The Legal Studies Abroad Program is a pre-law program for undergraduate students offered jointly by the UPF Education Abroad Program and UPF Law School.

The program is an honors program intended to provide eligible outstanding students with introductory education and training in the field of law. It focuses on international and European law, comparative private law, and certain specific internationally important areas of law, while also giving students the chance to earn credits for studying abroad.

Unlike North American pre-law programs, which are chiefly instrumental, the Legal Studies Abroad Program offers an introductory view of substantive topics from a markedly international perspective. Students are also given the chance to enroll in optional courses and regular undergraduate law courses, under academic supervision.

The program is moreover designed to expose participants to the international context of a European university and the quality and academic rigor of a top-tier law school in Spain and the only one to be chosen by the Oxford University Faculty of Law as a Spanish partner.

Who is it for?

This semester-long program may be of interest to any student planning to attend law school in the U.S. or Canada and seeking introductory training on the international legal order, the relevant features of major Western legal cultures and their institutions, and basic legal skills and methods of reasoning. The program may also be of interest to students seeking to pursue careers in international relations or similar fields.

The Legal Studies Abroad Program is not a preparatory course for the LSAT. Rather, it provides the basis for a comparative study of European and North American legal systems.

A minor or concentration in legal studies, international relations, or political science would be helpful for students interested in enrolling in UPF law degree courses.

 
KEY AREAS
> Business Organizations
> Comparative Law
> Criminal Justice Systems
> 20th-Century European History
> European Union Law		 > Human Rights
> Private Law: Basic Institutions
> Public International Law
> Terrorism
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: Winter and Winter-Spring: October 30
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
  • This is an honors program; applicants should have a minimum GPA of 3.3 at their school of origin.
  • The program is suitable for students with a strong command of Spanish and for those wishing to take courses only in English, as courses are offered in both English and Spanish.
  • Please, note that to take courses taught in Spanish, students are strongly advised to have completed at least four semesters of college-level Spanish.
  • Applicants should come from a university or study abroad provider with a study abroad agreement with UPF.
ACADEMIC STRUCTURE

The program requires a full semester course load (normally 4-5 courses, equivalent to 24-30 ECTS credits). Three of the courses are to be chosen from among the Legal Studies Abroad Program course options, including one compulsory Legal Studies Abroad Program core course.

The program structure is to take three courses among the Legal Studies Abroad Program course options, including:

  • one mandatory Core Course
  • two more courses to be chosen from the reminder Legal Studies program courses, the HESP program law-related courses or the UPF Law School courses.

Students may round their course registration with:

  • Spanish language courses which are offered for all levels (from beginner to proficiency, including courses for native speakers)
  • Liberal arts and humanities courses or business courses taken as electives from other UPF Education Abroad Programs
MORE INFORMATION: Calendar | Apply | Fees | Policies

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