Summer 2025 in Kosovo, June 2–June 13, 2025
As you prepare for your upcoming study abroad program, please review the current Europe Travel Alert updated by the Department of State. This is just a general reminder of the continuing threats internationally. The Department of State’s Travel Website contains additional information, including the Worldwide Caution and Country Specific Information.
Registration is now open
Mitchell Hamline School of Law in Pristina, Kosovo
The Center for Law and Business at Mitchell Hamline School of Law offers a unique study abroad program in Kosovo during Summer 2025, in collaboration with the University of Pristina Law Faculty. The program, featuring U.S. faculty and international guest lecturers, provides students with a global perspective on transitional justice, human rights law, property law, and the transformation of a socialist nation into one with public and private sectors. Special attention is given to the evolution of a market-based economy post-communism and the role of the U.S. in fostering economic development. Coursework includes rigorous, experiential learning with site visits that connect criminal law, property law, and human rights within Kosovo and beyond.
The program is organized into two courses: one on-site classroom component, and one an offsite field visit component. Those who wish to participate in the program must enroll in both components of the course, unless the student has taken the classroom component already at Mitchell Hamline.
Course I: Transitional Justice in Kosovo and Beyond (classroom component) (2 credits)
Monday, June 2–Friday, June 13, 2025 (classes will take place Monday–Friday, 9:30 am–12:30 pm local time)
The emergence of a new justice-focused legal order following conflicts and significant changes in political, social, and economic structures could hardly be more timely and important. Across the globe, societies grapple with acknowledging historical truths, making reparations, and navigating reconciliation processes to build a sustainable future. This course will immerse students in Kosovo, a society deeply engaged in these efforts, and will examine the role of law in constructing a just society following its transition from Communism and its emergence as an independent republic after the Serbian-Kosovar wars. Additionally, the course will include an economic development component, exploring the challenges and strategies for fostering growth and stability in a post-conflict, transitioning economy.
This course will feature four main components:
- The Theory of Transitional Justice
- The Practice of Transitional Justice in Kosovo
- Comparative Transitional Justice
- The Prospects for Transitional Justice and Economic Development in Modern Times
The course is comprised of a combination of lectures, class discussion, and extensive small group break-out sessions that require a hands-on practical application of topics under discussion. Assignments will be comprised of directed writing assignments on curated topics. Students will have the opportunity to hear from guest lectures by legal scholars from the University of Pristina, and other experts in human rights and legal practice. The classroom environment is designed to foster a truly global perspective, with organized events with lawyers and students from various other countries. This program is designed to provide a unique opportunity to engage with multiple legal cultures and gain a global understanding of the evolving relationship between transitional justice and economic development.
If enrollment is sufficient, a weekend field trip to nearby cities of historical, cultural, and economic significance will be included.
Course II: Transitional Justice in Kosovo and Beyond (field study site visits) (1 credit)
Monday, June 2–Friday, June 13, 2025 (classes will take place Monday–Friday, 1:30–5:30 pm local time)
This course will build on the material covered in the classroom component by providing students with an exclusive opportunity to engage directly with key judicial institutions in Kosovo. The program includes visits to courthouses and meetings with the Supreme Court of Kosovo, appellate and trial court judges—including those from the privatization court—and a visit to the prison system, amongst other locations. These experiences will deepen students’ understanding of Kosovo’s legal framework, judicial practices, and corrections system, complementing their academic studies with real-world insights and practical exposure. Assignments will focus on the development of relevant and appropriate interview plans to be used at the meetings, and detailed contemporaneous notetaking of each of the interviewees.
Program faculty
The Kosovo Summer School faculty bring real-life, international experience to the classroom. The professors teach at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, and there will be guest speakers from the University of Pristina – Faculty of Law, from other law schools, and from local lawyers and judges. The primary faculty will be comprised of Professor Kim Vu-Dinh and Professor Mark Edwards.
Tuition
Tuition must be paid to Mitchell Hamline School of Law by 9 am on Friday, May 23, 2025. Mitchell Hamline distributes summer loans 10 days before the program begins. If you are not a Mitchell Hamline student, check with your school about loan distribution. If you have questions, please contact the Kosovo travel abroad program at Kosovo.TravelAbroad@mitchellhamline.edu.
Student housing
While the Kosovo Study Abroad Program will identify two housing options (hotels) in walking distance to the law school, students are responsible for making their own housing arrangements directly with the hotel. The hotels have been visited in-person by Mitchell Hamline faculty and identified not only for their location but for their convenience of booking online. The two choices provided vary from level of accommodation and cost; however, both options provide a desk within the room for studying, free wifi, and free breakfast. If individuals have further questions about housing arrangements, please contact us at Kosovo.TravelAbroad@mitchellhamline.edu.
Registration instructions
Registration deadline is Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Admission to International Comparative Law Kosovo is limited and acceptance is contingent upon review. A select number of spots have been reserved for participants who are not currently MHSL students but would like to audit the course, either for CLE credit, or for no credit.
Applicants must submit the forthcoming online application along with uploading the required documents.
- A $450 non-refundable deposit (100% applicable to enrollment fees) is to be paid in full to Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Applicants can use CashNet to pay fees using the code: Kosovo: International Comparative Law Deposit Fee.
- For non-MHSL students matriculated at another law school, an electronic version of a letter of good standing from your home law school; and
- For non-MHSL students matriculated at another law school, an electronic version of a letter of permission to visit at another law school from your home law school.
Note: You will not be considered registered until all materials have been received by the administrator.
International Comparative Law Kosovo Registration
Accessibility
Campus and Pristina
Kosovo is still a nation undergoing development and poses many challenges for people with disabilities. Like many older buildings, structures built during periods of limited development may still present challenges due to the historical nature of the architecture. While recent efforts have been made in surveying and building capacity to meet needs of disabled students, this effort is on-going and implementation is incomplete. Not all buildings on campus, or in field visits are equipped to allow for accessibility, with ramps, automatic doors, or elevators being absent from most buildings on campus. Kosovo in general is not equipped with accessible toilet facilities.
- This website provides more detail in navigating travel with disabilities in Kosovo
- Disability and the Built Environment: Analytical Study of Public Buildings in Prishtina
Questions?
For additional information, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions page linked below. If your question is not covered, please contact Professor Kim Vu-Dinh or Vice Dean Jill Bryant via email, available on their faculty bio pages. If you are having technical difficulties with the application process, please contact Mitchell Byers at mitchell.byers@mitchellhamline.edu.
Check out Frequently Asked Questions
Terms of enrollment
Students are required to read the Terms of Enrollment before applying.
Students must register both sessions unless they have already attended course I at Mitchell Hamline. Enrollment is limited. Placement will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
See Terms of Enrollment 2025 for details about the following:
- Tuition and fees
- Accreditation
- Financial aid
- Grading and credits
- Cancellation or changes in the program
- International transportation
- Other provisions
- Liability schedules for tuition and housing fees
- Release
Image by Jerzy Andrzej Kucia from Pixabay.