This year, Boston College Law School expanded its academic programs with a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD), a prestigious degree that adds BC’s name to the select list of law schools that offer it. The program is designed for students from around the world who are interested in careers in academics, research, policymaking, and high-level positions in public and private sectors.
“The SJD program is a wonderful way to further enrich our research and scholarly community,” said BC Law’s Aziz Rana, the J. Donald Monan, SJ, University Professor of Law and Government, who chaired the SJD task force that helped to launch the program. “It connects us to talented emerging academics from around the world and allows them to engage with our incredible faculty. I’m personally very excited to learn from these students and thrilled that BC is creating more opportunities to mentor and promote new generations of scholars.”
Belén Palomo García is leading the way as the SJD’s inaugural student. She is assigned a primary faculty advisor, who serves as the chair of her three-member doctoral committee. “Belén is the ideal young scholar to help us pioneer this new program. She is gifted, resourceful, and highly determined to succeed,” said committee chair Frank Garcia.
In the first year, Palomo Garcia—and future SJD students—will participate in three separate, two-credit, directed readings with each of their committee members, and will also take a minimum of six credits of upper-level courses at the Law School or other Boston College schools and departments. Between the first and second year, students will draft a dissertation prospectus to be presented to the faculty in the third semester of the program. The students will then participate in guided research with their committee while they complete their dissertation, and will also have a variety of opportunities to teach, both in partnership with faculty and on their own.
“Having been a highly successful LLM student here, Belén is fully committed to developing a scholarly agenda and creating knowledge for social good in the best Jesuit tradition,” Garcia said. “She is in every sense a co-venturer in shaping the contours of our new program.”
Palomo García, who was born, raised, and studied law in Spain, came to BC Law School through the LLM Program in 2023. Prior to her arrival, she worked for a number of years in her native country as an employment lawyer in corporate law firms then got a master’s degree in education and became an in-house lawyer at a private Catholic university before moving with her husband to Boston. She graduated from the LLM Program in 2024 and stayed on as a visiting scholar for a year before becoming the SJD’s inaugural student.
Q. Much of your research while an LLM student and visiting scholar has been on the role of philanthropy in higher education. Tell us more about that.
During my LLM, I took different courses in philanthropy and in tax exempt organizations because I was impacted by the role of philanthropy in the United States. I come from a country that has a welfare model where education, health, and the basics are covered, so philanthropy is not a thing. At BC Law, I wrote papers exploring philanthropy in the context of higher education, a role that is huge not only in positive ways, but also maybe in negative ways, including how it impacts institutional freedom and where the money is put.
My SJD project has three pillars: higher education, philanthropy law, and globalization. The main question is, how is it possible that despite receiving billions of dollars, higher education is still considered a luxury good for students and why is it transitioning towards being a tradable commodity instead of a public good, not only in the US but also globally. This reflects a broader global trend, as even welfare-oriented countries are increasingly moving toward market-driven models in higher education.
I want to focus on students and the financial pressures they deal with. It doesn’t just limit where they can work, but it also holds them back from choosing the kind of life they really want. This ties into bigger issues of social justice and access. It’s not enough to just provide resources. Those resources have to actually reach people and make a difference.
Q. How have BC’s own legal scholars provided encouragement or insights into this topic, and who are you most excited to be working with as a doctoral student?
I’m going to be working with members of my SJD Faculty Committee [of advisors]. They’re all amazing. They were really supportive during my time in the LLM program, and that’s why I felt I wanted to continue at BC—I share the values and feel totally comfortable and supported by the community, especially the professors.
One is Professor Frank Garcia, for the global perspective. He’s the chair of my committee. I took a seminar with him as an LLM student, and he was my sponsor during the visiting scholar period. I’m also working with Professor Ray Madoff for philanthropy law. She wasn’t officially my professor, but she was invited to one of my classes and I was amazed by the things she said. The third pillar is going to be higher education, and I’m taking a course in the BC’s Lynch School of Education and am connecting with amazing scholars there. If everything goes well, the third member of the committee is going to be with one of them.
Q. Can you talk about where your interest in law came from?
Two things drew me to law. First, admiration for my older brother, who was the only one in my family who was a lawyer. I shared a lot of time with him and was always curious about what he was doing. I put that together with the fact that I had a strong sense of social justice and wanted to connect my professional career with social service. That was reinforced by my Jesuit background as well.
Q. What appealed to you about BC Law?
I connected with it from the very first moment because, like Jesuits, BC Law puts a strong emphasis on freedom and social justice. As a part of the LLM community, I also made great connections within the JD program. I’m glad that we were sharing the same space and classes. That was enriching and key to my living a real American university experience.
Q. How have BC Law’s values, including its dedication to helping students discover their own paths to fulfilling careers that allow them to serve others, impacted you?
I think Jesuit education institutions work the same wherever they are, so BC Law was a reaffirmation of where I wanted to be. Everything is regarded from the perspective of service, which makes a big difference when thinking about your future. Students, professors, and staff share the same mindset.
Q. What led you to stay on as a visiting scholar after the LLM program?
When I finished my LLM, I had just become a mom for the first time, and our family needed to decide whether to remain here or go back to Spain. Part of my decision to stay was my curiosity about whether academia might be a good path for me; being a visiting scholar provided an opportunity to find out. When I was working in the law firms in Spain, everything was so fast that I didn’t have time to dive deep into the issues. Academia might allow me to enjoy, read, and think about things that have an impact on me.
For me, academia isn’t just a rewarding career. It also lets me really enjoy my family, which is the most important part of my life. My husband, who’s also a researcher, has been amazing and has supported me every step of the way.
Q. What are you most excited about going into this program?
I’ve been working for so many years without real passion, that now I feel blessed just to go to work and be genuinely excited about what I’m doing. Even though it’s tough being away from home part of the day with my son and the baby on the way, I feel like I’m showing them something really important: that your career can be a way to help others, that it’s okay to go after your dreams, and that life isn’t just something that happens to you. We have the power, and the responsibility, to take control of our own lives.
Q. You mentioned your husband is in research. How has his support impacted where you are today?
He’s working at Massachusetts General Hospital doing research, and he was 100 percent the key for me to be here. At one point I was very close to backing out during the SJD application process, but he was my main supporter and inspired me to commit to it. He knew that I really wanted to pursue this SJD program despite its challenges.
Q. Is there anything else you want people to know about your own experience or this program as you’re starting?
First, that it’s an honor to be sharing my experience. Second, when deciding what to do in your life, don’t assume things have to be like they are. For me, I spent years in my Spanish context, which was very nice but very limited and left me with this sentiment: “This is what it is, this is my life, I can’t change it.” Change came down to a matter of trust, a belief based on my Catholic perspective; I just trust God. As long as I’m giving more, I receive more. I came to trust that there’s always a chance to change, and for that, I need to trust. And if nothing happens, that’s fine, right? There’s always a way back home.
Photograph by Vicki Sanders