Overview
International Commercial Arbitration
Penn State Law’s Summer Program in Arbitration Law is approved by the American Bar Association and fulfills all academic and accrediting requirements. Students must consult with their home law school regarding the transfer of credits and grades. Upon request, the Transcript Department of The Pennsylvania State University will forward a transcript to the student's law school.
The program events include a visit to the highest court in Québec (la cour d'appel) and lectures by renowned Canadian jurists. The wonderful city of Montréal in Québec, Canada, offers much of the culture, history, and excitement of Europe at substantially lesser cost. From the ornate Notre-Dame Cathedral, Old Montréal, and the Port to the museums, nightclubs, and fine restaurants of all gastronomic persuasions, Montréal is a major center of tourism, recreation, and bilingual culture. The city blends its heritage, history, and geographical location into a unique cultural experience.
Prices are lower than those in other North American cities. The cost of visiting Montréal is many times less than a comparable stay in any European capital — be it London or Paris — or a regional city, like Florence. The U.S. and Canadian dollar are roughly at parity. Moreover, the city of Montréal is beautiful, rich in character, and well-maintained. The city is safe and people are helpful, polite, and considerate. English is spoken everywhere; there are, however, plenty of opportunities to practice French. Montréal is the second largest French-speaking city in the world — second only to Paris, France.
The McGill Summer Program takes place in Chancellor Day Hall (the Law Faculty building at 3644 Peel Street) on the McGill University campus in the heart of downtown Montréal. The McGill campus is a composite of older and modern buildings that reflect the importance of McGill’s historical and contemporary status as a distinguished North American institution of higher learning. The law library and atrium are of recent vintage and adjacent to Chancellor Day Hall. Students in the Summer Program have access to the law library facilities and the Law Faculty’s computer facilities, including e-mail, assorted law databases, Lexis-Nexis (with your own ID), WordPerfect, MS Word, and Internet access (Netscape & Explorer). The program pays the cost of registration in the computer lab for the students (but not for printing charges or credits). The program classroom is located on the second floor of New Chancellor Day Hall and is air-conditioned and comfortable, permitting active interchange between students and the program faculty. The faculty, both American and Canadian, are recognized experts in their fields and excellent classroom teachers. Several faculty have won teaching awards. The students who have participated in the program have given their experience in the McGill Summer Program high to excellent marks. All classes are conducted in English. The teaching methodology ranges from lectures to discussions to simulation.
The six course offerings are divided into three self-contained sessions. Students can register for the entire program or individual sessions at different rates of tuition. Tuition rates, however, do not vary by the number of courses taken. The rate of tuition is determined either by general participation in the program or single sessions. Students can earn as many as six credit hours. Those students who complete all six credits qualify to receive a certificate in the study of arbitration law. The certificate is issued jointly by Penn State and McGill.
Each academic session consists of seven regular class days of 220 minutes of teaching time. In addition, a lecture day in each session features a presentation by a distinguished lawyer along with an abbreviated class schedule and a lunch provided by the program. Two examinations are administered on the final day of each session. The next session generally begins on the following day. A long weekend possibility coincides with Victoria Day, a national Canadian holiday. No classes are held on Victoria Day.
