The Doctorate is the highest level of university studies. It is designed as a period of specialized formation under the direction of a professor, and is intended to last from four to five years. It provides a high degree of qualification in the subject chosen by the doctoral student. It includes a period of formation with seminar-style classes, followed by a period of research that is concluded by the defense of the doctoral dissertation. The dissertation is an original work of research on a topic related to the scientific area of the Doctoral program chosen.

The Doctorate program has as its objective the specialized formation of researchers and university teachers. It provides an in-depth exposure to the scientific advances in the area of law which is studied by each candidate.

During the half-century of history of the University of Navarra, more than 5,000 doctoral dissertations have been defended, of which more than 300 were from the School of Law.