* 2008 Admitted students: Click here for pre-departure information. *

 

The Law Center is happy to announce an opportunity for our J.D. students, especially students entering their third year, to spend a semester or (with one program) a year living and studying in a foreign country.

The Semester Abroad program arranges for students to study abroad for a semester at one of several outstanding law schools.  The students will be registered at the Law Center so that they are eligible for financial aid and other assistance, but they will also enroll and attend classes at the host school in Asia, Europe, Latin America, or the Middle East. 

Schools available in Fall 2008 will be Torcuato di Tella University in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Tsinghua University in Beijing, China; Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, Germany; National Law School of India University in Bangalore (NLS); the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel; the University of Leiden in the Netherlands; ESADE Law School in Barcelona, Spain; and the National University of Singapore School of Law (NUS) in Singapore

The language of instruction at Tsinghua, Leiden, Bucerius, NLS in India, Hebrew University, and Singapore is English.  The instructional language at Torcuato and ESADE is Spanish; applicants for that school will need to have near-fluency in Spanish. 

In spring 2009 (from mid-April through mid-July), there will be an opportunity for students (probably second-year J.D.’s) at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.  The language of instruction is German. 

The courses available vary by the foreign law school, but they generally include international law, international business and trade, human rights, and (in Europe) European Union subjects.  A student can receive up to a maximum of 14 Georgetown credits for a semester’s study abroad.  Course availability, credit equivalency, and course scheduling vary from program to program.  Experience has shown that students usually end up taking between 12-13 credits.  The Georgetown transcript will show the name of the foreign institution and the number of credits earned, but will not indicate the grades or courses completed.

In addition, students can apply for the year-long program in Paris at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and Paris I (part of the Sorbonne).  This program awards a Master’s in Global Economic Law.  Fourteen of the credits earned through this program will also transfer to the J.D. degree.  This program requires that the student complete an additional semester here at Georgetown (though without any additional tuition requirement).  Half of the courses are in French and half in English; fluency or near-fluency in French is required.

This program is designed to offer students a variety of semester abroad opportunities in which the students will be immersed in a foreign culture, studying transnational, international, and/or foreign law.  This allows students to develop international and transnational legal perspectives, as well as to prepare themselves for careers that will take them beyond the borders of the United States.

The application due date is Thursday, March 13, 2008.

Semester Abroad Programs:

Argentina:

China:

• Tsinghua University School of Law

Germany:

Israel:

• The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (updated 2/12/08)

The Netherlands:

Singapore:

• National University of Singapore School of Law

Spain:

• ESADE University School of Law

Full Year Program:

France:

SELECTION CRITERIA

 Selection will be based on the following:

APPLICATION PROCESS

Each interested student must submit an application and supporting documentation to the Office of Transnational Programs (OTP), Room 5028, Hotung.  The following information must be submitted: 

Students can apply to more than one program; however if you do this, you are required to submit a separate set of application materials for each program and must indicate your order of preference.  Students who are approved for one program and accept the offer are precluded from applying to study abroad independently at another school or through another ABA approved law school's program.

Some programs have an additional application process that must be completed after approval is received from the Office of Transnational Programs.  Check the individual programs for additional application procedures. Each approved student will be contacted by OTP and instructed to submit his/her additional application as appropriate.  Students should not apply to the individual host schools unless they have received approval to do so from OTP.

The application process can be competitive and we often receive more applications than we have slots available.  When this is the case, alternates will be chosen from the applicants who were not admitted to any program.  It is possible to be selected as an alternate to more than one program.  Alternates will be asked to complete the follow up application materials that approved students complete according to the same time line.  If an approved student withdraws from the program, his/her seat will be offered to the student designated as the first alternate.  If the first alternate declines the offer, the seat is then offered to the second alternate and so on. 

ADVISING AND COURSE SELECTION

Students who are approved to participate in these programs should meet with the individual program’s faculty advisor for counseling on course selection and other matters.  Each program's schedule of classes showing the actual course offerings, as well as the day and times that courses meet for the current semester are often not available until right before the Fall semester begins.  Therefore, students are not always able to know exactly which courses they will be scheduling.  In these cases, students should contact faculty advisors for general advice once they have been admitted to the program and then should email their course selections to the faculty advisor (and copy Cara Morris at woltemat@law.georgetown.edu) with their final schedule once the semester has begun. 

