Santa Clara Student Exchange Program & Dual LLM Option

LLM Exchange Semester & Dual LLM Option at Santa Clara University School of Law, Silicon Valley, California

Study Emphasis: U.S. Business Law/U.S. Intellectual Property & Technology Law

Students of the LLM Program in European and International Business Law have the opportunity to include U.S. business law, U.S. intellectual property law, and U.S. technology law in their LLM education. This option is of particular interest to students who wish to focus their career as international business lawyers on the transatlantic EU-US marketplace. Exchange students must hold a first law degree and be enrolled in Vienna's LLM Program in European and International Business Law, also during the exchange semester(s) at Santa Clara Law School.

Exchange Semester

As a joint initiative, the University of Vienna and Santa Clara University designed a student exchange program, which allows students of Vienna's LLM Program in European and International Business Law to spend one semester at Santa Clara Law School in Silicon Valley, California.

Students can apply for the fall exchange semester or spring exchange semester. The fall semester runs from mid-August to mid-December, the spring semester from mid-January to mid-May at Santa Clara Law School. Exchange students must hold a first law degree and be enrolled in Vienna's LLM Program in European and International Business Law during the exchange semester at Santa Clara Law School.

Exchange students must enroll a minimum of 8 units of coursework at Santa Clara Law School.  Exchange students can transfer and use up to 12 unit credits earned at Santa Clara Law School as unit credits for elective courses for Vienna's LLM Program in European and International Business Law.

Exchange students do not have to pay any tuition for the one semester of study at Santa Clara Law School. However, all other costs (travel, housing, living expenses, health insurance, course materials, student visa expenses, etc) must be covered directly by the exchange students.

Application deadline for the fall semester 2024 and spring semester 2025: March 15, 2024

There is a limited number of spaces for an exchange semester available.

Please contact Professor Siegfried Fina for more details.

Dual LLM Option

Exchange students of Vienna's LLM Program in European and International Business Law have the option to extend their exchange semester (one semester) by a second semester at Santa Clara Law School, if they wish to earn an LLM in U.S. Law from Santa Clara Law School in the second semester. This Dual LLM Option combines Vienna's LLM Program in European and International Business Law and Santa Clara's LLM Program in U.S. Law and allows students to study European, U.S., and international business law. Ultimately, students will earn two LLM degrees, one from the University of Vienna and one from Santa Clara University.

Students, who wish to pursue this Dual LLM route, must start their studies at Santa Clara Law School in the fall semester (exchange semester). When students apply for the Santa Clara exchange program, they must also declare in their application, whether they apply for the exchange semester (one semester) or for the Dual LLM option (two semesters). Santa Clara Law School does not allow to switch from the one-semester exchange program to the two-semester Dual LLM Option later.

Dual LLM students must complete a total of 24 units of coursework at Santa Clara Law School (12 units in each semester). Dual LLM students can transfer and use up to 12 unit credits earned at Santa Clara Law School as unit credits for elective courses for Vienna's LLM Program in European and International Business Law.

Accepted students can specialize in U.S. business law, or U.S. intellectual property & technology law, or international & comparative law at Santa Clara Law School.

Dual LLM students do not have to pay any tuition for the first semester ("exchange semester") at Santa Clara Law School. Dual LLM students only have to pay tuition for the second semester ("LLM semester"), i.e. only for 12 units (around $27,000), at Santa Clara Law School. Students must also cover all other costs (travel, housing, living expenses, health insurance, course materials, student visa expenses, etc).

There is a limited number of spaces for the Dual LLM Option available.

Application deadline for the next academic year: March 15

Please contact Professor Siegfried Fina for more details.

About Santa Clara Law School

Santa Clara University is a private university, located in Silicon Valley, California, the internationally leading high tech cluster. Santa Clara Law School is the oldest law school of California, and has a strong emphasis on business law, intellectual property law, and technology law, offering more than 50 courses in this area every academic year. Santa Clara Law School is among the top ranked U.S. law schools in the field of intellectual property and technology law (ranked 4th in the U.S. in 2021), and thus of special interest to students who wish to put an emphasis on this area of business law. For further information, please visit Santa Clara Law School's website: law.scu.edu