Placement Requirements and Eligibility

Placement Requirements
Externships are permitted in government, judicial, public interest and non-profit entities. Supervision must be provided by an attorney. Students may not be compensated for the work at their placement, nor may students work on pro bono matters at a for-profit entity. All externships must be in the Washington, DC area.

In addition to field work, students must attend periodic seminars during the semester to receive course credit for the externship. Seminar dates and assignments are posted on the Externship Courseware site. Please register on the Courseware externship site once you have been confirmed as an extern student and emailed a site password. If you have questions about Courseware, please email jdexternships@law.georgetown.edu.

A student must submit an Externship Regisration Form in order to enroll. Please refer to the Application Process below for more information.

Eligibility
The following are prerequisites for the externship program:

• Student Standing
  Students must have completed one year of study as a full-time or part time student.

• Externships, Clinics and Practicum Courses (previously Experiential Learning Courses)
  Due to competing time demands, a student may not undertake, in a single semester, more than one experiential learning opportunity for credit, defined to include externships, practicum courses, and clinics, with the following exceptions: 1) a student may concurrently take a project-based practicum course (i.e., one that does not involve a pass/fail externship component) and an externship, unless otherwise stated in the curriculum guide for a particular course; and (2)  a student may concurrently take the Street Law Clinic with either a practicum course or externship.  Students who enroll in the Street Law Clinic and undertake an externship or enroll in a practicum course in the same semester are expected to prioritize their obligations to the clinic first and to manage their time in accordance with these priorities. Students should consult with Rachel Taylor, the Assistant Dean for Clinical Programs, for additional information. Students may not concurrently enroll in an externship and a clinic, except Street Law.

• Credit Options: Students who wish to change between the two and three credit offerings should do so during the add/drop period.

• Students in the 3 credit seminar must work at their placements at least 15 hours per week for 11 weeks, for a total of 165 hours.

• Students in the 2 credit seminar must work at their placements at least 10 hours per week for 11 weeks for a total of 110 hours.

• During the summer session, students must work the total number of hours over a minimum of 6 weeks.
  

• • For students considering the 2 credit option, please note that some placements may require that students work a minimum of 15 hours each week.  While 10 hours per week  is sufficient to satisfy the Law Center credit requirement, it may not be consistent with the expectations of every prospective placement.  Please research and confirm the requirements of any existing program prior to committing to an externship.

• Pro Bono Pledge
  You are eligible to receive Pro Bono Pledge credit for any hours worked in excess of your 110 or 165 required externship hours. Students may sign up for the Pro Bono Pledge on line through the OPICS web site at http://www.law.georgetown.edu/careers/opics/pro-bono/pro_bono_pledge/index.cfm.

Eligibility for Second Externship
Students are permitted to enroll in the externship program only once during law school.  Under exceptional circumstances, a student may be granted a waiver of the one externship policy.  A student who wishes to pursue a waiver should submit a memo to Jane Aiken, Associate Dean of Clinical Programs and Experiential Learning, and Carmia N. Caesar, Director of Externships  explaining: (1) what his/her learning objectives are, and how they differ from those for the first externship; and (2) why these learning objectives cannot be met by existing clinical or experiential learning course opportunities.