Education Abroad
Semester Study Abroad, Summer Study Abroad, Fulbright Study, and Work Abroad

Penn State Law students interested in spending a year abroad with Fulbright sponsorship work on their proposals with an experienced Fulbright Program Advisor from the Office of International Career Services of the School of International Affairs. This year, Class of 2009 graduate Julie Polakoski is spending a year in New Zealand conducting a comparative study of the impacts legal reform has on workers' collective bargaining rights in New Zealand and in the United States. She will focus on the context and arguments behind New Zealand's labor law reforms as well as the impacts of these changes on collective bargaining. Her Fulbright research will be used toward completion of an LL.M. degree at the University of Otago.

Semester Study Abroad General Guidelines
Study Abroad Eligibility, Application Process and Academic Regulations

Penn State Law offers opportunities for international learning through the following Study Abroad programs:

Escola de Direito de São Paulo (FGV) in São Paulo, Brazil
Students have the opportunity to spend one semester at Escola de Direito de São Paulo (FGV). FGV is considered to be one of the top “policymaker think-tanks” worldwide and its world-class faculty offer a wide variety of international experience. FGV offers a graduate level law and business courses in English. Foreign students are required to take “Introduction to the Brazilian Legal System.” Exchange students may also enroll in 6 weeks (30 hours) intensive Portuguese language course (in August for the fall semester and in February for the spring semester) at no additional cost.

National Taiwan University College of Law in Taipei City, Taiwan
Students have the opportunity to spend one semester at National Taiwan University, College of Law (NTUCL). NTUCL consistently ranks as number one in Taiwan and is among the top 10 law schools in Asia. NTUCL offers a number of graduate level courses in English (typically 4 to 5 graduate seminars in English per semester). In the past, English-language graduate level courses included the following courses: Selected Topics on International Trade Law, Seminar on Contract Law, International Intellectual Property Law, Seminar on Comparative Enterprise and Financial Laws, Practical Lawyering. NTU is also well-known for its excellent language program, and exchange students may take a Chinese language course at no additional cost.

Radboud School of Law in Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Penn State Law students may spend one semester at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands studying European law. Radboud faculty are internationally known for their expertise in European law, including European competition law, immigration law, human rights law and European business law. This study abroad program is unique in that it permits Penn State Law students who spend a fall semester at Radboud to obtain an LL.M. degree from Radboud while studying at Penn State during the subsequent spring semester. Radboud also offers an English-language summer program in European competition law and invites up to two Penn State Law students to participate free of charge.

University of Cape Town Faculty of Law in Rondebosch, South Africa
Penn State Law students may spend one semester at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa, the highest ranked university on the African continent. Students may spend the fall semester at UCT. Courses in the fall are primarily conducted in English. Students will be completing an independent study supervised by a Penn State Law professor during the exchange semester.

Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi in Milan, Italy
Bocconi is Italy's leading university in the area of business, economics and law and attracts a large number of international students. In addition to variety of law courses taught in English, exchange students can choose from other graduate level programs such as International Management, Marketing Management, Finance, Economics and Management in Arts, Culture, Media and Entertainment, Economic and Social sciences, and Economics, Management of Innovation & Technology taught in English. Bocconi also offers pre-semester Italian language course for international students for a moderate fee.

University of Maastricht Faculty of Law in Maastricht, The Netherlands
Students may spend one semester (2 block periods) at University of Maastricht Faculty of Law studying international and European law. Maastricht offers six to eight law courses in English per block, with a focus on business and economics related courses. Maastricht has an international reputation in the areas of international, European and comparative law.

Penn State Law offers a European summer abroad program and a Canadian international summer program.

• The Florence · Rome · Siena Italy Program
• The Summer Program in Arbitration Law at the McGill Faculty of Law in Montréal, Québec, Canada

Penn State is one of a select group of top law schools that has been invited by ICJ to nominate candidates for this prestigious program open to recent Penn State Law graduates and current 3L students. This 9-month clerkship appointment extends from September through May. Clerks work directly with members of the ICJ assisting with drafting various documents and opinions and researching the wide variety of legal issues presented to the Court. Additional information about the ICJ can be found on their website.

More information

Professional skills training at the Law School includes opportunities for students to work as interns in a variety of legal settings. In all of these areas, Penn State Law is expanding the possibilities for students to be placed internationally. Students have recently been placed in internships with the International Criminal Tribunal at the Hague, with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Ethiopia, and with the International Bar Association in London.