Summer Abroad in San Jose, Costa Rica

Sunday May 24, 2026 to Friday June 12, 2026

Classes are typically held in the morning each day, with legal site visits occurring one or two afternoons per week. 

Course Title and Credits

• Human Rights in the Americas
• 4 credits

Course Description

The course introduces students to public international law, the origins and scope of the international human rights movement, global enforcement mechanisms and institutions – with a focus on the United Nations human rights system, covering treaty-based and Charter-based human rights institutions. Students examine both the law and politics of regional human rights through the lens of the inter-American system. These international human rights classes are taught in English Monday-Thursday. We also offer Spanish language instruction and a cultural immersion program at no additional charge. The final exam will be administered in-class at the end of the course, and will be a combination of multiple choice questions, short answers, and short essays.

Past legal site visits have included:

• Meeting with union attorneys and workers who are suffering labor rights violations in banana and pineapple plantations
• Meeting with rural communities who lack basic access to clean water
• Visiting local human rights organizations
• Participating in a hearing before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Past cultural activities have included:

• Group dinners 
• Salsa dancing lessons
• Cooking lessons
• City walking tour

Faculty Program Director: Francisco Rivera

Local Teaching Faculty: Judges and Clerks of the Inter-American Court

In addition to the academic program, many students choose to stay abroad for the full summer by adding an externship.

The 2026 Externship Dates are:

Monday June 15, 2026 to Friday July 24, 2026

Possible placements on this program include:

• Costa Rica - Interamerican Court
• Dominican Republic - Human Rights
• Puerto Rico - Human Rights
• Virtual Placements - Human Rights

Externship Dates & Commitment

Externships typically begin the Monday after your academic session ends and continue through late July, lasting 6–9 weeks. Expect to work full-time (approx. 40+ hours/week) and complete 200–300 total hours. You’ll earn academic credit and must also complete a required, zero-unit course (Law 706i: International Externship Workshop) to meet ABA experiential learning requirements.

What is an Externship?

Externships are for-credit legal internships. All placements are with law firms or legal non-profits abroad and supervised by licensed attorneys. On Santa Clara Law’s summer abroad programs, the placements are for credit and are unpaid. 

Placement Process and Timeline

On Santa Clara Law’s summer abroad programs, students do not need to find their own placement or apply or interview for their placements. Instead, you apply to us, and we place you with one of our partner law firms / legal non-profit organizations. In the placement process, we consider your preferences (location, environment, and practice area), but placements and preferences are not guaranteed. 

Externship Placement Timeline

After your application has been accepted, you will be prompted to commit to your program. You confirm your commitment by paying a non-refundable deposit (the deposit is a prepayment of a portion of tuition). Priority for externships placements is established based on the date of your deposit. While we maintain a large number of annual placements, we do not begin working on your actual placement or hold your spot as requesting a placement until you pay your deposit. Actual placements (e.g. exact law firm) are typically finalized between March and May, before the start of your core academic program. Rarely, we need additional time to verify the suitable placement.

Santa Clara Law’s summer abroad programs are individually approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) and are eligible for transfer credit to all other ABA law schools. We actively welcome non-Santa Clara students on our programs and each year typically about 50% of our summer abroad students are from other law schools.

If you are not a Santa Clara Law student, you should contact your home school’s registrar or academic dean to understand your home school transfer policies and rules on which credits will transfer back to your home school. Typically to evaluate transfer credit your home school will want to see that Santa Clara Law’s abroad program is on the ABA approval list and they will want to review the “course description” listed above. If you have questions about transfer credit, enrolling as a visiting student, or need additional information such as a syllabus, please contact LawStudyAbroad@scu.edu

Here are answers to some of the most common questions we receive about our Summer Abroad Programs.

• Santa Clara Law Summer Abroad Programs are open to all students of American Bar Association (ABA) and California Bar Accredited Law Schools that are in good academic standing.
• The application process is not competitive - if you are in good standing, your application will be accepted. 
• All classes are taught in English.
• All classes are fully accredited by American Bar Association (ABA) and transferable to your home institution for JD credit.

• October 1 - Applications Open
• January 31 - Priority Deadline and Abroad Ambassador Deadline
• March 1  - Deadline to Commit to Externship Placements 
• April 1 - Deadline to Commit to Academic Programs

For most programs, the best time to apply is winter break. If you are interested in our programs in The Hague or Tokyo, we recommend submitting your application as soon as possible (as these two programs do typically fill up).

The Santa Clara Law Summer Abroad Application Process is:

• Discernment: Spend time considering which summer program and experience is right for you. 
• Application: Submit an application for that program 
  • To apply for your program, navigate to the program specific website select the red "apply now" button.
  • Santa Clara Law students, you will select "SCU Students, Faculty and Staff" and use your single sign on to access the application. 
  • Visiting law students, select "new user, create account" to create a new account and access the application.
• Acceptance: The application process is not competitive - if you are in good standing, and the program has space, your application will be accepted. 
• Commitment: Once accepted, you must pay your deposit (which is a portion of tuition) to save your spot on the program. 

The application for an academic program is very simple and takes most students less than 15 minutes to complete. If you would like to add an externship, the application requires you to submit an up- to- date resume and to answer some questions about your placement preferences, intercultural experiences, and goals for the externship.

Our applications aren’t competitive. If you want to go abroad and you're in good standing at your law school, you'll be accepted! That said, some programs and all externships do fill up. If you have a specific one in mind, it’s best to commit to the program earlier in the cycle.

We understand that cost is an important factor when considering study abroad. Below are some of the ways we work to make our programs more affordable and financially accessible for students.

• Reduced Tuition: Summer Abroad Tuition is $1,500 per credit, which is significantly lower than on-campus rates at most law schools. These tuition savings are intended to offset travel expenses and improve accessibility.
• No Application or Activity Fees: We only charge tuition. There are no application or activity fees. Tuition covers not only coursework but also program-related social, cultural, and networking events and International Emergency Medical and Travel Assistance.
• Financial Aid: All programs are eligible for federal financial aid. Santa Clara Law Dean’s Fellows may apply their academic scholarships. Other academic scholarships do not apply, since applying scholarships to the lower cost study abroad tuition would not fully leverage their intended value.
• For Santa Clara Students: Abroad Ambassador Program: This competitive program covers airfare for selected students who assist with program marketing.
• For Visiting Students - Group Discounts: If 5 or more students from your school attend any of our summer abroad programs, all students from your school get a 15% discount on tuition for the academic classes (this discount does not extend to externship credits). Our team is happy to help spread the word by sending brochures or presenting at an informational session.