It generally takes six years to complete the Ph.D. program. It can take seven years if the student also earns their JD at Berkeley Law with the JSP Ph.D. If the student chooses to earn their JD at another law school, which requires taking a leave from the JSP program to do so, it may take another two to three years to finish the program, depending on how many courses count at both schools. The JSP Ph.D. program itself is about two and a half years of coursework, a year of independent and small group study to prepare for the exams, and lastly two and a half years of dissertation preparation.