Our Sydney program offers course work in contemporary human rights topics including Forced Migration, Refugee and Asylum. After the academic program, students can opt to add on a human rights externship experience.
Sunday May 24, 2026 to Friday June 5, 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
- Forced Migration Law
- 3 Credits
Course Description
This academic program will focus on an issue of tremendous current global importance – forced migration. Students will study refugee law, as well as relief for victims of trafficking in persons, torture, crime, and war, and environmental factors in migration flows. We’ll also have the opportunity to hear from guest speakers on topics such as the practice of law in Australia and legal issues concerning Australia’s indigenous peoples. The class will make numerous site visits to Australian courts and legal institutions and have the opportunity for discussion with Australian judges and lawyers. And the program will make time for a weekend trip to an Australian wildlife park and the beautiful Blue Mountains. Evaluation is based on class participation and a final written exam.
Past legal site visits have included:
- Refugee Non-Profit
- Local criminal court
- Federal Court of Australia
- Indigenous Law non-profit
- Environmental Law non-profit
- Australian Human Rights Commission
Past cultural activities have included:
- Sydney opera house tour
- Weekend day trip to an Australian wildlife park and the Blue Mountains
Faculty Program Director: Anna Benvenue
Local Teaching Faculty: Chris Honnery
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 8, 2026 to Friday July 24, 2026
Possible placements on this program include:
- Sydney - Refugee Law, Indigenous Law, Environmental Law
- Melbourne - Refugee Law
- Greece - Refugee Law
- Malta - Refugee Law
- Romania - Refugee Law
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.