Imagine working at the Hague, fighting for international human rights, drafting a multinational business contract, or defending immigrants facing deportation. The field of international law is now more important than ever with globalization, trade agreements, and human rights policies affecting the lives of millions of people around the world. Can you imagine the infinite possibilities that a degree in international law offers? If you have already made up your mind about pursuing this field, then take a look at the top ten law schools for international law in the USA. They have been chosen based on their academic reputation, commitment to the field of international law, research centers and institutes, study abroad opportunities, and exchange agreements with international law faculties. The tuition rates stated in this article are believed to be true for the school year 2022-2023.
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10. University of Virginia
“Virginia is justly famous for its collegial environment that bonds students and faculty”
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
International Centers, Programs, and Institutes:
- Center for National Security Law
- Center for Oceans Law and Policy
- International Human Rights Law Clinic
- Immigration Law Program
Study Abroad Opportunities:
Joint degree from University Paris 1 Pantheon – Sorbonne Law School and Sciences Po/Paris
UVA offers exchange programs with the following universities:
- University of Auckland (New Zealand)
- Bocconi Law School in Italy
- Bucerius Law School in Germany
- Hebrew University in Israel
- Instituto de Empresa (IE) in Spain
- The University of Melbourne in Australia
- The University of Paris II in France
- Seoul National University in Korea
- The University of Sydney in Australia
- Tel Aviv University Law School in Israel
- Waseda University in Japan
Tuition/Year: $68,500 (Residents) $71,500 (Nonresidents)
Website: http://www.law.virginia.edu
9. Yale University
“Yale Law School is one of the world’s premier law schools.“
Location: New Haven, Connecticut
International Centers, Programs, and Institutes:
- Center for Global Legal Challenges
- Global Health Justice Partnership
- China Law Center
- Center for International Human Rights
- Latin America Legal Studies
- Center for the Study of Islamic Law and Civilization
- Grueber Program for Global Justice and Women’s Rights
- The World Fellows Program
- The Yale Center for the Study of Globalization
Study Abroad Opportunities:
- Fellowship at the American University in Cairo
- Fellowships in International Human Rights
- International Court of Justice at the Hague Internship/Clerkship
- Yale Law School Fellowship at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (The Hague)
- Ruebhausen South Asia Teaching and Research Fellowship
Tuition/Year: $69,100
Website: http://www.law.yale.edu
8. University of Michigan
“A diverse body of talented students whose cooperative spirit helps bring out the best in faculty and student alike.”
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
International Centers, Programs, and Institutes:
- Center for International & Comparative Law
- Program in Refugee & Asylum Law
- Program for Cambodian Law and Development
- European Legal Studies Program
- Chinese Legal Studies
- Japanese Legal Studies Program
- South Africa and Geneva Externship Programs
Study Abroad Opportunities:
- Amsterdam Law School (The Netherlands)
- University of Paris II (France)
- University College London
- Katholieke University in Leuven (Belgium)
- Bucerius Law School in Hamburg (Germany)
- European University Institute in Florence (Italy)
- Tel Aviv University Faculty of Law (Israel)
- Waseda University Law School in Tokyo (Japan)
- Graduate Institute of International Studies (HEI) in Geneva
- Students may also create their own semester study abroad arrangements, approved by the Law School, and in recent years have done so with the University of Copenhagen, ITAM in Mexico City, the University of Hong Kong, and ICADE, Comillas, in Madrid, Spain.
Tuition/Year: $63,680 (Residents) $66,680 (Nonresidents)
Website: http://www.law.umich.edu/
7. Duke University
“A community of students and scholars located in the center of one of the country’s greatest research universities.“
Location: Durham, North Carolina
International Centers, Programs, and Institutes:
- The Global Law Workshop
- Center for International and Comparative Law
- LLM Degree for Foreign Law Graduates
Study Abroad Opportunities:
- Duke Law offers two international summer institutes: The Duke-Geneva Institute in Transnational Law (Switzerland) and the Asia-America Institute in Transnational Law (Hong Kong)
- Austral University (Argentina)
- Portuguese Catholic University (Portugal)
- Bocconi University (Italy)
- Universite Pantheon-Assas (Paris II – France)
- Bond University (Australia)
- University of Cape Town (South Africa)
- Bucerius Law School (Germany)
- University of Copenhagen (Denmark)
- ESADE Law School (Spain)
- University of Geneva (Switzerland)
- ITAM (Mexico)
- University of Heidelberg (Germany)
- Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium)
- University of Hong Kong
- National University of Singapore
- University of Melbourne (Australia)
- Peking University (China)
- University of Sydney (Australia)
- Waseda University (Japan)
- Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
Tuition/Year: $71,100
Website: http://www.law.duke.edu
6. University of Texas
“Students at UT Law enjoy the best of many worlds, and they emerge with a spectacular education.”
Location: Austin, Texas
International Centers, Programs, and Institutes:
- Immigration Clinic
- Transnational Worker Rights Clinic
- Center for Human Rights
- Institute for Transnational Law
- International Moot Court Competitions
- Lozano Long Institute for Latin America Studies
Study Abroad Opportunities:
JD/Licenciatura en Derecho with Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM)
JD/LLM joint program with the University of Nottingham and the University of Edinburgh
The following universities participate in semester-abroad programs with UT Law:
- Queen Mary, University of London
- University of Melbourne (Australia)
- University of New South Wales (Australia)
- University of Sydney (Australia)
- University of Leiden (Australia)
- European University Institute (Italy)
- University of Buenos Aires (Argentina)
- University of Torcuato di Tella (Argentina)
- Carlos III de Madrid (Spain)
- Bucerius Law School (Germany)
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil)
- Universidade Federal do Para (Brazil)
- Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Chile
- National University of Singapore
Tuition/Year: $36,429 (Residents) $54,096 (Nonresidents)
Website: http://www.utexas.edu/law
5. Cornell University
“From the beginning, Cornell Law School has embraced an international perspective, a diverse student body, and international scholarship.”
