El Doctorate in Law It has specific characteristics, following the best European academic traditions, as it maintains a demand for research based on the highest international standards.
It is structured and aimed at a very small number of doctoral candidates who are highly dedicated to academic activities such as teaching and research and wish to continue in these fields, thus devoting a significant portion of their time to doctoral studies. All the dissertations defended have received excellent feedback from the examining board and have been published by leading publishers in Argentina, Spain, Brazil, and Uruguay.
All slots are fully booked for 2026
The training provided by the Doctoral program and its various requirements aim to ensure that those who obtain the title of Doctor of Law at our University achieve the following objectives:
➤ To delve deeper into the philosophy and theory of Law, along with complementary training in General Philosophy, so that they integrate their legal knowledge with it and can grasp an object of study from new perspectives and achieve a synthesis that will be the foundation on which their study and research task will be developed.
➤ To know and evaluate the relevance of the methods applied in the investigation of national and comparative law and of the different genres of legal literature, so that they are able to distinguish the appropriate ways to investigate an object, to choose among them the most convenient ones and to use them correctly.
➤ To achieve a broad knowledge of the chosen branch of Law and to obtain exhaustive and in-depth knowledge regarding the researched topic.
➤ Acquire the ability to judge the suitability of different theoretical frameworks to explain the issue under study and to achieve fair and appropriate solutions to specific legal problems.
➤ Formulate original theories and create new legal options regarding the topic chosen as a doctoral thesis, avoiding conducting research that is a mere collection of the science developed around a specific object of study.
➤ Incorporate the habit of persisting in the acquisition of a solid scientific-legal training, during and after the completion of the Doctorate.
➤ To acquire the ability to propose, plan and complete studies and research that tend to expand the scientific horizon in the area of Law.
➤ Demonstrate a cooperative disposition in intellectual work, tending to work in a coordinated manner with other researchers.
➤ To achieve an open attitude in the transmission and communication of legal knowledge, opening up to participation in university teaching, and that many make this teaching their profession.
First module: February 2027 (Pilar Headquarters).
Second module: June 2027 (Buenos Aires Headquarters) | Monday to Saturday.
Third module: November 2027 (Buenos Aires Headquarters).
Fourth module: February 2028 (Pilar Headquarters) – to be confirmed.
The Academic Council is an advisory body composed of renowned legal scholars with doctoral degrees from both within the country and abroad, all of whom possess outstanding credentials in higher education. Its members are responsible for making proposals and recommendations on all matters related to the Faculty's Doctoral Program in Law.
Dr. Jesús María Silva Sánchez
Professor of Criminal Law at Pompeu Fabra University of Barcelona, Honorary Professor of the Universidad Austral
Academics Dr. Rodolfo Luis Vigo
Full Professor of Philosophy of Law Universidad Austral and from the National University of the Littoral; Former Minister of the Supreme Court of Justice of Santa Fe
Dr. Osvaldo Roberto Gómez Leo
Professor Emeritus of Credit Titles of the Universidad Austral and from the National University of La Plata
Dr. Rodolfo L. Vigo
Dr. Pedro Rivas Palá
Dr. Juan Bautista Etcheverry
Dr. Joaquín Migliore
Dr. Álvaro Perpere
Dr. Fernando M. Toller
Dr. Luis Poenitz
Dr. Andrés Sánchez Herrero
During the first year, students take courses in "Philosophy of Law" and "Methodology of Legal Research," as well as a subject determined each year by the Doctoral Program authorities (in recent years it has been "Philosophy of Man, the State, and Society"). In that year, students must also complete a Tutorial Seminar, take a language exam, and prepare the final dissertation proposal, which can cover any area of legal science.
Once the thesis project is approved, the doctoral candidate has four years to prepare and present their doctoral thesis for admission to oral and public defense.
Thesis director can be any of the professors with doctorates from the Faculty or any doctor who is a researcher or professor from an Argentine or foreign University with extensive knowledge in the area of knowledge to which the thesis topic corresponds.
To obtain the degree, the doctoral candidate must successfully defend their thesis before a panel of three doctoral members, at least one of whom must be external to the university. Universidad AustralIt is common for one or more members of the tribunal to be professors from foreign universities, who, due to their prestige and knowledge, are invited to come specifically to judge the doctoral thesis.
The title of Doctor is the highest and most prestigious recognition conferred by a university. Therefore, the title of Doctor of Law is the highest degree awarded by the Faculty of Law of the Universidad AustralObtaining it implies that the doctoral candidate, under the supervision of a thesis director, has thoroughly investigated a specific problem in their area of knowledge for several years, usually between four and seven.
