JD Externship Program Requirements

All JD students at UIC Law are required to earn at least 3 credits of experiential learning to graduate, and our JD Externship Program is one way to fulfill that requirement.

After you’ve completed 30 credit hours (your first year of academic study), you may earn 2-3 experiential-learning fieldwork credits in a single semester (and up to 4 credits during the summer term), and up to 15 total credits, externing with a court, government agency, in-house legal department with a company, or non-profit organization. Some placements with private law firms are approved for academic credit. Review the Student Manual, linked below, for more details on the approval process.

Note: In addition to 2-3 credits for externship work, students must also enroll in a 1-credit seminar. You may not enroll in both a clinic and an externship during the same semester without permission from the Associate Dean for Experiential Education.

Students and their attorney supervisors create an Educational Plan outlining the details of the externship experience. This plan serves as a memorandum of understanding between the student, school, and externship placement. A sample Educational Plan is available for planning purposes. (Students should fill out the version provided to them at the start of their externship term.)

Download Externship Program Student Manual

Classroom Seminar & Field Placement Heading link

The JD Externship Program has two distinct components—a corequisite field placement and classroom seminar—that students must satisfy to earn course credit. The field placement component is satisfied by completing a set number of hours at an approved externship site under the supervision of an attorney supervisor. The classroom seminar component is taught by a UIC Law faculty member. While the seminar and field placement components are interdependent, you will receive separate course credit for each.

Classroom Seminar

The seminar component is a 1-credit, graded course, and you’ll register using the course seminar number the corresponds with your externship placement type:

  • TADR 469 Externship: Local Government and Non-Profit Class (Government Agencies/Non-profit Organizations/In-House Legal Departments)
  • TADR 470 Externship: Criminal Class (Public Defender/Prosecutorial Agencies)
  • TADR 471 Externship: Judicial Class

Field Placement

The fieldwork credit is determined by the total hours worked at your externship site and is graded pass/fail:

  • 2 Fieldwork Credits = 85 Hours of Fieldwork
  • 3 Fieldwork Credits = 127.5 Hours of Fieldwork
  • 4 Fieldwork Credits = 170 Hours of Fieldwork (summer term only)

Note: Only fieldwork credits count toward the 3-credit experiential learning requirement.

You’ll register using the course field placement number the corresponds with your externship placement type:

  • TADR 472 Externship: Local Government and Non-Profit (Government Agencies/Non-profit Organizations/In-House Legal Departments/Law Firms)
  • TADR 473 Externship: Criminal (Public Defender/Prosecutorial Agencies)
  • TADR 474 Externship: Judicial

Download Educational Plan

Advanced JD Externships Heading link

Students who successfully complete a JD externship for credit may enroll in the advanced externship course for subsequent externships (for a maximum of 15 total externship credits). The advanced program pairs asynchronous supplemental instruction and faculty support with fieldwork. There is no separate seminar component. Returning externs may enroll for 1-3 credits in a semester. For each credit, you must complete 42.5 fieldwork hours.

  • TADR 475 Externship: JD Advanced