For various reasons, some students at Penn Carey Law School will seek experiences at unique institutions or destinations, and request to study abroad at non-partnered law schools.  

When proposing an ad hoc program, applicants must verify that the quality of the coursework is comparable in rigor and classroom minutes to a semester at Penn Carey Law School. 

Some examples of successful ad hoc petitions have included:

Europe

• Bucerius Law School (Germany)
• Central European University (Hungary)
• Comillas ICADE (Spain)
• ESADE Law School (Spain)
• IE University (Spain)
• Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Switzerland)
• Queen Mary University of London (United Kingdom)
• SOAS, University of London (United Kingdom)
• University of Amsterdam (Netherlands)
• University of Copenhagen (Denmark)
• University of Leiden (Netherlands)
• University of Roma Tre (Italy)

MENA

• Qatar University (Qatar)
• American University of Cairo (Egypt)

Asia-Pacific

• Peking University (China)
• University of Sydney (Australia)

Latin America

• University of the Andes (Colombia)

Africa

• The University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa)

Study abroad is open to second-year and third-year JD students. Fall of the 3L year is historically the preferred timing for study abroad.

Any student considering study abroad during the Spring of the 3L year should be aware that they might not graduate until August, delaying the bar exam until the next February.

With that said, in the past, all dual degree students who have completed the LLM at Hong Kong University or the Master’s in Economic Law at Sciences Po have been eligible to participate in Penn Carey Law commencement and to sit the July bar exams.

Some partners (such as LSE) only offer Fall semester openings in their exchange programs. When considering any program, applicants should be mindful of differences between international and U.S. academic calendars, which can be more significant in the Spring semester.

The Law School does not permit summer legal study for credit.

The ABA sets specific limits on credits for all foreign study, which cannot exceed one-third of the credits required for the JD degree at the law school.

Our primary application deadline is the Monday after Thanksgiving Break in the academic year prior to the proposed period of study abroad. This is the deadline to apply for either a Fall semester or year-long program. Nominees then apply in February or March to the foreign law school.

The Law School offers an additional application window with a May 1 deadline to accommodate Spring semester study abroad through either partner or ad hoc institutions. This should be considered a secondary window, however, as first-round placement decisions will be determined following the primary November/December deadline.

The study abroad application requires a basic form, current transcript, resume, and two short essays. All student must submit Study Abroad Application - Part 1. Only students applying for an ad hoc program must also submit Study Abroad Application – Part 2. Completed applications should be emailed by the deadline to international@law.upenn.edu.

Students should only submit one application to the Law School for their first-choice study abroad program. The strongest applications will effectively identify the specific program that an applicant believes to be the best fit for their academic, professional, and personal goals. Space is provided in Part 1 of the application for candidates to briefly address alternate programs of interest, and applicants are encouraged to give a thoughtful response. This information is used only if a placement is not possible with a student’s first-choice program.

Individual students will be approved for overseas study on the basis of a number of factors, including academic achievement at the Law School; relationship of study abroad to personal and professional goals; foreign language ability, if relevant; maturity and cultural adaptability; and potential for contributing to Penn Carey Law’s overall international programming.

In the case of ad hoc applications, Penn Carey Law must also evaluate the specific overseas law program proposed by the student. Such evaluations will consider the faculty and curriculum available to students, the administrative infrastructure to support their studies, compatibility of academic calendars, and access to necessary coursework in the proposed term. Please note that the Law School’s approval of past requests to participate in a particular ad hoc program does not guarantee that future requests will also be approved.

Materials are reviewed in December, with decisions announced in January (prior to the end of the Add/Drop period). If accepted to a program, students will be guided through the next steps, which include mandatory reviews for progress toward graduation requirements and pro bono hours. Students will have the opportunity to accept or decline the study abroad nomination.

If moved forward as a nominee, the next step will be to apply to the foreign law school in February or March. Students must receive approval from Penn Carey Law before submitting an application directly to a partnered law school. Notwithstanding approval from Penn Carey Law, foreign institutions retain the final authority to accept or reject students.

Students who study abroad will generally be treated for financial purposes as if they were still enrolled and taking classes at Penn Carey Law in Philadelphia. The process of paying tuition and applying for loans remains streamlined, and students continue to be eligible for Penn Carey Law financial aid grants.

In the case of ad hoc programs, this arrangement requires that the foreign school be willing to invoice and accept direct payment from Penn for its tuition and academic fees. We will endeavor to facilitate a direct-billing arrangement, but if the foreign school cannot accommodate this, the Law School will communicate further regarding alternate billing arrangements.

JD-to-JD transfer students (i.e., those transferring from U.S. law schools) are eligible to study abroad for one semester in their 3L year after completing one full year at Penn. Transfer students are still required to take a full three semesters of Penn Carey Law classes (i.e., transfer students must choose between a semester abroad OR taking classes outside of the Law School).

LLM-to-JD transfers are not eligible to study abroad due to the credit maximums specified in ABA Standard 307(d).

Penn Carey Law School views studying abroad as an alternative to other opportunities to study outside the Law School at other Penn departments or schools during a student’s second and third years.

