A key element of the international opportunities at Yale Law School is the strong support offered to student initiatives. In addition to rich course offerings and clinics in international and transnational law, students are encouraged to engage with global issues through activities outside the formal classroom setting. A hallmark of the intellectual life at the Law School is the immensely varied, creative, and meaningful international programs and activities that are student initiated and driven. These range from programs that are chiefly academic in focus - including several international law journals - to programs aimed at strengthening lawyering skills while having a meaningful impact in the world.
The Africa Law and Policy Association (ALPA) serves as a forum at Yale Law School for discussion, advocacy and research focused on legal and policy issues in Africa. ALPA also provides a law school community for students with experience and interest in the region.
The Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (formerly PANA) is a coalition that seeks to promote community among its members and to create a more diverse educational environment.
The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) is a global legal aid and advocacy organization working to create a world where refugees and all people seeking safety are empowered to claim their right to freedom of movement and a path to lasting refuge. Since its founding in 2008, IRAP has provided free legal aid to over 40,000 displaced people from over 100 different countries and has trained over 6,000 law students and lawyers in the process. Yale Law School is one of IRAP’s 26 student chapters across the United States and Canada.
The Latino Law Students' Association promotes the academic, career, and political interests of Latino/a students at the Law School.
The Lowenstein Human Rights Project matches small teams of students with human rights organizations, other public interest NGOs, and governments to work on specific research, writing, and advocacy projects concerning human rights issues. Teams conduct research, write memoranda, engage in advocacy activities, and organize events at the Law School. The Lowenstein Project regularly works with leading U.S.-based human rights organizations as well as smaller organizations headquartered in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe.
The Yale Law School Legal Project Assisting the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, or the ECCC Project, is a special initiative within the Lowenstein Project started in spring 2007. Students perform legal research for the Supreme Court Chamber of the ECCC, which is working to prosecute Khmer Rouge leaders for atrocities committed in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979.
The Middle Eastern and North African Law Students Association provides a forum for engaging the Yale Law School community on the legal, political, social and cultural realities of the peoples of North Africa and the Middle East, with particular focus on issues of discrimination, equality, citizenship, and human rights. It also serves as an institutional home and social network for law students of Middle Eastern and North African background or with an interest in the region.
The Muslim Law Students' Association serves as a vehicle for gathering Muslims and others interested in learning about Islamic legal issues, and issues of concern to Muslims and other minorities.
The South Asian Law Students' Association is an organization dedicated to celebrating, promoting, and sharing the culture and diversity of the countries of South Asia.
The Yale Immigration Justice Project (YIJP) is the new name for the Asylum Seekers Assistance Project. YIJP stands in solidarity with immigrants in New Haven and across the United States and supports community organizations working on immigrants’ rights issues in the Greater New Haven area. In addition, YIJP works with local, regional, and national immigrants’ rights organizations, including ASAP National, on strategic litigation, direct services, and advocacy surrounding immigrant justice.
The Yale Law International Students' Association is an organization dedicated to providing resources for international students at YLS. The organization creates a space for students to come together to understand the specific challenges and opportunities of being a foreign law student in the U.S.
The Yale Law National Security Group (NSG) helps to foster a non-partisan community of students focused on national security and international affairs. To that end, we host experts and practitioners in the field, and conduct events designed to deepen students’ knowledge and exposure to national security issues.