Semester in Washington D.C.
The University of Connecticut Law School Semester in D.C program will place selected students in selected federal agencies, legislative offices or non-profit groups for one semester of service. The goal is to give participating students a better understanding of how law and policy is made and enforced while providing host institutions with energetic, capable and reliable assistants along the way.
Each agency internship successfully completed will earn 7 credits for 30 hours of work per week over a 14 week term. In addition, each student will attend two evening seminars provided by the law school in Washington DC: Advanced Topics in Agency Regulation (3 credits) and Agencies in Action (2 credits).
Successful completion of Administrative Law and/or a law school course relevant to the subject matter of the requested host agency will strengthen an application but is not essential.
Enrollment in this course and program is conditional upon successful placement in a host institution in Washington, DC. Students applying for this program should register for one of the course seminars and a full slate of normal law school courses that they would like to take if not selected for the DC program.
Students interested in participating in Semester in DC should submit to the Office of the Registrar an application packet that includes the following.
- Resumé (be sure to include any relevant training/work experience)
- Transcript
- Writing sample
- Name of one or two faculty members who know their work best
- A Statement of Intention declaring that the student is financially able to participate in the program and plans on participating in the program if selected; and
- The student's top three choices for placement, in order of preference, from the menu of possibilities listed below.
*Students should budget $600-1100 per month for living in DC.
Guidance on Choosing Agencies
Following are short descriptions of the departments/agencies/offices that have expressed interest in hosting UConn law students as interns next Fall. You will see that some agencies have designated particular offices that will host students, others simply list the agency. For purposes of this registration process, you are allowed to choose up to three departments/agencies: e.g. Department of Energy, EPA, NLRB. If a preference for office placement within these agencies – or if there some offices where you would NOT want to work (negative preferences) – please so indicate in your application. Choice of multiple offices within an agency (or designation of “any office”) will still be counted as one agency, for purposes of applying your 3-agency limit.
Please also note that you do not have to select three agencies if only one or two agencies interest you. Please do NOT list any agency in which you would not be interested – really interested – in working.
It is certainly possible that some agencies, particularly the larger agencies, can accommodate more than one intern at a time. In fact, we have spoken with DOT, DOE, NLRB and EPA about hosting up to 5 students per term, in various offices.
Guidance on Getting Chosen by an Agency
Best way to get chosen, of course, is to have taken relevant courses and done well in them. Beyond that, you should learn all you can about the office in question, or the various offices if the host is an entire agency (e.g. SEC). In many cases, agencies will want to talk to you by phone before making a final commitment. On that call, you need to be able to show that you have done your homework, that you know about that agency’s organization and mission, and in general that you are a professional.
List of Participating Agencies in UConn Law Semester in DC Program