collageThe American Bar Association (ABA) regulates law school education by accrediting law schools using strict criteria. Because the law is extremely country specific, the ABA does not accredit international universities. They do, however, approve study abroad programs that may last up to one year. The association puts restrictions on how many credits can be given during study abroad and how many students may attend. The result is a list of approved study abroad programs run by ABA-accredited Law Schools.
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London
London is the most popular destination for semester- and year-long study programs. Many universities including Boston College, Georgetown University, Pace University and Pepperdine University have ABA accredited semester and year-long study abroad programs in London. Many of the programs are aimed at preparing students for a career in international law. Georgetown University maintains a Center for Transnational Legal Studies which welcomes students from the top law schools from all over the world to study at the center. Professors and lectures also come from participating universities to create a curriculum that meets the needs of tomorrows lawyers in a globalized economy. Boston University sends students to Kings College to study the European Union and British law and provides internship experiences for students.
Asia and the Pacific
The other ABA approved semester- and year-long programs abroad are located in Asia and the Pacific. Temple University runs a fully accredited law school in Tokyo for international students. U.S. law students may opt for a spring semester abroad at the facility. Students take class in international, U.S. and Japanese law in English. American University has a similar program at City University of Hong Kong. Students study International trade, commerce and Chinese law in English. Thomas Cooley School of Law runs an Australian study abroad program that takes student to Melbourne, Australia for half a semester and to Christchurch, New Zealand for the other half while studying international law in the countries’ top law schools.
Cooperative Programs
Cooperative Programs are ABA approved study at a foreign institution rather than a U.S. law school’s program abroad. Cooperative programs are usually limited to two students per semester from any one ABA accredited law school and restrictions on the number of credits earned are applied. University of Wisconsin runs a semester program through the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, giving students the opportunity to study civil, international and human rights law in a multi-national setting. They have similar exchange programs with universities in Chile, Peru, Brazil and France among others. Similarly, Tulane University operates several exchange programs with universities around the world including University of Buenos Aires, University of Strasbourg and University of Siena.
Summer Sessions
Summer and inter-session programs have less restrictions than semester or year-long programs. Consequently, almost every ABA accredited law school runs a summer abroad program and most are open to students from any ABA accredited law school to attend. Most universities operate several programs in countries around the globe that focus on the most prominent issues of the region. DePaul University, for example, has summer programs in Madrid, Dublin and Prague that focus on European business and law and in Mexico and Costa Rica that focus on human rights law. Collectively, ABA accredited law schools have summer programs located in Africa, the Pacific, Europe and Asia.
Recommendations made by ABA’s first Special Committee on Foreign Law Schools Seeking Approval Under ABA Standards
The first committee dealing with the matter from June 2008 submitted its recommendations in August 2010, and the recommendations included that:
- The council should authorize the Accreditation Project to go forward with considering the accreditation of law schools outside the U.S. borders that meet all of the standards laid down by the ABA for policy considerations
- The council should request the Standards Review Committee in its ongoing comprehensive review to look at all the standards to ensure that none of them unintentionally sets up barriers to this geographic expansion and to remove any such barriers that do not implicate the substantive standards ensuring a quality legal education
- The council should consider drafting a policy statement to clarify the matters highlighted and the need for special rules that deal with the underlying assumptions in the current standards
- The council should consider whether it might be advisable to allow a site visit on a trial basis of a foreign applicant school that wants to see whether it can meet all the standards
The committee observed that if the ABA did not step in to clarify standards in the matter of accrediting foreign law schools, it would result in compelling states to make the decisions upon which foreign-trained individuals could take bar exams. This may allow lawyers with weaker and less reliable training than is provided in ABA approved law schools.
Below is a list of programs approved in compliance with the Criteria for Programs Offered by ABA-Approved Law Schools in a Location Outside the United States. The programs listed below are open to students from other ABA-approved law schools. Law schools may have other foreign summer programs open only to their own students, which would not appear in this list. For law schools with more than one sponsor, only the primary sponsor is listed.
Contact the law school listed to determine exact program dates and to confirm that the program is being offered in a given year. Programs not offered in two-consecutive years are no longer considered approved and are removed from this list.
