More than 90 international students from 44 different countries have arrived at the University of Pennsylvania Law School this month to begin year-long studies toward a graduate degree as they study American and international law.
More than 90 international students from 44 different countries have arrived at the University of Pennsylvania Law School this month to begin year-long studies toward a graduate degree as they study American and international law.
The students all have legal degrees and work in their home countries as politicians, prosecutors, professors, corporate counsel, law clerks, corporate lawyers, judges and in other roles. More than 1,200 applicants sought admission to the class of only 92 students. Roughly one-third of the enrolled students come from East Asia, Europe, and the rest of the world, respectively.
Countries represented for the first time in this year’s graduate class at Penn Law include Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Liberia, Peru and Uzbekistan.
The most represented nation is China (13 students), followed by Japan (nine); France, India, Italy and South Korea (four each); Argentina , Germany , Greece and Israel (three); Brazil, Chile, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Taiwan and Turkey (two); and one student each from Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Liberia, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Venezuela.
“Our international students take classes with our American J.D. students and are active in all parts of life at Penn Law,” said Matthew Parker, assistant dean for Graduate Programs. “While many of our faculty and students travel around the world as part of their research and study, all of us benefit by having such a wide representation from the rest of the world come to study with us at 34th and Chestnut streets.”
Since the late 19th century, Penn Law has welcomed foreign lawyers, prosecutors, judges and others seeking to further their understanding of United States and international law. Alumni of the graduate program for international students include a senior judge of the European Court of Human Rights; a sitting
justice of South Africa's Constitutional Court; and a recent presidential candidate in the Philippines.
JAPANESE DINNER PARTY FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
On Aug. 25, members of the LLM class teamed up with visiting scholars to host a Japanese dinner party for the entire class. The homemade meal included sushi, sashimi, tempura and other Japanese food, along with sake and various types of Japanese beer.
Said one participant: “What was truly great about it -- besides the food -- was the level of interaction between students and scholars from all over the world."