Main Menu : Legal Study Abroad HQ

Legal Study Abroad Headquarters

The Legal Study Abroad Headquarters is the most comprehensive on-line collection of legal study abroad materials available. It contains information, brochures, and contact information for many ABA-approved study abroad programs and contact information for almost every law school in the world. It is a one-stop guide for law students everywhere.

(1) For U.S. law students who wish to study abroad, we invite you to access information on enrollment in one of more than 100 ABA-approved formal study abroad programs or, alternatively, we provide you with the information necessary for you to create an individual (ad hoc) study abroad program for a semester, a year, or for LLM study at any law school in the world.

(2) For non-U.S. law students who wish to study in North America, we invite you to access information on enrollment in an American law school as a foreign exchange or LLM student. If you are uncertain which law school is best for you, access our 2020 Raw Data Law School Rankings pages for a wealth of statistics and information about each school and how they compare.

Summary of Contents

A Few Short Steps to the World

The site is laid out as a step-by-step guide to completing the research and application process for legal study abroad. The steps are laid out below:

Decide Whether Study Abroad is Right for You: American law students who wish to study abroad should be aware of a number of restrictions that the American Bar Association imposes. The most important restriction concerns credit transfer. The ABA allows the transfer of only twelve academic credits to count toward a JD degree at a U.S. law school. However, fourteen credits may be transferred from a year-long, foreign LLM program. Secondly, students must have completed their first year of law school, either full- or part-time, prior to studying abroad. Finally, only two students from any one U.S. law school may study at any one foreign law school during any given semester. If these restrictions are not too onerous, proceed to step two.

Decide What Type of Program is Right for You: A law student has three basic options for legal study abroad. Which one you choose depends on who you are, where you want to go, how much money you have, and what type of study program you wish to pursue. Choose one of these options to go on to step three.

  • Formal Study Abroad Programs: The simplest option for legal study abroad is to go through one of the formal programs offered through American sponsor institutions. This site contains a comprehensive index of the various programs offered by United States Law Schools for summer legal studies abroad. These programs are generally limited to summer session. However, a few semester and internship programs exist.

  • American Law School LLM & Exchange Programs: Non-U.S. law students or graduates who wish to study in the U.S. need to contact the American law schools directly to arrange a program of study. We offer information about all ABA approved U.S. law schools that may be contacted directly to arrange for individual LLM or exchange programs.

  • Ad Hoc Study Abroad Program: Creating your own program is a feasible option for the more adventurous student. Ad hoc programs are typically less expensive than formal study abroad programs, offer a wide range of geographic locations and subject matters for study, and have flexible schedules. However, the process takes much more individual effort. This site takes you step-by-step through the process.

Comments and Additions

Program and Comment Submission: This site seeks to be the comprehensive, one-stop site for study abroad in law. However, it cannot do so without the help of the entire web community. Directors of foreign legal study abroad programs and American law schools offering foreign LLM degrees are encouraged to contact us: