Law and Theology (Dr. utr. iur.)

Program Overview

The Doctor Utriusque Iuris (Dr. utr. iur.) in Law and Theology is a research doctorate in both laws — the civil law descended from Rome and the canon law of the church — studied together with the theology that shaped them. From the twelfth century the law faculty of Bologna and its successors conferred the doctorate in utroque iure on scholars who had mastered both laws, and for centuries the doctor of both laws was the model of the learned jurist. Many of the West's foundational legal ideas were worked out in that double training, where theological questions about sin, intention, consent, and justice became legal questions. Doctoral students study Roman law in Gaius and in Justinian's Corpus Iuris Civilis, its revival by the glossators and commentators, and its reception in the modern civil codes; the sources and method of canon law from Gratian and the decretals to the codes of 1917, 1983, and 1990; and the theological foundations of law in Augustine, Aquinas, the second scholastics, and the Reformers. Seminars examine how theology shaped legal concepts such as natural law, equity, conscience, consent, and personhood, and how legal reasoning in turn shaped theology. Graduates teach and research in faculties of law, canon law, and theology, serve ecclesiastical and international institutions, and write the history and theory of law. The dissertation makes an original contribution to the study of law and theology across the two legal traditions. The Dr. utr. iur. is a research doctorate; it is not a professional qualification for admission to the bar or for the practice of law in any jurisdiction.

Core Courses

• IUR 801 — Roman Law and the Civil-Law Tradition (6 credits)
• IUR 812 — Canon Law: Sources, Codes, and Method (6 credits)
• IUR 824 — Theology and the Foundations of Law (6 credits)
• IUR 836 — Legal Concepts and Their Theological Origins (6 credits)
• IUR 848 — Seminar in Law and Theology (5 credits)
• IUR 860 — Doctoral Research Design in Both Laws (4 credits)
• IUR 899 — Doctoral Dissertation in Law and Theology (24 credits)

Admission Requirements

• Master's degree, licentiate, or professional degree in law, canon law, theology, or a related field
• Reading knowledge of Latin, or willingness to develop it during the first year of study
• Research proposal identifying a question in civil law, canon law, or both
• Scholarly writing sample
• Current curriculum vitae
• Official transcripts from prior institutions when available
• Signed acknowledgment that the degree is a research doctorate and not a qualification for bar admission