As a result of this research, a relevant and in-depth work is produced with scientific rigor, usually with a strong focus on comparative law, arriving at original results and conclusions that enrich the science of law. The doctoral candidate demonstrates this by submitting their doctoral thesis to a tribunal for oral and public defense.
Therefore, the solemn defense of a doctoral thesis is one of the most significant and important academic acts in university life, since it implies the recognition of a person who has collaborated with universal science, and has earned, by doing so, a place within the cloister of Doctors.
The doctorate in law of the Universidad Austral It possesses specific characteristics, in line with the best European academic traditions, as it maintains rigorous research standards at the highest international levels and is decidedly structured and geared towards a very small number of doctoral candidates. These candidates are usually at the beginning of their careers as legal scholars and professors, are strongly committed to academic activities such as teaching and research, wish to continue in these fields, and dedicate a significant portion of their weekly time to doctoral studies.
All the theses that have been defended have not only received excellent comments from the tribunal but have also been published by leading publishers in Argentina, Spain, Brazil and Uruguay.
Duration: 4 intensive 1-week modules
Teachers: Doctors Rodolfo L. Vigo, Carlos Massini Correas, Pedro Rivas Palá and Juan Bautista Etcheverry.
The program focuses exclusively on topics related to the systematic development of the Philosophy of Law. It aims to provide doctoral students with a thorough foundation in legal theory and a re-examination of the problems of legal sources, interpretation, and reasoning, which have implications for all areas of law. However, the most important questions and answers from different periods will also be addressed in the classes, allowing participants to access this perspective and delve deeper into points of interest.
Doctoral students must read all the assigned material before each class. This material will also be distributed to some doctoral students so they can present concise summaries of the required readings. During and especially after each class presentation, the professor will encourage discussion, prompting questions and suggesting answers, ensuring that these answers are coherent. An active and inquisitive role will be strongly encouraged among the doctoral students, who will also be expected to demonstrate synthesis, reflection, depth, dialogue, and coherence.
To pass the course, a "concept grade" will be considered, determined by the quality and quantity of class participation and preparation. The doctoral candidate must also take a theoretical-practical midterm exam. after the completion of each intensive week
Teachers: doctors Andrés Sánchez Herrero,Fernando Toller, Luis Poenitz and Juan Bautista Etcheverry.
The subject consists of a methodological-practical study of research in Law and legal literature and, in particular, of matters relating to the development of the doctoral thesis.
The first objective of the course is to introduce doctoral students in the PhD program to basic legal research techniques and legal scholarship, with a predominantly practical focus, while also including relevant references to legal theory. The second and main objective is to introduce doctoral students to the basic conceptual and instrumental knowledge necessary for writing a doctoral dissertation according to international standards.
The specific objectives are:
The subject has no exams. To pass, the professors assess the student's participation in the classes and their acquisition of the practical knowledge taught.
Professor: Dr. Joaquín Migliore.
This course offers a broad overview of some of the major themes in Philosophy. It aims to introduce legal students beginning their scientific research to important questions in Anthropology, Metaphysics, Ethics, and Political Philosophy—questions that humanity has repeatedly posed throughout the last twenty centuries. Therefore, the course does not aspire to be a program typical of a Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, but rather to encourage legal students to reflect on the ultimate foundations of things and the place of legal issues within the context of reality, serving as a complement to and expansion of the previously studied Philosophy of Law course.
The course is highly participatory, based on assigned readings and materials for class discussion. The quality of this participation will be assessed for the final grade. Furthermore, to pass the course, doctoral students must take a theoretical exam at the end of the course.
Through our personalized academic advising system, we ensure a smooth relationship with professors. In addition to their thesis advisor, each participant is assigned a faculty advisor, with whom they meet regularly to discuss their academic and general progress.
The advising of doctoral students, carried out on an individual basis, is an important aspect of the educational function that is developed in the Faculty of Law.
One of the essential virtues of the Doctorate in Law of the Universidad Austral It is the firm will of the Faculty and career authorities to put, time and again, the necessary means to make a doctoral program with all the requirements that these studies have in central countries in legal and educational matters.
Many provisions of the above are based on this conviction. Regulations for the Doctorate in Law The regulations—which complement and govern the curriculum—aim to enshrine in legal norms high standards for research and the production of a quality doctoral dissertation. Many of these provisions are also inspired by the idea that the Doctoral Program regulations should be a “procedural code,” with expiration dates and deadlines, in order to create a streamlined pace in doctoral studies. In this way, the program seeks to counteract the centrifugal force that modern life exerts on the core focus of the program, which is research and thoughtful reflection.
The Faculty of Law has a comprehensive and demanding Doctoral Regulation, which governs the lives of the various actors in all its postgraduate programs: directors, professors, officials, and students.
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