Academic Facilities

CTLS classes are currently held at Bush House and King’s College Strand Campus. All locations place students in the heart of London’s legal quarter. Program activities take place at Bush House, which will also serve as the program office for faculty and the administration. Students also have privileges at the King’s College Law Library located close by, on Chancery Lane.

ACADEMIC EVALUATION

The Center for Transnational Legal Studies awards the grades from 5.0 (highest score) to 1.0 (failing score), in 0.5 increments for all its courses, with the exception of the Transnational Law Colloquium and Lectures in Transnational Justice, and the Global Practice exercise, which are graded on a Pass or Fail basis.

  • The grading processes for examinations are anonymous and are designed to be as fair as possible.
  • All in-class exams are handwritten.
  • There are no exam resits under any circumstances.

Faculty members are asked to submit grades approximately four weeks after the end of an examination period. Grades will not be released for any student who has an outstanding student account balance. CTLS will not release grades over the telephone or via email, even to the student, because of concern for students’ privacy.

Once a faculty member has submitted student grades, the grade may change only upon written proof of demonstrable clerical error in the grading or grade reporting process.

CTLS is not a degree-granting institution. Students who successfully complete the program are awarded a “Certificate in Transnational Legal Studies”. The Certificate bears the names of the Center’s Partner Schools and is signed by the Academic Co-Directors of the relevant academic year and Dean Treanor (Georgetown Law).

CTLS will provide each student with a Georgetown Law Center transcript showing their CTLS courses. Each participating school will be permitted to translate or transfer the grades to its own system in the way it deems appropriate.

Class Attendance and Access to Recordings

The distinctive CTLS course contents and methods mean that attendance and active participation in classes is required for students’ academic success, and for the success of the program as a whole. Accordingly, attendance at CTLS classes is mandatory. Please refer to the CTLS Attendance Policy for further information.

Audio recordings of graded classes will only be provided in exceptional circumstances, at the discretion of the CTLS directors, or in cases where students have approved accommodations for disability. Please refer to the Accessibility Services webpage and the CTLS Classroom and Event Recording Policy for more information. For other important CTLS policies, please refer to the Student Life webpage.

Grading Curve

The Center has a recommended curve and faculty are asked to keep this in mind when grading:

Score Percentage
5.0 16%
4.5 22%
4.0 32%
3.5 21%
3.0 6-9%
2.5
2.0 0-3%
1.5 (or 1.0)*

*A 1.0 is a failing grade. It is not expected that a faculty member will necessarily assign a failing grade

Directors’ List Distinction and “Best Student” in Course Prizes

Beginning with the Fall 2011 semester, the Directors’ List  distinction shall be given to the top 15% of students each semester based on their cumulative grade point average for the one semester; to  be given the Directors’ List distinction a student must successfully complete at least 10 credits of CTLS coursework, including any required courses.

Also, beginning with the Fall 2011 semester, the “Best Student” prize shall be given to the top student in each course as determined by the course professor(s), provided the student has successfully completed at least 10 credits of CTLS coursework, including any required courses.

ADVISING AND COURSE SELECTION

Beginning June 2024, students who are approved to study at the Center for Transnational Legal Studies may confer with the 2024-2025 academic co-directors, for counselling on course selection and other academic matters. Students can also contact Maike Kotterba-Wilson, the Executive Director.

We recommend that students study between 12 and 16 credits. This includes the required courses, which are worth a total of 4 credits for the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 semester. Students must study a minimum of 10 credits, and the maximum permitted is 17. Please ensure that you are aware of any credit requirements set by your home institution before requesting CTLS courses, note that the maximum number permitted for Georgetown students is 14 credits.

Please note that CTLS cannot assure any students that they will obtain an internship following participation at CTLS.

Requesting Courses

Students can now request Fall 2024 courses through Tuesday, July 23 using the CTLS Course Request Form-Fall Questionnaire in their Studio Abroad application.

Students will receive and email when course requests open for the Spring 2025 semester.

Some courses may ultimately have limited enrolment so prioritise your requests accordingly.

Please note that there is an Add/Drop week at the beginning of each semester, which gives students the chance to amend their schedule. The Attendance Policy does not apply during this week for the elective courses.

Add Drop week for Fall 2024: Tues., Aug. 27– Mon., Sep. 2

Add Drop week for Spring 2025: Mon., Jan. 13 – Fri., Jan 17