AUWCL Expands International JD Dual Degree Program to Include Italy

New Italy partnership joins programs in Spain, Australia, Canada, and France

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 5, 2015 —American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL) recently approved a new addition to its International JD Dual Degree Programs, bringing the number of countries to five in which students can simultaneously earn the AUWCL JD and another law degree. In addition to Australia, Canada, France and Spain, AUWCL students can now earn a law degree in Italy (Laurea Magistrale in Giurisprudenza) through its partnership with Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli (LUISS), a private university located in Rome.

This new International JD Dual Degree option is an exciting expansion of the school’s growing global programs and will prepare participants to practice law in both Italy and the United States. AUWCL’s other International JD Dual Degree partners include Monash University in Melbourne, Australia (JD/ Master of Laws [Juris Doctor]); the University of Ottawa in Canada (JD/JD); University of Paris Ouest Nanterre la Defense in France (JD/ Master I/ Master II); and University Carlos III in Madrid, Spain (JD/Masters). Through these unique programs, participants learn like local law students, are immersed in the legal culture, structure, and norms of each country, and are appropriately credentialed as a result.

Students apply to the International JD Dual Degree Programs during January of their 1L year through the Office of Global Opportunities, which creates and administers the programs. Accepted students complete two years of JD study at AUWCL and up to two years of legal study at the partner institution. More than 100 students have graduated from these programs, with many going on to truly global careers in places like Paris, Hong Kong, London, New Delhi, Toronto, Geneva, Brussels, Buenos Aires, São Paolo, New York, and Washington, D.C.

“The addition of LUISS to our vibrant International JD Dual Degree Programs opens opportunities for our students that were previously unimaginable,” stated Claudio Grossman, dean of AUWCL. “Graduates of these programs have been intellectually and culturally enriched, gaining a distinct advantage over their peers when it comes to being ready to practice law in today’s global environment.”

A leader in international legal education, AUWCL offers programs around the world for its JD students, including summer programs in Europe, Latin America, and Asia; semester programs on six continents with more than 30 university partners; numerous internships and externships across the globe; and multiple competitions, clinics and courses that take students abroad to learn law in an international context. In Washington, D.C., AUWCL offers more than 200 courses and seminars in international law, and draws on its vast network of global practitioners, academics, and alumni to support its vision of an interconnected world.

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In 1896, American University Washington College of Law became the first law school in the country founded by women. More than 100 years since its founding, this law school community is grounded in the values of equality, diversity, and intellectual rigor. The law school's nationally and internationally recognized programs (in clinical legal education, trial advocacy, international law, and intellectual property to name a few) and dedicated faculty provide its 1500 JD, LL.M., and SJD students with the critical skills and values to have an immediate impact as students and as graduates, in Washington, D.C. and around the world. For more information, visit wcl.american.edu.