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Prospective Student Homepage | Apply Now | Quick Stats International Summer Programs at The University of Fribourg in Fribourg, Switzerland and The Australian National University in Canberra, Australia

The University of Fribourg, Switzerland

In 1996 the School of Law formally established a five-week summer program at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. Alabama students take two classes: a course surveying Swiss law and a comparative doctrinal course. In the first course students learn about the Swiss legal system through presentations by Fribourg law professors. The second course, team-taught in English by a University of Fribourg professor and a University of Alabama professor, lets Alabama and Fribourg students compare the two legal systems in a specific area of law.

Alabama students can earn from four to seven credits during the exchange program. Each course is two units. Students seeking more credits must take an independent study and write a paper on some aspect of comparative law.

Alabama reciprocates by hosting about ten Fribourg students every August. They sit in on classes with Alabama students for approximately seven weeks. These students actively participate in all phases of law school life, both academic and extra-curricular. Many of the Swiss students also travel throughout the Southeast during their stay at Alabama.

For more information on the Fribourg exchange, contact Professor Bryan K. Fair at 205-348-7494 or bfair@law.ua.edu.

The Australian National University, Canberra

Alabama law students interested in summer study abroad now have another option: a trip "down under." In 2001, the Law School began a new reciprocal summer program with The Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, Australia.

Each summer, approximately ten Alabama students travel to Australia where they participate in a five-week program at the ANU. They take two courses. The first offering is a two-credit survey of Australian law taught by the law faculty at the ANU. The survey course explores a number of subjects where there are substantial differences between the Australian and American approaches to law and government. The course generally includes field trips to Parliament, the High Court of Australia, and to a local trial court. The second offering is a three-credit comparative law course focusing on a particular area of the law. The comparative class is team-taught by an Alabama law professor and a faculty member from the ANU Faculty of Law. Alabama students are joined by a group of Australian law students for the comparative law class.

Australian students also visit the Law School under this program. Early each year, ten Australian students travel to Tuscaloosa where they spend five weeks studying American law and taking a comparative law class. The comparative law class is team-taught by a faculty member from the ANU and one from the Alabama law faculty. The Australian students are joined by a group of Alabama students in the comparative class.

This joint program with the ANU offers students from both universities another opportunity to learn about the legal systems in other parts of the world and explore the perspectives which students and faculties have at other universities. The program also offers the respective faculties an opportunity for joint research, writing, and teaching.

It is unlikely participation in foreign summer programs may be used to accelerate graduation. Students interested in acceleration should be referred to their home schools to review this issue.

If you have questions or want to learn more about the ANU program, please contact Professor William L. Andreen at 205-348-7091 or wandreen@law.ua.edu.