I am interested in people's views about which is the most highly regarded doctoral program for international law and legal theory:
Oxford DPhil
Cambridge PhD
Harvard SJD
NYU JSD
Columbia JSD

I would be inclined to think that this would be a close contest between Cambridge and NYU.

I'd say it depends on whether you want to focus more on international law or legal theory.

Having said that, and although Oxford is obviously brilliant for legal theory and Cambridge and NYU are clearly amazing for international law, the Harvard SJD would probably still come out on top in terms of prestige.

Although some people seem to think a PhD is a step above an SJD.

In all likelihood, it will be down to Cambridge or NYU. Thoughts?

imo:
- legal theory: Oxford
- international law: Cambridge, probably equal to NYU (but people will have different views on this - Cambridge would probably be more highly regarded in the UK/Europe)

(NYU is pretty good for legal theory too)

Another thing to think about is that the Oxford DPhil will get you effectively two degrees - the Mst and the DPhil (even though the Mst is not really taken very seriously and there is the additional hurdle to advance at the end of the Mst year to the DPhil, but I think thats similar in Cambridge).

Also, depending on your Visa status and on whether you get/got any scholarships costs in the UK might be lower/higher than in the US.

pay attention: a SJD is not a PhD... in the US (with very few exceptions) is not offered a PhD in law. You may want to apply to a PhD in Political Science, major in International Relations and minor in International Law...