Student Information

1. ​Externships are available for the following credit hours: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. The Externship Program manages Standard Externships for 2, 3, and 4 credit hours and the Third Year in Practice Program (3YP) manages Intensive Externships for 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 credit hours. A student may only participate in an Intensive Externship if they have been accepted into 3YP.​
2. Students can participate in the Externship Program either: (i) by applying to the Externship Program or (ii) by applying to (3YP) for an Intensive Externship.
1. ​For information on applying to the Externship Program, please review the Externship Manual.

2.  For more information on 3YP, please visit the 3YP webpage​​.

1. Substantial Lawyering Experience and Designated Externship Site Supervisor. An Externship should provide a student substantial lawyering experience that is reasonably similar to the experience of a lawyer advising or representing a client or engaging in other lawyering tasks in a setting outside a law clinic under the supervision of a licensed attorney or an individual otherwise qualified to supervise.

2. Affiliation Agreement. An Externship must also include an Affiliation Agreement between the Externship Program and the Externship Site that describes both:

1. the substantial lawyering experience and opportunities for performance, feedback, and self-evaluation; and

2. the respective roles of faculty and the Externship Site supervisor in supervising the student and in assuring the educational quality of the experience for the student, including a clearly articulated method of evaluating the student’s academic performance.

3. ​Externship Site Supervisor Oversight. An Externship must include a method for selecting, training, evaluating and communicating with Externship Site supervisors, including regular contact between the faculty and Externship Site supervisors through in-person visits or other methods of communication that will assure the quality of the student educational experience.

4. Student Evaluation. An Externship must include an evaluation of each student’s educational achievement by the Externship Program.

5. Sufficient Control over Student Experience. An Externship must include sufficient control of the student experience to ensure that the requirements of the ABA Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools are met.  ​​

The Externship Manual provides greater detail, but broadly, the process to participate in the Externship Program is as follows:​

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1. Get Hired by an Externship Site. Students must first apply to, and be hired by, an Externship Site. As part of this process, students should determine whether the Externship Site is a currently approved Externship Site or whether the Externship Site is not yet approved. A list of approved Externship Sites will be posted on this website later Fall semester; until then, please contact the Externship Director at lawexternships@depaul.edu to determine whether an Externship Site is approved.

2. ​Apply to the Externship Program. After a student is hired by an Externship Site, the student then applies to the Externship Program for approval to join the Externship Program. Students must apply to the Externship Program by submitting the Externship Application available on the Externship website.

1. This application must be submitted prior to the beginning of the semester in accordance with the timeline set forth in the Experiential Learning Calendar available on the Experiential Learning webpage of the law school website.  ​For instructions on how to apply to the Externship Program, please see the Externship Manual.

3. Externship Director Then Approves or Rejects Student Application. After a student applies to the Externship Program, the Externship Director will review the student’s application and determine whether the student qualifies to join the Externship Program and whether the student’s Externship Site is approved. After the student is approved to join the Externship Program, the Externship Director will inform the student that he or she is approved to join the Externship Program pending the Externship Director’s review of the student’s Externship Site. If the Externship Site was not previously designated as an approved Externship Site, the Externship Director will review the Externship Site and approve, reject or further investigate the Externship Site.

4. Externship Director Verifies Execution of Affiliation Agreement. After the student is approved to join the Externship Program and the Externship Site has been approved, the Externship Director will verify that the Externship Site has executed the Affiliation Agreement. Externship Sites that do not execute the Affiliation Agreement prior to the first day of classes will disqualify the student from receiving academic credit for the Externship for that semester. Thus, it is vitally important that the student coordinate with the Externship Site to ensure the Affiliation Agreement is executed promptly upon receipt. For more information on the Affiliation Agreement, please see the Externship Manual.​

5. Externship Director Enrolls Approved Student in Externship Course and Seminar. After (i) the student is approved to join the Externship Program and (ii) the student’s Externship Site is approved, the Externship Director will enroll the student in the Externship course for academic credit and enroll the student in the applicable Externship Seminar. For more information about the Externship Seminar, please see the Externship Manual.​​​

6. Student Arranges Start and End Date with Externship Site. To begin the Externship, the student:

1. ​should arrange a start date and end date with the Externship Site supervisor that corresponds with the academic calendar. 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.

2. must attend the Externship Seminar.

7. ​Student S​ubmits Daily Logs and Progress Reports During Externship. During the semester, the student, now an Extern, must complete and submit the Daily Logs and the Progress Reports in the timeframe required. For more information about these su​bmissions, please see the Externship Manual.

8. Student Receives Pass/Fail Grade at End of Semester. By the end of the semester, the student must have satisfied all the requirements of the Externship to receive a passing grade for the Externship and the Externship Seminar.​​