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Individual Externships
Students craft their own hands-on learning experience. Students chose their own worksite, either from the list of past externship placements or they develop a new work opportunity which is then approved by the law school. Students reflect on their experience with a faculty supervisor of their choosing. Many write journals or reflection papers and have regularly scheduled check-in meetings with their faculty advisor. Our program complies with the University of Connecticut School of Law Externships Policy and ABA Standard 305: Study Outside the Classroom.
For more information about externships please contact Jennifer Mailly via email or via phone at 860-570-5216.
Externships FAQ
- What is an individual externship?
- Why should I do an externship?
- How many credits can I earn for my externship experience?
- How are externships graded?
- How do I obtain the externship I want?
- What is the placement supervisor's role?
- Can I do an externship outside of Connecticut?
- How do students get credit for externships?
- What are the deadlines to submit an externship application?
- Where can I find the official rules and instructions?
What is an individual externship?
An externship is a critical component of the University of Connecticut School of Law's experiential learning programs. Externships differ from internships or paid employment in that the focus is on the student and not the employer. Students are supervised in two different ways for their externship: by a placement supervisor and a faculty supervisor. An externship, unlike an internship, is work experience where you receive academic credit.
The placement provides students an opportunity to learn about working as a lawyer, while being closely supervised. Students are not expected to be expert in the law practiced in the placement setting. The placement supervisor will plan projects and observation opportunities specifically to enhance the student's learning experience. The placement supervisor is expected to provide feedback to the student on all work product.
As part of the educational program, students are required to reflect on their experience with a faculty supervisor. Usually the reflection is in the form of an on-going journal. The faculty supervisor reviews the journal and comments on it. Additionally, students meet with their faculty supervisor periodically to ensure that the externship is meeting their goals and objectives.
Why should I do an externship?
An externship provides hands-on learning experience in contrast to the academic learning done in a typical classroom setting. Students learn how to utilize their academic knowledge in a practical setting. Students learn the art of lawyering and then apply it back to their classroom studies. Externships enhance students' study of law, help students focus on an area of law or type of practice of particular interest to them, teach students about their strengths within the legal profession and provide a basis for discourse about the ethical and moral obligations in this profession. The externship program at UConn allows a students to tailor their experiential learning to their own goals and objectives.
How many credits can I earn for my externship experience?
During fall and spring terms, a student may earn a maximum of 3 credits for externship work. During the summer, students may earn 4 credits. (Please note that if you are planning on doing an externship over the summer, you will be charged per credit.) Each credit translates into 56 placement hours. Therefore, for 3 credits, a student must work at least 168 hours: this equals 12 hours a week for 14 weeks. The schedule of hours is set by the student and the placement supervisor in consultation with the faculty supervisor. Students are not required to work the exact weeks that correspond to the semester. For example, a student could work 14 hours a week for 12 weeks instead. Students may work more than the required hours, but not less.
There are a few externships limited enough in scope to be worth only one credit hour, this is rare. Students should plan to spend at least 112 hours a semester at their worksite.
While students can complete the required amount of work in one long day, it is highly recommended that students spend at least 2 part days at their worksite. This enables them to become more integrated into the office structure and will allow more time for observation of all types of legal proceedings and meetings.
How are externships graded?
All externships are graded Pass/Fail. You get a total of 12 Pass/Fail credits during your law school career. Additionally, you only have 8 externship/SRP credits.
How do I obtain the externship I want?
- Determine your goals.
- What type of law would you like to explore?
- What practical lawyering skills would you like to hone?
- You do not need to pick an externship that matches with your desired employment goals. In fact, you may want to experience an area of law that you find interesting but not where you plan to practice.
- Find an experience that matches your goals:
- Review the list of past externships. If any of those interest you, contact the placement directly to learn more about their hiring process and their expectations.
- Research your own externship options. If there are no opportunities on the list that excite you, create your own experience. You will need to contact the new placement and arrange for a supervisor, a work space and appropriate job assignments. Once the placement agrees, provide the information to the externship coordinator. She will contact the placement supervisor to answer any questions about UConn's program and to make sure that the supervisor understands the level of supervision expected for a successful externship. All new externships must be approved through the externship office.
- Contact the externship coordinator and make an appointment to discuss your options. Professor Mailly is always available to meet with students to devise a program that fits the students' goals and schedule.
Note: There are a few externships that require application a few months in advance. You must apply to the U.S. District Attorney in Hartford four months in advance.
- Find a Faculty supervisor who will facilitate a meaningful experience:
Our current system requires all students to have a faculty supervisor. The supervisor's role is to help you reflect on your work experience and to insure that your experience is valuable.
The faculty supervisor is responsible for insuring that the individual placement will provide educational work assignments including significant writing and appropriate evaluation of student performance during the semester for which the student receives credit. The faculty supervisor will meet periodically with the student extern to discuss her work and to review the student's work product. Each student extern will be required to keep a journal or log of her work at the placement and the faculty supervisor will review this periodically (FACULTY RESOLUTION OF DECEMBER 8,1994 AS AMENDED OCTOBER 12, 1995 Policy on Externship Clinics and Individual Externships).
There are three main ways of finding faculty supervisors:
- First, students ask faculty with whom they are most familiar. This works well in that students often feel more comfortable sharing thoughts, ideas and concerns with a faculty member whom they already know.
- Second, students pick faculty who specialize in the area of law that pertains to the externship experience. This is a great way to meet a faculty member your area of interest. Additionally, this faculty member may be able to offer some subject matter insight and guidance with can be very useful during your externship.
- Third, occasionally, there are faculty members who are attached to certain exeternship experiences. This is particularly true in more specialized areas like Tax, IP, Insurance and business. Professor Mailly can direct you to speak to certain faculty members in specific areas of interest.
- Complete the required forms.
There are two forms that must be completed prior to the application's approval. The Student Application Form requires general information, a student signature and the externship coordinator's signature. The Faculty and Placement Supervisor Application Approval Form requires the signatures of both faculty and placement supervisors and some basic information about the work to be done during the externship.
What is the placement supervisor's role
The placement supervisor is responsible for providing the extern with varied, interesting and challenging work and for giving the extern constructive feedback throughout the course of the work experience. Please see this detailed description of the placement supervisor's role.
Can I do an externship outside of Connecticut?
Absolutely. During the summer, we encourage students to work outside of Connecticut. An externship is a great opportunity to learn about a different state's legal culture. For example, Washington D.C. has a myriad of interesting externship experiences during the summer as well as during the school year. The petitions committee has granted a number of student requests for credit extensions to do an 8-credit, full-time externship in Washington at the SEC. We encourage students to apply for these types of opportunities. For more information, speak to the externship coordinator. .
How do students get credit for externships?
At the completion of the externship, there are three evaluations that must be completed and submitted to the externship coordinator. The placement supervisor evaluation and the student evaluation should be given the faculty supervisor to assist in his/her completion of the faculty evaluation. Once all three are completed, they must be submitted to the externship coordinator for approval. Once approved, the forms will be given to the registrar to record.
What are the deadlines to submit an externship application?
Externship applications are due at the end of the second week of class for fall, spring and summer term. A late application may be accepted, at the discretion of the externship coordinator. However, credit for work done prior to the submission of the application may not be counted towards the required hours.
Where can I find the official rules and instructions?
Please see the rules and instructions