Washburn Law-Maastricht Study Abroad Program
Overview
Washburn Law's Independent Study Abroad Program at Maastricht University is designed to allow Washburn law students to enroll in one semester (or in certain circumstances, one year) of international law and comparative law courses offered by the Faculty of Law at Maastricht University, the Netherlands. Through their coursework, students will be exposed to the socio-legal environment of the Netherlands and Europe.
Requirements
Number and Qualifications of Students
Washburn law students who have completed one year of full-time study, and who are in good standing, are qualified to apply for enrollment in the Washburn Law-Maastricht Study Abroad Program. The Program will be limited to the equivalent of 4 students enrolled for one semester each academic year (i.e., 4 semester abroad students; or 2 full academic year abroad students; or 2 semester and 1 full academic year abroad students).
Selection Process
Interested students must submit an application to the law school's Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (the Academic Dean) by March 1 of the academic year immediately preceding the academic year that the student wishes to be enrolled in the Program. See the How to Apply section. If fewer than 4 semester abroad students apply for the upcoming academic year, the applicants may request to enroll for a full academic year abroad (for a maximum of 30 credit hours). On the other hand, if more than 4 semester abroad students apply to the Academic Dean for enrollment in the same academic year, the Academic Dean and the Director of International Legal Programs will select which students will be permitted to enroll and the Deans' Office will maintain a waiting list.
Simultaneous Enrollment in the Maastricht LL.M. Program
Students can seek enrollment in one of three Maastricht University LL.M. Programs at the same time they are applying for the Washburn Law-Maastricht Study Abroad Program. The three Maastricht LL.M. programs are: European Law School, Globalisation and the Law, and International and European Tax Law. Students must apply directly to Maastricht University to be admitted into one of its LL.M. programs. If admitted, the Washburn student must enroll in the required courses for the selected LL.M. program in the fall semester at Maastricht, when the Washburn student would be considered an exchange student under the Washburn Law-Maastricht Study Abroad Program. In the spring semester, however, the Washburn student would become a Maastricht LL.M. student and would be required to pay tuition to Maastricht University, in addition to paying Washburn tuition, in order to receive credits towards Washburn's J.D. degree requirements at the same time as Maastricht's LL.M. degree requirements.
Academic Advising at Washburn
The Academic Dean will notify a student whether his or her application for enrollment has been accepted. In addition, the Academic Dean will notify the Director of International Legal Programs and assign each accepted student an academic advisor from the Washburn law faculty. The Academic Dean will provide the student with an Academic Advising Form, which the academic advisor, together with the student, will use to develop a written plan that defines the educational objectives the student seeks to achieve during the semester abroad, and sets out the methods that will be employed in evaluating the student's attainment of these objectives. The student must submit the completed Academic Advising Form to the Academic Dean prior to receiving the Academic Dean's written approval of enrollment in the Program. Copies of the completed Academic Advising Forms will be maintained in the Dean's Office.
Academic Advising at Maastricht University
The Coordinator for International Affairs of the Law Department at Maastricht is designated as the Maastricht academic advisor for any Washburn student enrolled in the Washburn Law-Maastricht Study Abroad Program. While the Washburn student is studying at Maastricht, the Coordinator will supervise and monitor the student's study.
Course Selection
On the Academic Advising Form, the student's Washburn academic advisor will approve the proposed course work that the student will undertake at Maastricht. As a general rule, the student will select courses that focus on local, international, or comparative law.
Students may enroll in up to 15 credit hours at Maastricht University (except for those students who are allowed to enroll for a full academic year; in that case students may enroll in up to 30 credit hours). For students enrolling in the fall semester, students can take courses in Block Period 1 (September through October) and courses in Block Period 2 (November until winter break). For students enrolling in the spring semester, students can take courses in Block Period 4 (February to early April) and courses in Block Period 5 (mid-April to mid-June). See the 2007-2008 calendar and courses taught in English (59 KB PDF; requires Adobe Acrobat Reader). Third-year law students enrolling for the spring semester should be aware that they will be attending classes at Maastricht after the May law school commencement, which could affect their graduation date and their attendance at bar review courses.
Grading and Student Evaluation
Washburn students will be evaluated and examined by their Maastricht instructors. The Academic Dean will be responsible for providing copies of the student's graded work to the Director of International Legal Programs and the student's academic advisor at Washburn. The Student Records Administrator in the Washburn Deans' Office, who is in charge of maintaining academic records, will convert the Maastricht grades to credit/no credit, according to the Washburn policy concerning the transfer of grades from other institutions. In order to receive academic credit, the student must receive a course grade equivalent to a "C" or better for course work completed at Maastricht University.
Classroom Attendance
Students who are enrolled in the Program will be expected to attend classes at Maastricht University on a regular basis, in accordance with the attendance requirements at Washburn.
Tuition
Washburn students enrolled in the Washburn Law-Maastricht Study Abroad Program will pay Washburn University School of Law tuition, to Washburn University, for the number of credit hours in which the student is enrolled in the Program. (See Simultaneous Enrollment in the Maastricht LL.M. Program for information about tuition payments when a student is simultaneously enrolled at Washburn and in an LL.M. program at Maastricht University.)
