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Semester Abroad Program 
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Updated information for the 2010-2011 academic year will be posted in January 2010. 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 2009 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. 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.
Argentina: China: Germany: India: Applications due to OTP by March 2 for students who will want on-campus housing. Click above for more information. Israel: The Netherlands: Singapore: Spain: United Kingdom
See http://ctls.georgetown.edu/ for all selection criteria and other requirements relating to the CTLS. NOTE: Students applying to CTLS program, must email their application and resume to transnational@law.georgetown.edu by March 18, 2009. The subject line should read "CTLS Application-Your Name." Only CTLS applications should be submitted in this manner. Applications to all other programs must include a transcript and must be submitted to the Office of Transnational Programs (5029 or 5009) in hardcopy by the March 18, 2009 deadline. Full Year Program: France:
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 5009 or 5029, 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. The application process can be competitive and we often receive more applications than we have slots available. If we are not able to approve a student for his or her first choice, we look at the student's alternate choices in order of preference. We will not offer a student a seat in more than one program. In addition, alternates can 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. 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. Students who are approved for a 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. 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. Students should contact the Office of Transnational Programs for general advice regarding courses. 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 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. 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, 2007, and 2008 are available at the end of their respective program pages. IMPORTANT RULES and GUIDELINES (updated 2/3/09) 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:
Eligibility Semester abroad programs are open to Georgetown J.D. students who have completed the first year J.D. curriculum. Preference will be given to third year J.D. students. Part-time J.D. 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 J.D. 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. LL.M. Students All currently enrolled Georgetown LL.M.s with a first law degree from an ABA-approved law school may apply to enroll in a Georgetown-approved Semester Abroad program. Applications will be evaluated on an exceptional basis and, in all cases, after giving priority to J.D. candidates. Semester abroad credits may only be applied towards their current Georgetown degree on an exceptional basis, with prior approval required with specific respect to individual courses and number of credits. Absent exceptional circumstances, no more than eight Semester Abroad credits will be applied towards the LLM. Other LL.M. candidates may not participate in Semester Abroad. 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. Acceptance of any credit or grade for any course taken in a semester abroad program is subject to determination by Georgetown Law. 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.) Students can earn no more than a total of 14 credits from study abroad. Students may do a non-Georgetown summer study abroad program and a Georgetown-sponsored study abroad program, but may only earn a total of 14 credits. For example, if a student has already taken 4 credits at a summer study abroad program, the student could only transfer in 10 credits from a Georgetown-approved semester abroad program. PLEASE NOTE: Credits from the Georgetown London Summer Study Abroad Program do not count against the 14 credit limit. 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. Students should be aware that, pursuant to federal regulations, lenders may not disburse federal financial aid more than 10 calendar days prior to the actual start date of classes. Therefore, if classes at the foreign institution do not start until October, financial aid funds will post to the borrower’s student account no sooner than 10 calendar days before that October date. If a student enrolls in a short course at the Law Center that takes place before their study abroad program begins, or registers for and engages in a supervised research project, the start date of Law Center classes will apply for aid purposes. Please note that the regulations require the timing limitations be based on the start of classes, not orientation programs or other pre-class activities, even if required by the institution. Students should plan accordingly.
Withdrawing After Admission Students who accept the offer of admission to a semester abroad program have until May 1, 2009 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.
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. 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. Education Abroad Accident and Sickness Insurance and Europ Assistance Emergency Service Provider All students participating in study abroad or other overseas opportunities arranged by Georgetown University are required to have overseas medical coverage and travel and medical emergency assistance benefits. The University provides this coverage through the Georgetown University Education Abroad Accident and Sickness Insurance Plan underwritten by ACE American Insurance Company. Students should follow the links provided below for specific information. The cost of the insurance will be billed to the each student’s account. The charge for the Plan is $70** for any part of the following trimesters:
** This is the 2008 rate. The 2009 rate should be available in February or March 2009. Enrollment and Benefit Information The plan also includes medical emergency assistance benefits through Europ Assistance. Services available through Europ Assistance include:
For a complete list of services provided by Europ Assistance see: http://www.law.georgetown.edu/otp/0809ACEDescription080319.pdf.pdf (see pages 5 and 6) International SOS Travel Assistance As mentioned above, Students enrolled in the Education Abroad Accident and Sickness Insurance rely on Europ Assistance for medical evacuation and other medical emergency services. Other travel services are provided by International SOS at no additional cost. These services include:
Contact information for ISOS is provided with your Education Abroad student health insurance card. Before students depart they should register on the ISOS website and read over the information provided at: http://www1.georgetown.edu/svp/rm/services/international/36899.html. 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. Pre-departure Information 2009 Pre-departure Information
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. March 3, 2009 CM |
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