International Law Certificate Application
Description of the Certificate Program
The International Law Certificate Program provides JD students at the Sturm College of Law the opportunity to study in-depth various aspects of public and/or private international law. Completion of the International Law Certificate will prepare students for a variety of careers in international law both domestically and globally. Students who obtain the certificate will have an edge over their competition in the job market where international law practice has become a preference for many prospective attorneys.
Program Requirements
Students are eligible for the certificate upon completion of 15 semester credit hours of classes focused on international law, to include the International Law (general survey) course, L4320, and at least one course in Public International Law and one course in Private International Law. The remaining courses are electives chosen by the student from the below list of courses. Courses in international and/ or comparative law taken as part of a study abroad program or a directed research project may also be counted toward the elective requirement. However, study abroad and directed research courses must be approved in writing by the Director of the International Legal Studies Program (ILSP), in consultation with the Dean of Academic Affairs. Students who have participated in the Jessup Moot Court competition, the International Commercial Arbitration Moot, or on the Denver Journal of International Law and Policy (DJILP), may also count such participation for up to 2 hours of elective credit (for each extracurricular activity).
To qualify, students must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.3 or better and have received a grade of B (3.0) in each international or comparative law course. Additionally, a research paper satisfying Sturm's upper-level writing requirement on an international law topic is required as a Capstone requirement. This research paper requirement can be satisfied by a student writing a research paper for one of the International Law courses or seminars, and which meets the upper-level writing requirement. It can also be satisfied by a student undertaking a directed research for 3 credit hours on an International Law topic with a full-time faculty member at Sturm. Such directed research product must also meet Sturm's upper-level writing requirement. Students wishing to fulfill the writing requirement in this manner should direct their requests to Professor Ved Nanda, International Legal Studies Program Faculty Director. The writing requirement must be certified (see below) by the student's course instructor or Directed Research faculty supervisor.