Richmond Law Cambridge Summer Program

Participants in the Program will reside, dine, and attend classes in Emmanuel College, which has been part of the University of Cambridge since 1584.

Administrative Deadlines for Summer 2026:

* Note that if a student is using financial aid to pay, they may delay full payment as long as we have adequate assurance that funds are expected to arrive before the Program begins.

Program schedule for Summer 2026:

Richmond Law students attending Cambridge may want to balance several priorities: a summer internship, the early-summer law journal competition, and the Cambridge Summer Program itself.

The Program is specifically designed to allow students to do all of the above in the same summer. There are eight weeks available for a summer internship between the end of the spring semester (May 9) and the beginning of the Cambridge Program (July 4). The journal competition for second-year students usually begins the week after the semester ends, but it does not require all of a student’s time, so it can be completed while working at an internship.

Note also that some prospective employers now conduct online interviews during the summer for job opportunities in the following summer. Should this occur for any Cambridge students, the Program administrators will work to accommodate interview schedules.

Housing. All rooms at Emmanuel College are single rooms, with bathrooms shared by a maximum of four people. Linens and housekeeping services are provided at no additional expense, and the Emmanuel College laundry service will wash one load of laundry per student for free each week.

Food. Prior experience has shown that students often travel on the weekends, and even when in Cambridge they prefer a mixture of meals in Emmanuel College and meals on their own in local pubs and restaurants. Therefore, to reduce unnecessary costs, the Program provides the following meals in the Emmanuel College dining hall, otherwise leaving students to forage on their own:

• • Breakfast Monday through Friday.
  • Lunch Monday through Friday.
  • Dinner two days a week, as follows.
    • Week One: Sunday (July 5) and Thursday (July 9).
    • Week Two: Monday (July 13) and Wednesday (July 15).
    • Week Three: Tuesday (July 21) and Wednesday (July 22).
    • Week Four: Monday (July 27) and Wednesday (July 29).
    • Week Five: Tuesday (Aug. 4) and Thursday (Aug. 6).

The dinners listed above are mandatory, so students should not make travel plans that would cause them to miss a scheduled dinner.

Living in Cambridge. Emmanuel College is located in the heart of historic Cambridge, within walking distance of shops, restaurants, pubs, theaters, the train station, and many scenic sights. Students particularly enjoy the town’s many museums, the open-air market, the outdoor Shakespeare festival, and punting on the Cam River. London is just fifty miles away and is served by frequent and fast train and bus connections. Despite its proximity to London, the Cambridge region retains an unspoiled character, and its villages and towns have a quiet charm that is typically English. Cathedrals, abbeys, castles, and prehistoric megaliths are all within easy reach.

Law students will earn four ABA-approved credits under Richmond Law’s credit system. Undergraduate students will earn one credit under the University of Richmond’s undergraduate system. Students from other schools should get advance approval from their schools regarding transfer of credits.

Classes are taught in two sessions per day, Monday through Thursday.

For Session One, students can opt for either Selected Issues in Public International Law or Comparative Criminal Law & Criminal Justice.

For Session Two, undergraduates must take Historical Foundations of Modern Law. Law students can also take Historical Foundations of Modern Law, but they also have the option of taking two one-credit courses instead: Comparative Copyright in the AI Age and Family Law in the World Community. In other words, for law students Session Two will comprise one of the following: (1) Historical Foundations of Modern Law or (2) both Comparative Copyright in the AI Age and Family Law in the World Community. The total credits are the same regardless.

Comparative Criminal Law & Criminal Justice (two law credits; 0.5 undergraduate units)
Dr. Hend Hanafy, St Catharine’s College, University of Cambridge

This course focuses on selected issues in criminal law and criminal justice that intersect with intricate problems regarding the scope of criminal liability, the respect for individual autonomy, and the balance between extending the law’s protection and principled limits to criminal liability. It considers issues such as consent to harm in non-fatal offences, the justifiability of constructive liability in homicide and non-fatal offences, consent and deception in sexual offences, protection of property rights and protection from exploitation in property offences, and finally, how harm and culpability manifest in sentencing offenders. The course addresses the law in England and Wales, with reflections on continental and US laws as relevant, offering both doctrinal and theoretical considerations. 

