Semester exchange programs
Indiana Law has formed partnerships with many prestigious law schools around the globe. One of the benefits of these partnerships is one-to-one student exchanges. Indiana Law students and students from our partner schools pay tuition and fees as if they were at their home schools, and then exchange places for the semester. Credits from courses passed in semester exchange programs transfer to the Maurer School of Law as long as the courses have been approved in advance as meeting Law School and ABA standards and requirements.
Eligibility
Students may apply to study abroad during any semester in their 2L or 3L years. The most common semester for study abroad is fall semester 3L year, though different students will choose different semesters for a variety of personal, academic and professional reasons. Basic eligibility requirements for a semester abroad include: a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2 (some programs do require a higher GPA to be eligible); no character or fitness concerns; and an achievable plan for meeting Maurer credit requirements and bar exam preparation. Students with a cumulative GPA of lower than 3.2 may petition to be considered. In addition to the basic eligibility requirements, all applicants must be able to articulate their academic and professional reasons for wanting to spend a semester or year abroad as part of the application and through discussions with Dean Davis and Dean McFadden. Approval decisions are made by the Maurer Study Abroad Committee.
Students who are interested in spending two semesters abroad and/or pursuing one of Indiana Law's international dual-degree programs must meet an even higher threshold for Study Abroad Committee approval. To be approved to spend one-third of one’s Maurer J.D. program elsewhere, students need to demonstrate, at minimum: a comprehensive plan for meeting all Maurer and bar requirements in their two years at Maurer; compelling academic, professional and personal arguments for spending two semesters away in the chosen location(s) and/or degree; and a GPA that exceeds the Maurer median and meets the requirements of the selected program(s). Dual-degree programs are normally undertaken in the 3L year, as many international LLM degrees require at least two years of prior law study to be eligible. Students with a cumulative GPA lower than the Maurer median for the current year may petition to be considered.
Students applying to study abroad for a semester or a year must first be approved by the Study Abroad Committee and then, if approved, students are nominated to the partner school and guided through the individual exchange partner’s application process. While nominated students are usually accepted by the partner school, the final admission decision is at the discretion of the partner school..
How to apply
- Attend an International Opportunities Information Session in the fall semester;
- Speak with current exchange students and past participants (list available from Lucero Guillen);
- Make an appointment to meet with Lucero Guillen (Room 254); and
- Submit the Law School's EXCHANGE PROGRAM APPLICATION for fall and academic year programs by February 9, 2025. Spring applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until September 1 for programs with available space. If you have questions about the programs or the application process, please contact Lucero Guillen (maguille@iu.edu).