A student going abroad for a one semester, however, may still count two classes at another Penn school toward their law degree. Similarly, a student abroad for a full year may count one class at another Penn school toward their law degree.

If a student wishes to exceed this limit, credits from those classes will not count toward the credits required to graduate from Penn Carey Law. Moreover, the student will be required to pay fees for such classes beyond the amount of their normal Law School tuition.

Students remain responsible for meeting all Penn Carey Law JD requirements, including completing the correct number of semester hours to graduate, the Senior Writing Requirement, the Public Service Requirement, the 6-credit Experiential Learning Requirement, and the Professional Responsibility Requirement.

It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of and make accommodations for any potential scheduling conflicts (e.g., semesters in which Professional Responsibility may not be taught). Students should also be aware of MPRE timelines and any specific bar filing deadlines for their intended jurisdictions.

All classes abroad must be taken for a grade, unless everyone in the class is graded on a Pass/Fail basis for that course, or unless prior authorization has been granted.

Grades for coursework abroad will not be factored into a student’s grade average or honors calculations.

All grades for these classes will appear in the notes section of Penn Carey Law’s transcript, rather than in the body. Grades will be listed exactly as assigned by the foreign institution and not translated into a U.S. scale.

Credits are transferred based on the coursework completed at the foreign institution and on Penn Carey Law’s assessment of the specific courses taken. Credits will be determined in a manner consistent with the requirements of ABA Standard 310.

It is expected that all students studying abroad for one semester will transfer back 12 credits. This serves as both the minimum and the maximum credit load. The terminology with which the overseas law school labels such a courseload (e.g., “22 credits,” “4 credits,” “4 classes,” etc.) is irrelevant from Penn Carey Law’s perspective. Instead, we use the Penn Carey Law credit policy for determining credit hours for coursework.

To be applied toward a student’s Penn Carey Law graduation requirements, these 12 credits must all be in law-related classes. (For example, a study abroad student is welcome to take a class in, say, German history; whatever credit the student receives from the foreign law school for this class, however, will not count toward the Penn Carey Law degree.) Similarly, credit from basic language courses, while undoubtedly beneficial, cannot be applied toward the requirements for a student’s Penn Carey Law JD.

Coursework taken overseas should not focus on themes of U.S. law, except in an explicitly comparative manner. Students will not receive credit for coursework that substantially duplicates work they have already taken or could have taken at Penn Carey Law.

The Sciences Po and HKU programs take place over the entire 3L year, and students may obtain up to a maximum of 27 credits for work completed while participating in those programs. Credits will be determined consistent with the requirements of ABA Standard 310.

To conditionally pre-approve classwork for 12 credits, Penn Carey Law disseminates a Study Abroad Course Form that must be returned no later than one week after the start of the study abroad semester. While still in the Add/Drop window, students are required to supply information on all courses, including descriptions, methods of evaluation, and minutes of instruction.

Should Penn Carey Law determine at any time that circumstances have arisen that significantly diminish the quality of the program abroad, students will be notified that the program has been modified or canceled. If the changes or cancellation should occur prior to the period of study abroad, students may either apply to another study abroad opportunity or withdraw the request to study abroad. Should such changes occur during the study abroad period, the Office of Global Engagement will work with students to make alternate arrangements.

In the unlikely event that a Penn Carey Law student should fail to comply with the academic or disciplinary regulations of the host institution and is asked to leave the host institution, the study abroad student will be responsible for any expenses resulting from the involuntary withdrawal.

Should the program be cancelled, or a student otherwise seeks a refund, Penn Carey Law’s tuition refund policy will be used to assess whether any tuition can be returned. The Office of Global Engagement will work closely with any student whose program is cancelled to reinstate them to the Penn Carey Law curriculum as quickly as possible, and no student will be penalized if a semester is lost due to a cancellation beyond the student’s control.

In accordance with the ABA Standards, Penn Carey Law requires that all study abroad students submit a Learning Plan prior to departure. Students work with the Office of Global Engagement to develop a written plan to define the educational and professional objectives that they seek to achieve during this period of study abroad. The Learning Plan must also specify the methods to be used in evaluating the achievement of these objectives.

Drafting this Learning Plan challenges students to begin familiarizing themselves with the legal infrastructure of their soon-to-be host countries. Beginning these inquiries while still on the Penn Carey Law campus allows them to take advantage of the wealth of resources the Law School offers. We strongly encourage the use of both library and faculty resources in the development of this plan. Further information about how to begin drafting the Learning Plan is available in the Spring before the study abroad experience.

After completing the coursework, all students must arrange to have an official transcript sent to Penn Carey Law. It is the student’s responsibility to provide a transcript to the Registrar’s office in a timely fashion, in advance of their expected graduation.

Following their return, all students will be asked to complete an evaluation of their experiences of the study abroad program. They will also be required to submit the final version of their Learning Plan.

As a condition of studying abroad, all students are expected to serve as contacts for future students interested in their experiences. Contact information will not be shared with anyone outside the Penn Carey Law community without a student’s permission.