissertation Development
• Doctoral Dissertation Project

Research Lines

Research Area 1. Human Rights. International
human rights treaties. Rights and theories of human rights. Universal
protection systems and human rights institutions. International
humanitarian law. National and international human rights proceedings,
resolutions, and case law, examined from the perspective of legal
science.
Research Area 2. Constitutional Law. Constitutional
theory; Mexican and Latin American constitutionalism. Fundamental
rights. National and supranational protection. Mechanisms of
constitutional review. Constitutional procedural law. Constitutional
courts. Constitutional reforms.
Research Area 3. Public
International Law. International regulations governing the exploitation
of common goods. International conflicts. International norms and legal
effects concerning nuclear disarmament, climate change, armed groups,
migration, displaced persons, and refugees. International treaties.
Normative aspects of neutrality. Regulations governing diplomacy and
consular affairs. Universal and international bodies.
Research Area 4. Criminal
Law System. National and international criminal law systems. The
unification of criminal law. The significance of the accusatory criminal
system and the rule of law. Systems of enforcement of criminal
sanctions. Legal and technical methods for investigating conventional
crimes, cybercrime, and organized crime. Precautionary measures.
Alternative and restorative justice. Public security and criminological
policies within criminal and procedural law. Theories of crime and
punishment.
Research Area 5. Civil Law. Family
law and emerging approaches to the concept of family. Marriage and its
adaptation to new models. The crisis of civil law. Trends and
perspectives in contemporary civil law. Theories of new forms of
property registration. Current trends in inheritance law. New
contractual forms.
Research Area 6. Legal Argumentation and Interpretation. The axiology of language in legal argumentation. Interpretive, legislative, judicial, and non-judicial arguments.
Research Area 7. Information Law. Contemporary
legal systems and the right to information. Public policies shaping the
exercise of the right to information: transparency culture, access to
information, and accountability. Classification, collection, and
management of data and information. Models, means, and mechanisms for
data and information protection. Procedures and mechanisms for
exercising the right to information.