Purpose of Independent Placements
If no available clinic or established externship offers the experience you seek, students may propose and seek approval for an independent placement. To do so, please review the law school's Externship Policy to determine whether your proposed externship experience will qualify. The policy requires an Advising Faculty Member and an identifiable Field Instructor at the placement site.
Work Time Requirements
The work time requirement for various credit amounts are as follows: 135 hours for three (3) credits; 180 hours for four (4) credits; 270 hours for six (6) credits. In special circumstances, students have been approved for fulltime, twelve (12) credit externships requiring 540 work hours during the semester. Please note that experiential hours do not include time spent conferencing with the Advising Faculty Member or commuting to and from the Field Placement.
Special Exceptions
An externship that does not comply with any aspect of the policy must be approved by the full faculty after review by the Curriculum Committee. In special circumstances, when truly unusual and valuable opportunities have presented themselves, students have obtained approval of externships outside the specific provisions of the policy.
Enrollment
Once you have secured an externship, you must submit the Externship Enrollment Form to be enrolled in the externship. If approved, you should make any necessary adjustments to your course schedule after the Registrar adds the externship to your course load for the semester.
