A fully ABA-accredited program jointly sponsored by Downing College of Cambridge University and The University of Mississippi School of Law, in affiliation with The University of Arkansas-Fayetteville School of Law, the University of Tennessee College of Law and the University of Nebraska College of Law.

A Great Summer in England; A Professional Door Opened On the World !

Whether you are looking for an exciting change of perspective to invigorate law school, or you are considering a career in international practice, the Cambridge Summer Session is the right place for you.

Professional Enrichment Experiences

Our summer 2008 curriculum features International Law, International Commercial Litigation (from an English perspective), Comparative Copyright Law, International Trade Law, Comparative Refugee and Asylum law, and Comparative Proof in Dispute Resolution Systems. All classes are taught by members of the Cambridge University Faculty of Law or by law professors from the Universities of Mississippi, Arkansas-Fayetteville, Tennessee and Nebraska. Outside the classroom, you can learn first-hand about the English legal system. There will be a day-long excursion to London to visit the Royal Courts of Justice, the Middle Temple Inn of Court and "The Old Bailey" criminal courts. During the program you will have the opportunity to visit Cambridge courts, barristers and solicitors.

The Perfect Location

The Cambridge Summer Session offers a great place for professional advancement, and much, much more. With classes four days a week, there is ample time both to study and to explore your surroundings. Downing College is in the heart of the city of Cambridge, an hour north of London. Cambridge is a vibrant, beautiful combination of the ancient and the thoroughly modern--medieval churches and colleges, dance clubs, lush green parks, riverside pubs, cinemas, shopping centers and a centuries-old open market. Rural England--charming villages, peaceful streams, sheep meadows--is only a few minutes from Downing's gates. All of Britain, as well as Ireland, Paris and Amsterdam, are within reach for the three-day weekends that our four-day class schedule permits.

Cambridge University and Downing College --Centers of Academic Excellence

Cambridge University and its colleges together constitute one of the most important--and beautiful--academic institutions in the world. The University is almost 800 years old. Sir Isaac Newton, Oliver Cromwell, John Milton, Charles Darwin, Lord Byron, Lord Tennyson, John Maynard Keynes, A.A. Milne (author of Winnie the Pooh), Stephen Hawking, Prince Charles, Emma Thompson and more Nobel Prize winners than you can imagine have all been members of Cambridge colleges. Cambridge is today the premier university in the United Kingdom; both the University as a whole and the law faculty are rated number one in the nation (The Times Good University Guide. Times Books: London 1999). Cambridge has been particularly blessed in the field of international law. Among other distinctions, a Cambridge graduate holds (and with rare exception has held for decades) the British seat on the International Court of Justice.

Downing College, our host institution for the Cambridge Summer Session, is renowned for producing excellent lawyers and legal scholars. From Frederic Maitland, the great English legal historian, to Sir Robert Jennings, recently-retired Past President of the International Court of Justice, Downing can claim as its own many people who have played leading roles in establishing Cambridge University's distinguished reputation in the law. Sir Robert, who is an honorary fellow at Downing, lectured in our 1999 summer session, providing our students with a priceless opportunity to learn of the inner workings of the World Court from its highest-ranking official--an experience that we hope to make available in future summer sessions. On the lighter side, John Cleese, of Monty Python fame, also studied law while a student at Downing (although he apparently came no closer to practice than his role as a barrister in A Fish Called Wanda, for which he wore a Downing College tie in one scene).

Convenient, Worry-Free Living And Studying

Your home for the Cambridge Summer Session will be in one of several houses owned by Downing College and located on the south side of the main college grounds. You will have a private room with bathroom facilities shared with another student. Towels and linens are provided by the college, as are housekeeping services during the week. Couples and dependents over 18 can be accommodated (on a case-by-case basis Downing College might be able to approve children under 18 to reside in college). Guests accompanying students for less than the full term of the program can also be accommodated (with payment of pro-rated room and board).

Room and partial board at Downing is a package arrangement. It includes breakfast and lunch, Monday through Thursday during the program, as well as dinner on the first night of the program, June 22, and the semi-formal Final Dinner, July 30. It is not possible to obtain only a room or only partial board. All students are expected to live in Downing College, absent documented extenuating circumstances.

Classes are held in Downing College lecture rooms or in a nearby Cambridge University lecture theatre. The college library and the University's Squire Law Library are available during the day on weekdays. Downing College's coin laundry, computer room, tennis court and playing field may be used and there are numerous sports, restaurant, pub and entertainment facilities within a short walk of the college.

The facilities at Downing College, and in many parts of the city of Cambridge present some difficulties for persons with certain disabilities. For instance, many places can be reached only by narrow stairways. Persons with special needs should contact the resident director, Professor John Czarnetzky at (662) 915-6807, prior to enrollment to ascertain whether suitable accommodation is possible.