Selected Issues in Public International Law (two law credits; 0.5 undergraduate units)
Dr. Rumiana Yotova, Gonville & Caius College, University of Cambridge

This course will explore and critically examine the basic building blocks of international law, including how it is made and applied, who are its subjects, how they resolve their disputes and more broadly, how a decentralised legal system (i.e., one where there is no overarching sovereign) deals with change over time. The course will also look at some of the key areas it regulates, including the law on the use of force and the protection of human rights. Students will have opportunities to work together as a team and to step into the shoes of government legal advisers, international judges, advocates or representatives of the United Nations in order to apply international law to controversial situations inspired by current events. 

Historical Foundations of Modern Law (two law credits; 0.5 undergraduate units)
Dr. Joe Sampson, Trinity College, University of Cambridge

For over 800 years law students at the University of Cambridge have been introduced to the structures, principles and doctrines of their new discipline through ancient Roman sources, a practice that continues to this day. This is not a matter of tradition—legal systems all over the world still make use of Roman legal taxonomies and concepts. Through an understanding of Roman law, students are provided with a roadmap for understanding the modern legal world. This course will introduce students to that roadmap. It will begin by studying the sources of law, before working through the laws of property, contract and tort. In each area, attention will be paid to the fundamentals, and always with a comparative eye on how modern legal systems deal with the same issues.

Comparative Copyright in the AI Age (one law credit)
Professor Roger Skalbeck, University of Richmond School of Law

Explore the impact of AI on copyright through a dynamic comparison of UK, US, and EU legal systems. Starting with the 1710 Statute of Anne—the first modern copyright law and a foundation for American copyright—this course tackles pressing questions about authorship in an era of intelligent machines. Designed for beginners, it invites students to examine how different systems balance creator rights, the right of attribution, moral rights, and the boundaries of individual ownership. Assessment will comprise interim assignments and an exam.

Family Law in the World Community (one law credit)
Professor Meredith Harbach, University of Richmond School of Law

This course will explore global family law issues from a comparative and international perspective to consider how various states regulate family formation, norms, and behaviors. Our studies will compare and contrast state approaches to regulating marriage, dissolving marriage, LGBTQ relationships, violence between family members, and children’s rights within the family. We will also study human rights principles and norms, and how they affect state approaches to these issues. The overarching goals of the course are (1) to provide students with an historical overview of the development of American family law in select contexts, and to prompt them to think more deeply and critically about American family law; (2) to enable students to develop broader perspective on the role of the state and religion in regulating families across time, space, and culture; and (3) to consider what insights for American family law can be gleaned from other state, cultural, and human rights perspectives.

*Students from outside the University of Richmond must submit an advance deposit of $150 to hold their place in the Program. Contact Tracy Cauthorn for payment details.

Students may take out loans to cover Cambridge costs, as with other law school expenses. University of Richmond students should contact Rachel Weinberg-Rue in the financial aid office for details and total Cost of Attendance. Other students should contact their home school’s financial aid office about forming a consortium agreement with University of Richmond.

A student who withdraws from the Program before the deadline for full payment is entitled to a refund of all payments. A student who withdraws from the Program after the deadline for full payment but before July 5 is entitled to a full refund minus a $150 processing fee. Starting on July 5, no payments will be refunded. The University of Richmond reserves the right to cancel the Program in the event of compelling circumstances. In such an event, students will be notified as soon as practicable and all payments will be returned in full.

Note that airfare and other transportation expenses are the responsibility of the student.

Once a student has applied and been accepted, they will receive payment details.

Law students should apply below. Undergraduate students should apply here.

As noted above, applications must be submitted no later than Mon., May 11. But the sooner the better, as enrollment may be restricted by available accommodations.