Location: Ithaca, New York
International Centers, Programs, and Institutes:
- The Berger International Legal Studies Program
- The Clarke Center for International and Comparative Legal Studies
- The Clarke Program in East Asian Law and Culture
- Mori, Hamada & Matsumoto Faculty Exchange
- The Clarke Middle East Legal Studies Fund
Study Abroad Opportunities:
Cornell Law School offers summer programs at the Summer Institute of International & Comparative Law in Paris and at the Summer Law Institute in Suzhou, China.
Cornell offers semester-abroad programs with:
- Bucerius Law School (Germany)
- University of Cape Town (South Africa)
- Central European University (Hungary)
- ESADE (Spain)
- University of Heidelberg (Germany)
- University of Hong Kong (China)
- Humboldt University (Germany)
- Keio University (Japan)
- University College London
- University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne (France)
- Peking University Law School (China)
- Pompeu Fabra University (Spain)
- University of Sydney (Australia)
- Tel Aviv University (Israel)
- Waseda University (Japan)
Tuition/Year: $74,098
Website: http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu
4. Georgetown University
“The Law School located in the heart of the nation’s capital.”
Location: Washington, DC
International Centers, Programs, and Institutes:
- Center for Transnational Legal Studies
- London Summer Program
- Asian Law and Policy Studies
- Center for the Advancement of the Rule of the Law in the Americas (CAROLA)
- Georgetown Human Rights Institute
- Institute of International Economic Law
- Program on International Business and Economic Law
Study Abroad Opportunities:
- Georgetown Law currently has established study abroad programs with:
- Universidad Torcuato di Tella in Buenos Aires (Argentina)
- Tsinghua University School of Law (China)
- Bucerius Law School in Hamburg (Germany)
- University of Heidelberg (Germany)
- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel)
- University of Leiden (The Netherlands)
- National University of Singapore School of Law
- ESADE University School of Law (Spain)
- The Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and Paris I (part of the Sorbonne)
Tuition/Year: $71,996
Website: http://www.law.georgetown.edu
3. Harvard University
“At Harvard Law School, ‘international’ is not just something we teach. It is something we are.”
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
International Centers, Programs, and Institutes:
- East Asian Legal Studies Program
- European Law Research Center
- Human Rights Program
- International Center for Criminal Justice
- Islamic Legal Studies Program
- Program on International Financial Systems
- International Law Library
Study Abroad Opportunities:
- Joint JD/LLM program from Cambridge University
- Harvard Law School has exchange agreements with a number of foreign schools:
- University of Sydney (Australia)
- Fudan University Law School (Shanghai, China)
- University of Tokyo (Japan)
- University of Geneva Faculty of Law and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies – Geneva (Switzerland)
- University of Chile (Santiago, Chile)
- Fundação Getulio Vargas (Rio and Sao Paulo, Brazil)
- Arrangements with the following school are being finalized:
- University of Toronto (Canada)
- University of Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Tuition/Year: $70,430
Website: http://www.law.harvard.edu
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2. Columbia University
“Our students, faculty, and centers’ activities reach far beyond Jerome Greene Hall, and continue to have a formidable impact on the international community.”
Location: New York, New York
International Centers, Programs, and Institutes:
- Center for Contract and Economic Organization
- Center for Chinese Legal Studies
- Center for Japanese Legal Studies
- Center for Korean Legal Studies
- European Legal Studies Center
- The Center for Global Legal Problems
- Human Rights Institute
- Parker School for Foreign and Comparative Law
- International Moot Court
Study Abroad Opportunities:
- Dual degrees in French Law Program with Universite de Paris I – Pantheon Sorbonne and the Insitut d’etudes politiques, “Sciences-Po”
- Dual degrees with the University of London
- Dual degrees with the Institut for Law and Finance at the University of Frankfurt
In addition, Columbia Law School offers the following exchange programs:
- University of Amsterdam
- Bucerius Law School (Hamburg, Germany)
- University of Buenos Aires (Argentina)
- Central European University (Budapest, Hungary)
- European University Institute (Florence, Italy)
- Institute for Law & Finance in Frankfurt (Germany)
- Peking University
- Hebrew University (Jerusalem, Israel)
- Humboldt University (Germany)
- Kyushu University (Japan)
- University of Neuchatel (Switzerland)
- University of Paris II – Assas (France)
- National University of Singapore
- Waseda University (Tokyo, Japan)
- University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa)
Tuition/Year: $75,572
Website: http://www.law.columbia.edu
1. New York University
“New York University Law School is a global ‘melting pot’ of scholars and practitioners.”
Location: New York, New York
International Centers, Programs, and Institutes:
- Hauser Global Law School Program
- Institute for International Law and Justice
- Center for Human Rights and Global Justice
- Center on Law and Security
- Global Public Service Law Project
- Jean Monnet Center for International and Regional Economic Law and Justice
- Project on Transitional Justice
Study Abroad Opportunities:
NYU School of Law participates in study abroad programs with eleven foreign law faculties at the universities of:
- Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
- Kyushu (Japan)
- Copenhagen (Denmark)
- Leuven (Belgium)
- Palermo (Argentina)
- Paris II and Paris X (France)
- Sydney (Australia)
- European University Institute (Italy)
- Bucerius Law School (Germany)
- National University of Singapore
Tuition/Year: $73,216
Website: http://www.law.nyu.edu