Akron, University of
Nagoya, Japan and Seoul, South Korea – Summer
American University
London, Brussels, and Geneva – Summer
The Hague, The Netherlands – Summer
Baltimore, University of
Aberdeen, Scotland – Summer
Baylor University
St. Andrews, Scotland – Summer
Brooklyn Law School
Bologna, Italy – Summer
Beijing, China – Summer
Catholic University of America, The
Rome, Italy – Summer
Cracow, Poland – Summer
Cornell Law School
Paris, France – Summer
Creighton University
Nuremburg and Marburg, Germany; and The Hague, The Netherlands – Summer
Denver, University of
Sorrento, Italy – Summer
DePaul University
Berlin, Germany – Summer
San Jose, Costa Rica – Summer
Madrid, Spain – Summer
Buenos Aires, Argentina – Intersession
Havana, Cuba – Intersession
Drake University
Nantes, France – Summer
Duke University
Leiden and The Hague, The Netherlands – Summer
Duquesne University
Dublin, Ireland and Belfast, Northern Ireland – Summer
Cologne, Germany – Summer
Florida International University
Seville, Spain – Summer
Florida State University
Oxford, England – Summer
Fordham University
Belfast/Dublin, Ireland – Summer
Seoul, South Korea – Summer
Accra, Ghana – Summer
George Washington University
Oxford, England – Summer
Munich, Germany – Summer
Georgetown University
London, England (CTLS) – Fall and Spring Semester
Golden Gate University
Paris, France – Summer
Gonzaga University
Florence, Italy – Summer
Hofstra University
Pisa, Italy – Summer
Curacao, Dutch Antilles – Intersession
Howard University
Cape Town, South Africa – Summer
Indiana University – Indianapolis
Beijing, China – Summer
Inter American University of Puerto Rico
Bologna, Italy – Summer
Beijing, China – Summer
Iowa, University of
London Law Consortium – Intersession
Arcachon, France – Summer
Louisiana State University
Lyon, France – Summer
Loyola University-New Orleans
Panama City, Panama – Summer
Spetses, Greece – Summer
Vienna, Austria – Summer
Marquette University
Giessen, Germany – Summer
McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific
Salzburg, Austria – Summer
Michigan State University
Bialystok, Poland – Summer
Kyoto, Japan – Summer
Rijeka and Dubrovnik, Croatia – Summer
Mississippi, University of
Cambridge, England – Summer
Mississippi College
Havana, Cuba – Intersession
Seoul, Korea and Beijing, China – Summer
Merida, Mexico – Intersession
Lille, France – Summer
Lille, France and Berlin, Germany – Summer
Missouri-Columbia, University of
Cape Town, South Africa – Summer
Missouri-Kansas City, University of
Dingle/Galway/Dublin, Ireland and Bangor, Wales – Summer
Mitchell | Hamline School of Law
London, England (CILE) – Summer
London, England – Summer
Jerusalem, Israel – Intersession
Montana, University of
Beijing, Guiyang, and Chongqing, China – Summer
Nebraska, University of
Xi’an and Beijing, China – Summer
Nevada-Las Vegas, University of
Singapore, Macau, and Japan – Summer
New England Law | Boston
Galway, Ireland (CILE) – Summer
New Mexico, University of
Madrid, Spain – Summer
New York Law School
London, England – Summer
New York University
Shanghai, China – Fall and Spring Semester
Notre Dame, University of
London, England – Fall and Spring Semester
London, England – Summer
Ohio Northern University
Reykjavik, Iceland – Summer
Ohio State University
Oxford, England – Summer
Oklahoma, University of
Oxford, England – Summer
Pepperdine University
London, England – Fall Semester
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
Toledo, Spain – Summer
Puerto Rico, University of
Barcelona, Spain – Summer
Buenos Aires, Argentina / Santiago, Chile – Summer
Quinnipiac University
Dublin, Ireland – Summer
Richmond, University of
Cambridge, England – Summer
Saint Louis University
Madrid, Spain – Summer
Samford University
Cambridge, England – Summer
San Diego, University of
London, England – Summer
Paris, France – Summer
Santa Clara University
Geneva, Switzerland – Summer
Sydney, Australia – Summer
Tokyo, Japan – Summer
Oxford, England – Summer
Munich, Germany – Summer
San Jose, Costa Rica – Summer
Singapore – Summer
The Hague, Netherlands – Summer
Vienna, Austria – Summer
Shanghai, China – Summer
Seattle University
Madrid, Spain – Summer
South Texas College of Law – Houston
Santiago, Chile (CILE) – Summer
Valletta, Malta (CILE) – Summer
Prague, Czech Republic (CILE) – Summer
Southwestern Law School
London, England – Summer
St. John’s University
Rome, Italy – Summer
St. Mary’s University
Innsbruck, Austria – Summer
Beijing, China – Summer
St. Thomas University
San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain, and Delft, The Netherlands – Summer
Stetson University
Cape Town, South Africa – Summer
Granada, Spain – Summer
The Hague, Netherlands – Summer
Oxford, England – Summer
Cayman Islands – Intersession
Syracuse University
London, England – Summer
Temple University
Tokyo, Japan – Spring Semester
Rome, Italy – Summer
Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Melbourne, Australia / Hamilton, New Zealand – Spring Semester
Toronto, Canada – Summer
Oxford, England – Summer
Tulane University
Cambridge, England – Summer
Rhodes, Greece – Summer
Berlin, Germany – Summer
Siena, Italy – Summer
Paris, France – Summer
Tulsa, The University of
Dublin, Ireland – Summer
Vanderbilt University
Venice, Italy – Summer
Wake Forest University
London, England – Summer
Venice, Italy – Summer
Vienna, Austria – Summer
Washburn University
Cave Hill, Barbados – Intersession
West Virginia University
Geneva, Switzerland – Summer
Guanajuato, Mexico – Summer
Western New England University
Rishon Letzion, Israel – Intersession
Whittier Law School
Nanjing, China – Summer
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