Our commitment to global education shows in the sheer number of our faculty who teach and write in areas that have an international or comparative law component and in our rich array of international and comparative law class offerings programs, and activities, both here in Ann Arbor and throughout the world.
Even before they graduate, our students have opportunities to work in Geneva for a semester at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, intern during the summer at law firms in Brazil, clerk in Tanzania at the African Court of Human and Peoples Rights, and study Chinese business law in Hong Kong.
Our faculty work with venture capital firms in India, advise the Court of Justice of the European Union, consult on the drafting of statutes and regulations in the People’s Republic of China, counsel the U.S. State Department on issues of international law, serve on editorial boards of international and comparative law journals, and teach around the globe.
And these are just a few examples.
Building Skills for Global Practice
To give our students a solid foundation for successful and satisfying careers in an interconnected world, we offer numerous opportunities for building critical practical skills. The global opportunities we offer focus on helping students understand other legal systems, learn new languages, develop friendships around the world, and gain legal experience abroad.
Work and Study Abroad
Michigan Law believes there is no substitute for an immersive experience abroad. Legal work or legal studies outside the United States give our students global perspectives and global skills they can use for life. They learn to understand another legal system, speak another language, and build international networks, not to mention embrace cultures, norms, and people who in some ways are so different, but in others quite the same.
Spend a Semester Working in Geneva
The only program of its kind in the United States, our Geneva externship places Michigan Law students as interns at international and non-governmental organizations in Geneva for one semester.
Working at the World Trade Organization, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and many others, our students gain real-world experience while receiving on-the-ground mentorship from our program director.
Clara Belfield and Henry Bates Overseas Fellowships
As an endowed fund exclusively for Michigan Law students and alumni, our Bates Fellowship covers student travel and living expenses around the world. This generous gift allows us to send several recipients each year to sate their curiosity about the legal and political institutions of other countries and enrich their practice of law.
Opportunities in the Law Quad
Opportunities abound to explore international and comparative law, as well as build global legal skills, without leaving our beautiful Law School. Courses, clinics, professors, student organizations, journals, moot court competitions, and extracurricular events all play their part to bring the world to Michigan Law.
Center for International and Comparative Law
The Center for International and Comparative Law works to prepare our JD students for success in a global environment. In a fast-moving and increasingly interconnected world, we strive to anticipate the future while providing clear purpose, diverse offerings, and equal opportunity.
Global Opportunities Across U-M
Because Michigan Law is part of a world-class research university, our students have access to a wide range of academic and professional opportunities at departments and centers throughout the university.
