DCSIMG

Certificate Requirements and Curriculum

Program Requirements

In order to earn a J.D. degree with a Certificate in International Legal Studies, a student must complete all courses required as part of the J.D. program and must fulfill in addition the requirements specified in the following three categories.  Students must take the Basic Courses in Category 1 (Note 1) and complete an Experiential Activity in Category 3.  Depending on the nature of the experiential activity, it may also provide some or all of the units required in Category 2.

Category 1: Basic Courses (8 units required)

Successful completion of the following three courses is required:

  • Public International Law (3)
  • Transnational Litigation (3) OR International Business Transactions (3)
  • International and Foreign Legal Research (2) (Note 2)

Category 2: Elective Courses (8 units required) (see Note 4)

(This list will be updated yearly based on courses offered that academic year.)

  • Advanced International Business Transactions (3) (with permission of the professor)
  • Advanced International Intellectual Property (3)*
  • African System of Human Rights Protection (1)
  • Comparative Legal Systems (3)
  • European Health Care Law (1)
  • European Union Law (3)
  • Fundamental Rights in Europe and the U.S. (2) (see Note 3)
  • Immigration and Naturalization Law (3)*
  • International Business Transactions (3) (if not taken as a Basic Course)
  • International Criminal Law (2)
  • International Environmental Law (3)
  • International Intellectual Property (2)
  • International Justice Practicum (2)
  • International Labor Law (3)
  • International Protection of Human Rights (3)
  • International Trade - Public Aspects (3)
  • International Water Resources Law Sem. (3)
  • Legal Spanish for U.S. Lawyers (2)
  • National Security Law (3)
  • Transnational Litigation (3) (if not taken as a Basic Course)
  • United Nations: Law & Practice (3)
  • U.S. Taxation of International Transactions (3)
  • Courses offered through the Guatemala, Salzburg, and St. Petersburg programs for which McGeorge gives credit

 

* course offered periodically

Category 3: Experiential Activities

Students must include as part of their program an experiential activity that broadens or deepens their study of international and intercultural topics.  Activities that satisfy this requirement include, but are not limited to:

  • Participation on an international moot court competition team
  • A clinical experience such as the McGeorge Immigration Law Clinic
  • Overseas study (summer or semester) that requires significant intercultural exposure (as, for example, courses taught in languages other than English, seminar courses that involve working with or significant interaction with non-U.S. law students, or programs in which U.S. law students represent a minority of the students enrolled)
  • In-depth intellectual exposure to an international topic leading to the production of a significant written product outside the context of a structured course with an examination (as, for example, writing an article on a topic of international or transnational law for an academic journal, including the McGeorge Global Business and Law Journal and the McGeorge Law Review, or a directed research project)
  • Internship or externship with a transnational or international focus
  • Research assistant working on a project with a significant international or comparative research component

Experiential activities for which McGeorge grants academic credit may also be used to satisfy the Category 2:  Elective Courses requirement.

Explanation of Requirements (see also Note 4)

The Basic Courses cover fundamentals expected of any lawyer who practices in an international arena.

The Elective Courses all relate to more specialized aspects of public or business-related international law with enough breadth to allow students to emphasize their individual interests within the broad scope of international law.

The Experiential Activities are designed both to increase the students' knowledge and to provide them with a concrete exemplar of their genuine interest and experience in international and intercultural legal practice. 

Faculty Advisor

Students are encouraged to consult with the Faculty Advisor of the Certificate Program, and with professors teaching any of the listed courses, to learn more about how the specific courses may further their academic interests and career goals. The Faculty Advisor, in consultation with the International Studies Committee, is authorized to approve appropriate substitutions of courses or units when necessary to accommodate the specific career goals and interests of individual students, as well as to provide academic counseling.­

Professor Macfarlane

Hether Macfarlane is the Faculty Advisor for the Cer­tificate in International Legal Studies. If you are interested in the Certificate Program, you should contact Professor Macfarlane at: 916.739.7215 or  Email Professor Macfarlane.

 

 

Notes:

Note 1: Students are required to take either Transnational Litigation or International Business Transactions.  Students may choose to take both courses, with one of them serving as an elective from Category 2.

Note 2: This requirement may be waived by the Faculty Advisor for students who gain equivalent expertise by serving as a research assistant to a professor on a topic of international or comparative law or engaging in directed research on a significant international or comparative topic.

Note 3: Available during the Pacific McGeorge Summer Program at the University of Salzburg Faculty of Law.

Note 4: The Faculty Advisor has discretion to allow students to satisfy the certificate requirements through completion of courses not listed above upon a showing that those courses meet the objectives of the requirement in each individual student's case.