hey,
i hv been admitted into the ILSP in AU and also have been admitted into Georgetown for their International Law programme. I want to specialise in International Human Rights Law......could someone tell me which Uni would be better?

That is a tough choice. Georgetown is Georgetown. The name by itself can open doors. That being said, American University Washington College of Law is famous for international human rights (Although in the overall U.S. News J.D. rankings Georgetown is ranked higher, both are ranked in the top 10 in U.S. News in the specialty rankings for "International Law"). In addition to a plethora of courses during the regular academic year, American U. offers the Human Rights Academy in the summer; a summer program which brings world renowned scholars in international human rights law, international criminal law, international humanitarian law, etc.
(see, http://www.wcl.american.edu/humright/hracademy/2008/faculty.cfm)
American also has programs like the Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law and War Crimes Research Office, where students can volunteer. At American you will also find a ton of guest lectures/presentations every week, on a variety of topics from international trade, and NAFTA to women's rights and counter-terrorism.

At American you will find professors like Paul Williams (who was nominated for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work), Professor Goldman (who was a member of the Organization of American States Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and its president in 1999; a Human Rights Commission's Independent Expert on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; and was named by the International Commission of Jurists as one of the eight jurists on the Eminent Jurists Panel on Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights), Professor Richard Wilson (who currently represents one of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and was recently named to the Board of Directors of the World Organization for Human Rights) and Professor Maksoud (the former ambassador and permanent observer of the League of Arab States at the United Nations). That being said, I am sure that Georgetown has noted scholars as well, although I get the impression that Georgetown is oriented more towards international business and trade.

Both schools are great. If you are looking primarily for the name, Georgetown probably has a more famous name worldwide, but in terms of the actual learning experience, and the opportunities available, there are very few schools that can rival American in the area of human rights, and I think American is the best law school in DC for this area of law in particular.

thanks a lot for the information.....
just one more thing.....since AU is more Human Rights oriented do u think it will be more easy to get recruited by these international organisations as opposed to Georgetown?

did u need to write the TOEFL? They refused to waive it for me

Hey,

I applied to AU as well and want to specialize in Human rights, that's why I chose the program. My cousin went there and apparently they have career fairs and a career counselor who can help you with resumes (since I need help, this American resume things is way different). Anyway, my cousin got an internship at the OAS and said that several other large organizations come to AU events to scope out/recruit the students. Either way, since both schools are top ranked there's got to be some link to the UN, WB, IMF, etc...but since most of the professors at AU are already involved with these orgs, then I guess that's a foot in the door.

Good luck!

hey, i got admitted to au to study international law and specialize in international trade. i also applied to gw and georgetown. assuming i also get admitted to gw and georgetown, which one of them will be my best option?