The American Bar Association-approved Cooperative Program between the Washington College of Law and the law department of the University of Paris X-Nanterre, offers second- and third-year students at WCL the opportunity to study for a semester at an internationally recognized French law school, earning up to 12 credits toward their J.D. degrees.
Students pay regular tuition for the semester at WCL, and may continue to receive financial aid. With certain exceptions (described below) all course work in the program is conducted in French, and WCL students take classes with their French student counterparts. The program is intended to assist students with an interest in international or European law by introducing them to the substance of French legal doctrine and -- more importantly -- to French legal culture.
In the current organizational scheme of the University of Paris system, which dates from the late 1960's, different units specialize in different academic fields; only a few of the thirteen units have specialized law departments, and the University of Paris X-Nanterre (UPX), itself among the newer branches of the system, is one of these. The campus of UPX is organized around a central plaza containing tennis courts and a well-equipped sports and recreation center (including a double Olympic-size pool); it is located west of downtown Paris, about ten minutes from the Champs Elysées by rapid rail (RER) service. Nearby is the international Trade Center at La Défense, which is rapidly becoming one of Europe's most important financial and commercial zones. All in all, UPX has roughly 30,000 graduate and undergraduate students, about 8,000 of whom study law. Most of these students are commuters, although there are several residence halls on campus.
The University library is one of the best in France, with an excellent law collection of more than 35,000 volumes. It also holds a large selection of current French and English legal and general periodicals. In addition, there are a number of specialized book collections in the law department, on topics such as legal theory, social law, international public law, international commercial law, legal history and anthropology, business law, and political science.
All campus facilities are available to WCL students participating in the Cooperative Program; these include the libraries and sports/recreation center described above, subsidized student restaurants and cafeterias, and health services. Most campus facilities, including classrooms, libraries, and rest rooms, are wheelchair-accessible.
The Nanterre law department offers a full program of basic, intermediate and advanced courses in law. In addition, the Nanterre faculty specializes in international trade law, human rights law, and labor law, among other subjects. The faculty is made up of a distinguished group of full- and part-time teachers. To a greater extent than is common in the United States, French law teachers participate actively in law practice; they bring to the classroom not only an academic perspective on their subjects, but an intensely practical one as well.
UPX is a cosmopolitan school, drawing students from throughout Europe and beyond. Among the law department's specialized graduate programs is one - the D.E.J.E.I. (Diplôme D'Etudes Juridiques Européens et Internationales) - which is designed to prepare law students for transnational practice. The students in the UPX law graduate programs are roughly equivalent in age and educational experience to American J.D. candidates, and WCL program participants have found that the French D.E.J.E.I. students prove to be excellent academic, linguistic and social resources.
The Director of the Cooperative Program at UPX is Professor Sophie Robin Olivier. Professor Olivier makes a special effort to know the WCL program participants personally and to assist them in planning their academic programs.
English-speaking International Relations program staff assst Professor Olivier in working with the WCL students at UPX. Their role is to provide counseling about course selection and academics, and (in general) to help WCL students get the most out of their UPX experience.
No circumstances are anticipated in which the program would be cancelled for next year. However, in the unforseen event of such a cancellation, students would be notified and permitted in courses at WCL.
