Externship Program Requirements for Students

To participate in the Externship Program, JD students must have completed 28 or more credit hours at the College of Law and be in good academic standing. There are no exceptions to the 28-credit requirement. 

LLM students may participate after completing their first semester of enrollment and should confirm with their program director that the externship will count toward degree requirements. MLS students may not enroll in externships. 

Externships are not required for graduation, but they count toward the experiential learning requirement.

DePaul Law externships must meet ABA requirements for field placement programs. Each externship must provide a substantial lawyering experience reasonably similar to the work of a lawyer advising or representing a client or engaging in other lawyering tasks outside a law clinic. Externships also must include a designated site supervisor, an Affiliation Agreement, opportunities for performance, feedback and self-evaluation, site supervisor communication and oversight and evaluation of the student’s educational achievement. 

The DePaul Law Externship Program maintains sufficient control over the student experience to ensure compliance with ABA Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools.

Students must first apply to and be hired by an externship site. Students may apply to an available position from the Externship Job Postings or identify an externship site on their own. 

After being hired by an externship site, students must submit the Student Externship Application by the deadline listed on the Experiential Learning Calendar. 

Deadlines are firm, and students seeking externships at sites that are not yet approved should allow additional time for site review and approval.

After a student submits the Student Externship Application, the externship director reviews whether the student satisfies the academic minimum requirements and whether the externship site has been approved. 

If the student and site are approved, the externship director verifies that the site has executed the required Externship Site Application and Affiliation Agreement. Externship sites that do not execute an Affiliation Agreement before the first day of classes for the academic semester will disqualify the student from receiving academic credit for that semester. 

Students cannot register themselves for externships. The Externship Program registers approved students for both the fieldwork component and the required externship seminar. Externship registration does not occur during the law school registration period; the Externship Program will email students when they are being registered. Students should keep enough space in their schedules for the required externship credits.

Before beginning an externship, students should arrange a start date and end date with the externship site supervisor that corresponds with the academic calendar. 

For fall and spring externships, the first day of work should be no later than the first week of classes, and the last day of work should be no later than the last week of classes. 

Externs must attend the required externship seminar and submit all required Daily Logs and Progress Reports during the semester. By the end of the semester, students must satisfy all requirements of the externship and seminar to receive a passing grade.

Evaluations, Reports and Daily Logs

• First Report 

• Second Report

• Final Report

• Mid-Semester Supervisor Evaluation

• Final Supervisor Evaluation

• Daily Log FAQ

• Download Daily Log Model Spreadsheet