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Jessica Rice L’14 talks about her interdisciplinary experience at the Lauder Institute

September 22, 2014

In this video feature, Jessica Rice L’14, MA’14 explains how her interdisciplinary studies with the Lauder Institute prepared her for a career in international law.

In this video feature, Jessica Rice L’14, MA’14 explains how her interdisciplinary studies prepared her for a career in international law. As part of the JD/MA program in International Studies offered by the Lauder Institute, Rice focused on international business and management, while at the same time developing her foreign language skills and gaining real-world legal experience.

 

 

 

Transcript

I’m Jessica Rice, and I just finished my JD at Penn Law, Class of 2014, and also received a dual degree in International Studies through the Lauder Institute.

One of the primary reasons that I came to Penn was because of its strength in cross-disciplinary studies. I was seeking a dual-degree program in my law school search. I was looking for an international relations or international studies dual degree because I wanted to work abroad, and I wanted to explore substantive international law, and I hadn’t had a ton of international experience prior to law school, so was really looking to get that degree to have more to market myself to potential employers and also to round out the Penn Law experience.

One of the most appealing aspects of the Lauder Program was that it was not simply a Liberal Arts international studies degree, but it was primarily focused on international business and management, and students are required to enter with proficiency in a foreign language. So you are developing high-level foreign language skills and you are also focusing a lot on international business. We had a variety of opportunities to interact with leaders of major multinational corporations. And that seemed like a unique opportunity and a way to gain a perspective from the other side of the table and to hear about the challenges and the exploits of our future clients. So that what was most appealing about Lauder. But Penn more generally was very appealing to me because I felt that the strength of the international programs within the Law School itself was also such that I knew I could develop an international focus and kind of gain all the cross-disciplinary experience I was looking for, even if I were not a part of Lauder. Penn offers internships for students after their 1L year, international internships, international human rights internships, there are study abroad opportunities, we have an excellent international law faculty, and so I knew whichever angle I approached my international studies from, I would be really fulfilled here at Penn.

 

Transcript has been edited for length.