The majority of  LL.M. and M.L.T. students are eligible to participate in the Academic Externship Program. Foreign-trained graduate students may consider doing an externship during their second semester (which is usually the spring semester). Students in the Two-Year LL.M. program may participate during the second year of their program.

By virtue of the fact that they receive an internship as part of their scholarship, COST Scholars are not permitted to do an externship for credit.

LL.M. and M.L.T. students will receive two credits that will be graded on a pass/fail basis, provided they meet all deadlines and complete program requirements. Although LL.M. and M.L.T. students may participate in only one “for-credit” externship during their LL.M. program, they are free to participate in as many non-credit internships as they can arrange and manage, assuming they have permission to work in the United States.  (Please note that students on F-1 visas are not permitted to work off-campus without receiving academic credit.)

The academic externships are unpaid, and should be completed on-site, at an organization in the Washington, D.C. area.   The student’s direct supervisor must be an attorney.  Students cannot be working, or have worked for, the organization if the students wish to receive academic credit. If the organization is not in the database of pre-approved externships, students must submit a “Student-Initiated Placement (“SIP”) Approval Request Form”, which can be found on the Requirements, Application Procedures & Documents page.

Organizations select their own for-credit extern(s), and select these externs based on their own hiring criteria.  If the externship is at a for-profit entity, the student’s work product and time cannot be billed to a client.

Students attending Georgetown Law on an F-1 visa may not register for an externship and a practicum during the same semester, since Curricular Practical Training cannot be approved for more than one course per semester. However, since there are exceptions, please confirm with your international student advisor.

The Academic Externship credits do not count toward the specialization credit requirements for  the LL.M. degrees, the M.L.T. degree, or the LL.M. certificate programs, unless the student receives permission from their academic advisor.