George Washington Law School, Washington, DC

Law School Adds New LLM Concentrations

The George Washington University Law School is adding a new master of law concentrations.

The GW Hatchet reports that two new concentrations—International Human Rights Law and International Arbitration, Mediation, and Other Dispute Resolutions—will be launched this fall.

“Through the creation of these concentrations, GW Law will be offering a more specialized curriculum in highly coveted areas of international law for our students.  Having specialties will open professional and externship opportunities for our students and attract more practitioner participation in our lectures, events, and other law school activities.” Rosa Celorio, the associate dean for international and comparative legal studies and a professorial lecturer in international and comparative law and policy, says in a press release.

THE DETAILS

GW Law’s International and Comparative Law program currently offers both a one-year LLM and three-year JD degree.

However, the new concentrations will only be available for students pursuing the LLM degree.

Ceorio says the hope is to give students the specific skillset they need to differentiate themselves from other candidates.

“I personally feel that I’m training the future of international law, and I feel that as faculty members we have a responsibility to give students as many tools as possible and as much training as possible so they can shape and contribute to these fields,” she tells the Hatchet.

Law students who choose to partake will be required to complete 10 credits per concentration. That includes a writing requirement and experiential credits such as internships.

Additionally, students in the concentration will be able to take part in a joint summer program with Oxford University, where they will learn about international human rights law.

Law officials say the new concentrations are a good match for GW Law’s ICL program.

“We’ve always had a real strong program in human rights,” Dinah Shelton, a professor emeritus of international law, tells the Hatchet. “In fact, I think we’re ranked top 10 in the country in human rights, so it makes perfect sense to recognize that with a concentration.”

Sources: The GW Hatchet, GW Law