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Tel Aviv

Student Spends Summer Studying in Tel Aviv

Joelle Perry '10 spent part of the summer before her third year of law school studying in Tel Aviv, Israel.
"While I learned many things throughout the semester, both in and out of the classroom, perhaps the most significant impression studying abroad left me was just how much personal experience and cultural context affect our perception of legal issues," she said.

Law Studies Abroad

International Exchange Programs

Second- and third-year students may participate in five international exchange programs: Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, Germany; the University of Melbourne in Australia; the University of Nottingham in England; Tel Aviv University Law School in Israel and Waseda University in Tokyo. Students who participate in these exchange programs will be abroad either in the fall semester of their third year (Bucerius, Melbourne, Nottingham, Waseda) or in the spring semester of their second year (Tel Aviv). Students earn 12 transfer credits and one residency semester. Students who wish to earn additional credits may concurrently enroll in independent research projects at Virginia while on exchange.

Bucerius Law School
 
Bucerius Law School

In addition, the Law School offers rising third-year students the opportunity to obtain a combined degree from University Paris 1 Pantheon - Sorbonne Law School and Sciences Po/Paris. Students who successfully complete this program earn 27 transfer credits, two residency semesters, a French law degree (entitling them to sit for the French bar exam) and a J.D. degree from Virginia. Interested students should contact the Sciences Po/Paris Web site.

Transfer students awarded two residency semesters at entrance are not eligible to participate in these international exchange programs.

Language Requirements

Bucerius offers over a dozen courses in English, Tel Aviv offers approximately a dozen, and Waseda offers eight (an increase from the four courses listed on the Waseda Web site). Therefore at these schools proficiency in the local language is beneficial, but not required. However, students enrolling in the dual-degree program at Sciences Po must demonstrate that they are highly proficient in French, as all classes are conducted in French, and students must submit papers and exams written in French. 

How to Apply

Students who wish to apply for the exchange programs or the combined degree program should submit to the faculty International Relations Committee (via Professor Paul Stephan) a resume, an unofficial transcript, and a brief (300 word limit) statement about why they wish to study at the particular institution. The deadline for both the fall 2010 programs and the spring 2010 program at Tel Aviv is Oct. 4, 2009.  Students are permitted to apply to more than one program, but preference will be given in the selection process to applicants who have focused reasons for studying at a particular school.

Interested students should contact Professor Paul Stephan for further information.

Student-Initiated Study Abroad

Under the student-initiated study abroad program a student may spend one semester away from the Law School studying law in a foreign university law school or law department, for which the student will receive up to 15 credits (up to 12 transfer credits for coursework completed at the foreign law school and three graded credits for a research paper to be written as part of the study abroad experience) and one semester of residence credit toward the J.D. degree. Program requirements and application procedures are available in Academic Policies.

External Studies Projects

Under the external studies program, students may spend one semester abroad in a supervised setting combining academic legal research and work experience, for which students receive 12 credits. Past host organizations include the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Association for Water and Rural Development in South Africa, National Public Radio, the Center for Implementing Public Policies on Equity and Growth in Buenos Aires, and the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Program requirements and application procedures

January Term Abroad

Up to 19 law students may enroll in the Law School's January term option in Paris during Jan. 10-20, 2010. Participants will take a one-credit intensive course on French Public and Private Law, taught in English by a member of the law faculty of the University of Paris II (Panthéon-Assas). They will also benefit from a speaker series and visit sites in Paris. These sessions, which are intended to permit a direct experience of the French legal culture and French institutions, will be conducted in English. More

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Student Records Office
434-924-7347
lawsro@virginia.edu
See also: Academic Policies