The Gittis Center for Clinical Legal Studies offers a small number of seven- or four-credit externship opportunities at leading governmental entities or non-profit organizations. Externships are open to second- and third-year JD students, and third-year students are given enrollment priority through Advance Registration.
Seven-credit externships require a minimum of 21 hours a week of supervised work at the externship site, and four-credit externships require a minimum of 12 hours a week. As an externship student, you are encouraged to maintain maximum time flexibility so you can participate in the full range of placement activities. You are also required to attend biweekly meetings with a member of the clinical faculty. Externships will be graded credit/fail.
The placement office may require you to successfully complete a background check. You will be responsible for any associated costs.
You may enroll in only one externship or clinic per semester.
You may not enroll in an externship if you have one or more incomplete grades at the beginning of the semester.
For those externships that involve court appearances, the Pennsylvania and Federal Student Practice Rules permit you to appear in court only after you have completed three semesters of law school. Please email clinic@law.upenn.edu if you are required to be certified to appear in court. The Clinic Director will work with the Registrar’s Office to complete the required forms.
The add/drop period for externships ends the first Friday of classes at 4:30 p.m.—this is one week earlier than other law school courses to accommodate the scheduling of time sensitive client work at the placement site.
Please do not bid on an externship during Advance Registration if you are not completely certain that you want to enroll. Externship placement offices put forth a great deal of time and effort in running background checks, scheduling work, securing supervisors, creating office space, assigning computers for externs to use, and running security clearances.
If you elect to use your enrollment in an externship toward your Public Service requirement, you will receive one less credit for the externship in exchange for 35 hours of pro bono credit. The number of hours the extern must complete at the placement site will not be adjusted downward. Judicial externs are not permitted to exchange credit for pro bono hours. Students who elect this option must submit this form to TPIC.
Please contact externships@law.upenn.edu if your externship field placement offers to compensate you for your work.
The Law School provides externs with travel related funding to and from the placement site. See here for more information on the travel policy.
If you have not made contact with your externship site by the end of the first week of the semester, you may be dropped from the externship.
All externships continue through the end of the examination period, and you should start working at your placement site the first week classes begin.
Please note that the externship placement agency and the clinical faculty reserve the right to screen and reject pre-registered students whose prior academic record, class schedule, concerns raised during an externship the student was enrolled in previously, or lack of responsiveness suggests difficulties with successful participation in an externship.
Ad Hoc Externships
Overview
In addition to the externships that have been pre-arranged by the Gittis Center for Clinical Legal Studies, it is possible for you to seek faculty approval to create an individualized ad hoc externship for academic credit.
Ad hoc externships should provide you with an experiential learning opportunity to capitalize on your strong interest in a specific subject area that does not have an experiential offering in the current curriculum.
Structure
Your ad hoc externship includes a structured academic course for four or seven credits requiring appropriate placement site supervision and faculty supervision, journaling requirements, and biweekly meetings with a faculty supervisor, in addition to all placement site responsibilities.
Application & Deadlines
There are very strict deadlines for receipt of ad hoc externship proposals. If you are looking to participate in an ad hoc externship please consult the Externships website, for detailed information regarding application forms and deadlines.
