In its 52nd year, The Florida State University Summer Program in Law at Oxford will be held June 30 - August 7, 2025. We will again reside at St. Edmund Hall, an Oxford college which traces its roots to the 13th century when it was one of the academic halls that formed the basis of the University of Oxford. As the oldest ongoing program in Oxford sponsored by a U.S. law school, it provides students with a unique opportunity to study comparative law, and the history of the common law and its institutions in their original setting. All courses are offered by tenured members of the Oxford and Florida State law faculty. Students may enroll in two or three courses. This program is A.B.A. approved.
Note: A letter of good standing and transcripts for non-FSU students are required; because GPA scales vary from school to school, you may enter 0.00.
Questions concerning the application and program may be directed to Shirley Oglesby, assistant to the director.
Information
- 2025 Oxford Brochure
- Program Faculty
- Department of State Travel Information
- Cancellations, Withdrawals, Refund Policy
Courses
An Introduction to English Public Law (Bagshaw, 2 hours)
The course will offer an introduction to constitutional and administrative law in England. Week 1 will offer an overview of three main actors in English public law – the UK Parliament, the courts and the executive – as well as beginning to highlight some of the debates about the scope of their powers and the relationships between them. Weeks 2 and 3 will build on the first week by considering more specifically how the executive is held to account in English law. The main focus will be on judicial review, including the grounds on which it can be sought and the various barriers to access. However, the course will also consider other methods of legal accountability, including the role of tribunals in the English legal system and the possibility of bringing a private law claim against a public authority. Week 4 will consider and evaluate methods of rights protection in the UK, including the Human Rights Act 1998 and common law rights.
The course will aim to foster legal expertise, especially in case law analysis. Each class will be focused on a case which will serve as a springboard for broader discussion of the themes raised. Assessment will be based on both class participation (15%) and a three-hour exam (85%) at the end of the course.
English Legal History (Hackney, 2 hours)
This course looks at the institutional framework of the Common Law and how that framework influenced the structure of the substantive law. It discusses the initial courts; the emergence of the dominant ‘common law’ courts, King's Bench and Common Pleas, and the competing/complimentary Equity jurisdiction; and the writ system and development of the pleading forms and the methods of proof used in trials. Considers tenures, the principal Real Actions for the recovery of land at Common Law and selected writs. There will be a 2.5 hour closed-book handwritten exam.
Election Law (Eisler, 2 hrs.)
The Supreme Court has taken an increasingly robust role in setting the terms of American democracy since the 1960s, and scholars have identified election law as a distinct doctrinal area in the past three decades. This course will provide both a doctrinal overview of judicial role in shaping democracy and critical theoretical perspectives on this impact, organized by the central areas of election law: one person, one vote; race in elections; the role of parties; and campaign finance; and electoral administration. The course will also consider how election law is situated in relation to other areas of law, such as constitutional law and administrative law. This course will have an in-class exam.
Public International Law (Tesón, 2 hrs.)
In this course we will examine the law that governs sovereign nations and international organizations, as well as the relations of individuals and groups with them. The course covers, inter alia, the nature and sources of international law, international adjudication, territory, jurisdiction, human rights, and war. Prepared course materials will be posted on Canvas and there will be a take-home exam for this course.