In the event that a participating student wishes to take a course not listed on the Georgetown website, the student should email the course title, course description to the faculty advisor and copy Cara Morris at woltemat@law.georgetown.edu.  Students should also provide the number of credits assigned by the host institution and/or the number of hours the course meets per week. 

The following faculty members will serve as faculty advisors for the following programs:

Universidad Torcuato di Tella -- Professor Joseph Page

Tsinghua University Law School -- Professor James Feinerman

Bucerius Law School -- Associate Dean Wendy Perdue

University of Heidelberg -- Professor Gregory Klass

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem-- Professor Adam Levitan

University of Leiden -- Professor Barry Carter

National University of Singapore Law School -- Associate Dean Wendy Perdue

ESADE School of Law -- Professor Joseph Page

Master’s Degree in Global Economic Law, University Pantheon 1 Paris-Sorbonne Law School and the Institut d'Études Politiques (Sciences Po), Paris, France -- Professor Barry Carter

In addition, each host school will also have an on-site advisor for international students. 

A student who is accepted and participates in these programs will be expected upon his or her return to submit a report of five pages or more that includes, among other items: a discussion of whether the student's goals for participating were achieved; a description and evaluation of each course taken; a description and evaluation of other important academic, cultural, and social experiences; experiences in obtaining housing; and a discussion of any other matters that the student thinks important.  OTP and the Georgetown faculty advisor for that foreign law school will review the report.  Except for parts the student deems confidential, each report will be posted online for other interested students to read. 

The student reports from Fall 2006 and Fall 2007 are available at the end of their respective program pages.  

 

IMPORTANT RULES and GUIDELINES

(updated 2/14/08)

Students who are considering applying for any of the programs mentioned above should remember that they must successfully complete the following academic requirements in order to receive their J.D. degree:

• Students who matriculated at the Law Center in August 2007 or thereafter: 85 credits for first-year students; 84 credits for students who transferred from another law school after their first year.
• Students who matriculated at the Law Center in August 2005 or August 2006: 84 credits for first-year students; 83 credits for students who transferred from another law school after their first year.
• Students who matriculated at the Law Center before August 2005: 83 credits. 53 academic credits earned at the Law Center
• The required first-year curriculum (to be taken at the Law Center);
• The upperclass legal writing requirement (to be taken at the Law Center);
• A course in Professional Responsibility (to be taken at the Law Center);
• The required time in residence;
• The minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.00 in Law Center courses
• (For questions regarding academic requirements, check the 2007-2008 Law Center Bulletin or consult with the Office of the Registrar.)
  

Semester abroad programs are open to J.D. students who have completed their first year of study.  Preference for all but the Heidelberg program will be given to students entering their third year.

Part-time Students

Part-time students who have completed the full first year curriculum (including Criminal Justice and the “Perspective Elective”) are eligible for the Georgetown-approved semester abroad programs.  An exception to the 11 credit maximum will be granted; part-time students will continue their part-time status and will be charged tuition on a per credit basis. 

Transfer Students

Transfer students must complete 54 credits at the Law Center.  In order to be eligible to participate in the semester abroad program, transfer students must complete the 54 Law Center credits in three full-time semesters and one summer session (the summer session may be taken at the Law Center or at the Law Center’s summer program in London).  This involves taking a substantial credit load each full time semester that the student is at the Law Center. Transfer students considering pursuing this avenue should talk to an academic counselor in the Office of J.D. Academic Services.

Grading, Transfer of Credit, Pass/Fail

Students participating in the overseas programs arranged by Georgetown Law will receive credit for each Georgetown approved course for which they receive a passing grade.  A passing grade is defined as a grade that would be considered passing at the foreign institution.  Courses must be approved by the faculty advisor or the Office of Transnational Programs in order for students to receive credit.  Individual courses taken and the grades received at the foreign school will not appear on the Georgetown transcript and the grades will not be factored into the Georgetown GPA.  The Georgetown transcript will reflect the number of credits earned and the name of the host institution.  Students can obtain transcripts with courses and grades from the host institution.           

Participation in these overseas programs will not affect a student’s ability to take courses offered at the Law Center on a pass/fail basis.  This rule is subject to change in later academic years.

In order to receive credit for time abroad, students are required to submit all course syllabi and papers, as well as write a report of five or more pages. (See description above under Advising and Course Selection.)

Tuition

Full-time students participating in Georgetown’s semester abroad program will pay full-time Georgetown Law Center tuition for the semester that they visit abroad.

Part-time students participating in these programs will pay Law Center tuition and will be charged by the credit hour.

