Clinic Course for J.D. Students
Law students apply to join the Harrison Institute’s policy clinic in the spring before their year in the clinic. It is a two-semester clinic that awards 14 credits, seven in the fall and seven in the spring. It is open to students in their second or third year; you need to have 28 credits by the time you start in the clinic.
The Harrison Institute depends on its students to complete the work commitments they make to their clients or project teams. This requires careful planning throughout the year in order to create reasonable expectations. If students do not complete their work commitments by the last day of class, the Institute requires that they do so by May 15th.
Application process
- Information session. Attend an applicant meeting/information session to learn more about what the clinic entails: Wednesday, March 20th, 3:30-5:00 pm, McDonough 342; or Thursday, March 21st, 1:30-3:00, McDonough 437. Sign up for one of these meetings by sending an email to stumberg@law.georgetown.edu. If you cannot make either time, send an email to stumberg@law.georgetown.edu.
- Application deadlines. Submit your GULC clinic application online by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26th. Submit an additional Harrison Institute Supplemental Application along with a copy of your resume by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2nd. Either drop these off at McDonough 120 or request the application by email and send it back to stumberg@law.georgetown.edu.
Selection criteria
Our main criterion is student interest in public policy and our clients or project topics, which you can express to us based on work or academic experience, career plans, and personal values. We also favor students who are proficient in Spanish. Our other selection criteria include:
- Matching interests. Students often have strong preferences for working on certain projects and low interest in others. In the Harrison Institute application, we ask you to rate available projects according to your interests. This enables us to assess whether what we have to offer is what you want to do. However, we cannot guarantee that you will be able to work on your first preference.
- Personal commitment. We look for evidence of the personal commitment that is necessary to sustain the effort and specific kind of activities that our practice requires. We look for this in the experience shown on your resume and in your answers on our information form, which asks you to relate the clinic to your past experience, future plans, personal learning goals, or other reasons for personal interest.
- Student diversity. Diversity strengthens our seminar, teamwork, and client relations. The Harrison Institute affirmatively recruits students with language abilities, minorities, women, and students with diverse political backgrounds. Graduate training or work experience may also uniquely qualify a student to serve our clients on a particular issue.
