Vienna
Study Abroad Vienna:
Seat of the Habsburg dynasty for more than six hundred years and capital of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy until 1918, Vienna provides a rich and historic site for the program. Vienna also served as a political and cultural nerve center of Europe for centuries. Located at the crossroads between East and West, Vienna has long been the meeting place for diplomats, merchants, kings, and presidents.
The University of Vienna Law School serves as the site of our Vienna Summer Legal Studies Program. Class instruction will be complemented by visits to the Austrian Parliament, the Austrian Constitutional Court, the Austrian Supreme Court, and the Mauthausen Memorial. The program will also include a weekend trip to Prague, Czech Republic, where a three-hour lecture will take place at Charles University.
Our Vienna, Austria program is currently ABA accredited.
If you have any questions, please email viennaloyola@gmail.com.
2026 Dates: June 28 - July 10
Comparative Legal Systems (1 credit hour)
Instructors: Robert A. Garda, Jr. and Richard Gamauf (University of Vienna)
Class Dates: June 29–July 3 & July 6–10, 2026
Class Time: 9:00–10:10 AM
This course will present a comparative view of the legal traditions and institutions of the United States and other EU countries, focusing particularly on the US and Austria. It will provide a comparative examination of the differences between parliamentary and congressional governments and will also explore the differences in these countries’ judicial institutions. Finally, it will also compare some of the differences between common and civil law traditions.
Comparative Criminal Juries (1 credit hour)
Instructor: William C. Snowden
Class Dates: June 29–July 3 & July 6–10, 2026
Class Time: 10:20–11:30 AM
This course will review and examine the use of jurors in criminal trials globally. Students will compare and contrast the United States Constitution's Sixth Amendment guaranteeing a right to a fair and impartial jury with the right to a jury trial, or lack thereof, in countries like Argentina, Austria, Germany and others. Students will be evaluated based on a final small group presentation reviewing the benefits and potential harms of an assigned country's access, or lack thereof, to a criminal jury trial.
Comparative Law & Poverty (1 credit hour)
Instructor: Judson Mitchell
Class Dates: June 29–July 3 & July 6–10, 2026
Class Time: 11:40 AM–12:50 PM
This course is an introduction to major themes in poverty law and the relationship between contemporary poverty and the law. The course begins with a framework for how poverty is measured in the United States and in other countries. The course focuses on major themes in poverty law including the most important constitutional law cases. Specific issues that will be discussed include welfare, work, housing, health, education, criminalization, and access to justice. A comparative analysis between the US and other countries will be used to explore inequality in law and policy.
The Vienna Summer Legal Studies program does not provide housing. However, we recommend the 25 Hours Hotel Museums Quartier, the Hotel Alpha, and other facilities that our students have enjoyed over the past 20 years. The Vienna Summer Legal Studies Program Handbook contains a list of the facilities, as well as candid student comments describing them. We recommend that program participants read this part of the Handbook carefully so as to make the housing choice that is best suited for their needs and budget. Many students have enjoyed the use of Airbnb in Vienna to get the authentic feel of living abroad. The Vienna program Handbook and the Vienna Teaching Assistant can offer assistance in selecting accommodations, but making the actual hotel reservations is the responsibility of the student. Major credit cards are accepted.
Vienna Mandatory Forms
Content forthcoming March 2025.
Vienna Handbook
Content forthcoming March 2025.