Externship Application Process

After the student has identified an externship placement and secured a faculty sponsor, he or she must submit a written externship application package to Ms. Gregory's office (307 Hutchins Hall) for review by the Curricular, Co-curricular, and Pedagogic Issues Committee. In considering the application, the Committee may take into account multiple factors, including the Law School's experience with the agency, the student's academic record, the interest and involvement of the faculty sponsor, and the demonstrated quality of the agency's educational and supervisory commitment. The application package consists of five parts: the student's written proposal, the faculty sponsor's statement, the host organization statement, the attorney supervisor's resume, and the student's resume.

The Proposal

The student should enumerate the specific educational objectives he or she hopes to achieve through the proposed externship and the manner in which this will occur. The student should describe the proposed program in detail, including a description of the work he or she will perform during the externship and the manner in which training and supervision will be provided. The burden remains on the student to persuade the Law School that the externship reflects educational objectives, and will enable the student to fulfill educational objectives that cannot be achieved within Law School classes or in the ordinary course of professional opportunities available to the student. The proposal should include the way in which the externship builds on work the student has done or will contribute to work the student plans to do in school, and it should describe the required research project as set forth above. The more detailed the description of the research project and its relationship to the external studies program opportunity, the better. If it is too early for the student to have a firm topic for the research project, the student should indicate in the proposal the range of subjects under consideration and describe the relationship between the work to be done at the externship and the possible research projects. The student must submit a copy of his or her resume with the proposal.

Faculty Sponsor Statement

The faculty sponsor must discuss the proposed program with the supervising attorney at the host organization and secure the commitments described above before the student submits an externship application package for approval. The faculty member's statement should indicate that he or she has contacted the agency and discussed, and is satisfied with, the attention, training, supervision, and work the student will receive; that he or she is satisfied with the qualifications and training of the supervising attorney at the host agency; that he or she has reviewed the student's written externship proposal and the host organization's statement; and that he or she is satisfied that there will be a substantial educational component to the experience which relates to academic work previously undertaken by the student or which will be undertaken upon the student's return, in addition to that involved in simply doing legal work.

Host Supervisor Statement

The host organization must provide a written statement describing with specificity the nature of the work to be undertaken by the student, the manner in which supervision and training will be provided to the student, the names and resumes of the attorney supervisors, and the nature of the organization's educational commitment to the student.

Deadline

The deadline for submitting externship proposals is set by Dean Gregory's office each semester. In no event will the deadline fall later than six weeks before the end of fall term classes for a winter externship, and six weeks before the end of the winter term classes for a summer or fall term externship. It is the student's responsibility to make sure that all parts of the externship proposal have been received by the deadline. Students are encouraged to consult with Ms. Gregory early in the process of developing plans for an externship.