Inter-American Summer Program in Guatemala
Pacific McGeorge School of Law is partnering with the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law to offer the innovative 2013 Inter-American Summer Program in Guatemala. Gonzaga University School of Law, in Spokane, Wash., is also affiliated with the program.
The Inter-American Summer Program in Guatemala received ABA accreditation in December 2010.
The 2013 Inter-American Summer Program in Guatemala, which takes place in the city of Antigua, will run from May 25 through June 15, 2013, with an optional Externship/Field Placement running from June 17 to Aug. 9.
- Admissions
- Courses
- Externships/Field Placements
- Faculty
- Pay your deposit
- Register beginning Nov. 15, 2012
- Tuition, Fees and Policies
- When — May 25 to June 15, 2013 for the program, and June 17 to Aug. 9, 2013 for the Externship/Field Placement
The Program
The Inter-American Summer Program in Guatemala is a truly bilingual and inter-cultural approach to legal education. It offers comparative and transnational substantive law classes about Latin America taught in Spanish and English as well as bilingual field placements and legal Spanish immersion. It allows students the opportunity to study with Latin American students. Program participants will gain professional legal and inter-cultural experience useful in the practice of law in Latin America or to work with Latino issues and clients in the United States.
To encourage participation from as many students and recent law graduates, the Inter-American Program is designed to accommodate the learning objectives and needs of participants with varying degrees of Spanish proficiency, as follows:
- Beginning-to-intermediate Spanish speakers may enroll in a combined Spanish Immersion-Legal Spanish course with a substantive law course taught in English.
- Intermediate to fluent Spanish speakers may combine the Spanish Immersion-Legal Spanish course with a substantive law course taught in Spanish or may enroll in two substantive law courses taught in Spanish.
- Only students with a high level of Spanish proficiency may enroll in the field placement. Students enrolling in the field placements must enroll in the two law courses taught in Spanish.
A description of the courses are included in the list of courses.
The agencies and organizations in which field placements will be offered work in the fields of environmental justice, criminal law, civil law, commerce and trade, human rights, economic development, and immigration relations. They include placements with prominent government, non-governmental, private, and international institutions, including placements with the highest courts in Latin America. These field placements are offered in addition to Guatemala, in Costa Rica, Chile, and Uruguay. A description of these and other bilingual placements are included on the International Bilingual Field Placements page.
Pacific McGeorge has entered into an agreement with Rafael Landívar University, a leading Jesuit-run institution in Guatemala that is known for its social justice mission and its offerings of law courses in the field of human rights. In addition, Pacific McGeorge works closely with several other law schools in Guatemala, Chile and Spain. These collaborations allow for exchanges of professors and students from those regions in the program. Students from Rafael Landívar University and other Latin American law schools or lawyers from institutions with which we collaborate in the region may attend classes in this program with U.S. law students, providing a unique opportunity to learn firsthand about the legal systems of Latin America.
In 2012, 37 students from ten different law schools, including eight from three law schools in Guatemala enrolled in the program. Enrollment in the Inter-American Summer Program in Guatemala in 2013 is expected to be about 40 students and will be limited to no more than 50 students and accompanying guests.
Not all facilities are easily accessed by persons with mobility disabilities.
Deadlines
- March 1, 2013 — Applications for Classroom Program and Field Placements are due along with deposit ($250). Late applications will be considered for the Classroom Program and the Externship on a space-available basis.
- March 15, 2013 — Applicants will be notified of acceptance to the Classroom Program and Field Placement. Application Fees are applied to the applicant Mandatory Program Fees if you are admitted, or are fully refunded if enrollment is denied.
- April 1, 2013 — Non-Refundable Field Placement Deposit ($500) due. Externship spots are competitive. Once selected, to secure your spot in an Externship a non-refundable $500 deposit is required. Application Fees are refunded if you cancel prior to this date.
- April 15, 2013 — Unit Fees and Program Fees are due. Extensions may be granted if financial aid funds are delayed. If an applicant withdraws from enrollment prior to the first date of the program (May 26) but after April 15, the applicant will be refunded Unit Fees, but will forfeit application fees, deposits, and mandatory program fees. Failure to meet the payment deadlines specified results in automatic forfeiture of your place in the program as well as forfeiture of fees and deposits paid. The student will also forfeit any program fee paid for an accompanying person.
- All Fees will be returned if the program is cancelled.
Travel Information
The U.S. State Department website lists current travel advisories for Guatemala.
The City of Antigua, Guatemala
La Antigua Guatemala (commonly referred to as just Antigua or La Antigua) is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala famous for its well-preserved Spanish Mudejar-influenced Baroque architecture as well as a number of spectacular ruins of colonial churches.
It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. La Antigua Guatemala means "Old Guatemala" and, it was the third capital of Guatemala.
For more information about the city, take a look at the official Guatemala tourist website.
Our Partner
Our Affiliate
Questions?
Contact Pauline Rodriguez, Summer Abroad Programs, Graduate & International Programs
Pacific McGeorge School of Law
3200 Fifth Ave.
Sacramento, CA 95817
Email | 916.739.7021