Students enrolled in the full-year Master’s in Global Economic Law Program in Paris will be charged full-time Law Center tuition for both the fall and spring semester that they are studying in Paris.  Students participating in this program will then return to Georgetown in the fall following their third year to complete their J.D. degree and will not incur a tuition charge for that final fall semester.

Financial Aid   

Students enrolled in Georgetown-arranged overseas programs who want to apply for financial aid should follow the regular financial aid application deadlines and requirements.  With the exception of federal work study (FWS), participants are eligible to apply for financial aid through all the programs offered to students enrolled at the Law Center.  Federal regulations do not allow use of FWS funds overseas.

Students who wish to participate in the Sciences Po-Universite Paris I program are eligible to receive the following funding during that year: Federal Stafford loans, commercial or Grad Plus Loans, as well as any Law Center grant or scholarship awards for which they have qualified. The same deadlines and application procedures for renewal of aid funds should be followed as if the student were attending at the Law Center. Note that students who have a final semester to complete their J.D. degree after the year-long program in France attend their final semester at the Law Center tuition free.  Should the student need loans to meet their living expenses during the last semester, students are limited to non-federal, commercial loans only.

Withdrawing After Admission

(Updated 2/14/08)

Students who accept the offer of admission to a semester abroad program have until May 1, 2008 to withdraw without penalty. A $350 fee will be assessed to students who withdraw after May 1. Students who withdraw for a medical condition or other emergency will be excused from paying this fee if they can provide adequate documentation of the medical condition or other emergency that makes attendance impossible.

Paid and Unpaid Employment While Overseas

It is our hope that students, when not in class or studying, will spend their time pursuing the cultural and social offerings of the host city.  Students who are considering pursuing employment opportunities while studying abroad are encouraged to do so only when such opportunities will provide significant educational benefits.

Students participating in semester abroad are governed by the same limitations on work hours as they are while at Georgetown.  In no event may a full-time student exceed 20 hours of employment per week during the academic year.

Implications for Summer or Post-graduate Job Search

Spending a semester abroad can be very beneficial to your overall career goals.  However, it may also have implications for the timing of your job search.  For example, the application and interview process for many judicial clerkships, government honor programs, and public interest fellowships occur during the fall of the final year of law school.  In addition, students who wish to re-interview with large law firms during their last year should also be aware that interviews typically occur during the fall.  If you have questions or concerns about this, please make an appointment with Gihan Fernando, Assistant Dean, Office of Career Services, or Barbara Moulton, Assistant Dean, Office of Public Interest and Community Service.  We also encourage you to meet with an OCS or OPICS advisor to discuss how going abroad fits within your overall career plans.

Visas

Each student is responsible for applying for and obtaining his or her own visa.  Upon admission to a program, students should review the Entry/Exit Requirements of the Country Specific Information on the U.S. State Department's travel website http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1765.html.  Students should pay particular attention to the estimated processing time for visas and plan accordingly.

Health Insurance

All students participating in overseas programs arranged by Georgetown are required to have overseas medical coverage.  he University provides this coverage through the Georgetown University Study Abroad Student Health Insurance Plan underwritten by ACE American Insurance Company.  Information about the plan, including cost and coverage, is available at http://www.georgetown.edu/student-affairs/insurance/studyabroad.html.  Students will be billed for this insurance on their student accounts.

International SOS Travel Assistance

International SOS ( ISOS) is a premier travel assistance company that provides an array of international travel services, including online tracking of personal travel itineraries and security evacuation services.

In addition, ISOS is also the new travel assistance company servicing the Study Abroad Health Insurance Plan for Georgetown Students.  Whether a medical referral is needed or an emergency medical evacuation, students can just call ISOS.  The ISOS phone numbers are on the back of the Study Abroad Health Insurance Identification Card that will be provided to each student before the start of the semester.

Before students depart they should access the ISOS web site at http://www1.georgetown.edu/svp/rm/services/international/36899.html

• Register their travel itineraries with ISOS in a Personal Travel Record,
• Adhere to the immunization requirements stated, and
• Review the travel tips and alerts for specific countries.

Cancellation

Programs are subject to cancellation in case of unforeseen international events that could substantially inhibit operations at the host institution or that could seriously compromise student safety.

Questions regarding the Semester Abroad Program can be directed to Cara Morris, Deputy Director of Transnational Programs, at 202-662-9860 or woltemat@law.georgetown.edu or Mariah Strauch-Nelson, Program Manager, at 202-662-4057 or mjs257@law.georgetown.edu.