Externship Programs

The Externship Program allows eligible upper-division law students to receive academic credit for externships they secure with established law firms, corporate legal departments, non-profit organizations, government agencies, or judges. Through the Externship Program, students receive practical, hands-on experience as part of their school education. Students enroll and participate in civil, criminal, or judicial externship course while simultaneously learning in the field at their placement.

| Application Process | Acceptance and Registration Process | Student Eligibility | Academic Units and Required Fieldwork Hours | Mandatory Class Attendance Policy | Grading | Criminal and Civil Placements: Obtaining an Externship Placement | Judicial Externs: Obtaining an Externship Placement | Repeat Externship Policy | Remote Externship Policy | FAQs |

Application Process

For Civil, Judicial, Criminal, and TAAP externships, you must do the following:

1. Secure a placement first.
2. Spring 2025 externship applications are now open. The deadline to apply for Spring 2025 externships is December 1st.  
3. The Externship Programs Office will review your application and send a tentative approval if appropriate. Then, the Externship Programs Office will contact your supervisor with the information you provided and request your supervisor fill out the Bay Area Consortium in Externships (BACE) Site Supervisor Agreement. 
4. If your employer has not hosted a USF student before, your employer must complete the Request for Approval of Agency for Civil/Criminal Law Externship Program, which can be found at the end of the Bay Area Consortium on Externships (BACE) Site Supervisor Agreement (linked above).  Any tentative approval is contingent upon your employer being approved. This is not applicable for judicial and TAAP externs.
5. If you are requesting to extern at a placement where you have already worked, interned, volunteered, or externed, you will need to complete the Petition for Repeat Civil/Criminal Law Externship, which is included at the end of the Student Application. Your supervisor will also be requested to answer a question regarding your request, which will be emailed separately to your supervisor.

For the Spring 2025 In-House Counsel Externship you must do the following: 

1. Please apply here by October 4th if you would like help finding a placement. Students who plan to find their own in-house counsel placements may apply by December 1.
2. The Externship Programs Office will provide assistance in finding a placement.
3. Students must a submit final cover letter and resume to externships@usfca.edu by October 4th. Student resumes and cover letters will be submitted to partnering placements. 
4. Partner placements will interview students and let students know their decision by mid-November. 
5. Students will begin their externship at the start of spring semester.
6. Please note that some students may not be placed with a partner agency due to partner availability and preference.

If you have questions, come by the Externship Programs Office in Kendrick Hall 339. You may also email externships@usfca.edu.

Acceptance and Registration Process

After your externship application is submitted, the Externship Programs Office reviews your application, and gives a tentative approval, denial, or asks you to supplement your application.

After review, the Externship Programs Office will send you an email notification, letting you know whether you have been tentatively accepted into the program.

After tentative approval, the Externship Programs Office will contact your supervisor with the information you provided and request your supervisor fill out their portion of the application, Bay Area Consortium on Externships (BACE) Site Supervisor Agreement.

Assuming your employer is approved and timely completes their portion of the application materials, you will receive an acceptance email with the CRN allowing you to register. Once receiving your CRN, students must register for the course before the add deadline.

Students will likely not know whether their application has been approved at the time of registration. Accordingly, students should register for classes as if they were not taking an externship course. After acceptance into the program, students can add the externship course during the add/drop period.

Student Eligibility

Students who participate in the Externship Program must meet three requirements:

1. Students must have completed the requisite number of semesters;
2. Students must be in good academic standing; and,
3. Students must have the requisite minimum GPA.

See the following sections for details:

Semesters Completed

1Ls may not participate in the Externship Program during the fall and spring semesters.

JD/MBA students enrolled in their exclusive year in the business school may not enroll or participate in the Externship Program. Additionally, JD/MBA students must be vigilant of the out-of-classroom unit policy because their 12 crossover units from the MBA program are considered non-classroom units according to the ABA.

Students who wish to extern in the summer have additional considerations. See: "Can I extern during the summer?" in the FAQ.

Academic Standing

All students must in good academic standing at the time they apply for the program and at the time they begin their externship.

GPA

Civil, Criminal, TAAP, In-House, GPA Requirements:

Judicial Extern GPA Requirements:

Academic Units and Required Fieldwork Hours

Below are the possible number of units that students may register for and their corresponding fieldwork hours. Please note that because the summer session is much shorter than the fall/spring semesters, only the 2 (summer session only), 3, 4, and 5-unit options are available in the summer.

*Unavailable during summer session.

Full-Time Externship

• 13 units = 585 hours → 42+ hours/week *
• 12 units = 540 hours → 39+ hours/week *
• 11 units = 495 hours → 35+ hours/week *
• 10 units = 450 hours → 32+ hours/week *

Half-Time Externship

• 9 units = 405 hours → 29+ hours/week *
• 8 units = 360 hours → 26+ hours/week *
• 7 units = 315 hours → 23+ hours/week *
• 6 units = 270 hours → 19+ hours/week *

Part-Time Externship

• 5 units = 225 hours → 16+ hours/week during fall/spring or 32+ hours/week during summer
• 4 units = 180 hours → 13+ hours/week during fall/spring or 26+ hours/week during summer
• 3 units = 135 hours → 10+ hours a week during fall/spring or 19+ hours/week during summer
• 2 units = 90 hours → 13+ hours a week during summer session only (unavailable during fall and spring semesters for civ/crim/judicial; available year-round for TAAP)
• 1 unit (for TAAP only) = 45 hours → 3+ hours a week during fall/spring or 6+ hours/week during summer

Guidelines Regarding Externship Hours

• Timing of Externship Placement
  • Commencement of Placement: Students must begin their fieldwork by the third week of the semester during the fall and spring semesters.
  • Semester Length: Summer semesters are about 7 weeks. Fall/Spring semesters are 14-15 weeks.
• Distribution of Placement Hours
  • Commencement of Placement: Students must begin their fieldwork by the third week of the semester during the fall and spring semesters.
  • Even Distribution of Hours: Students’ work hours should be spread out relatively evenly over the semester. Students cannot frontload hours.
  • Correspondence Between Hours and Credit: Students’ work hours should correspond to the units received to the extent possible. ABA guidelines state, “credit shall be commensurate with the time and effort required.”
  • Length of Externship: In fall and spring semesters, students who enroll in part-time or half-time externship units must work at least 13 weeks but no more than 15 weeks. Students enrolled in full-time externships must work at least 14 weeks.
• No Retroactive Credit
  • Students must apply and be accepted into the Externship Program before commencing their externship. Students cannot receive credit for work already performed.
• Calculating Time
  • When students attend orientation, students will receive instruction about what activities are counted toward their required hours. For example, students may not include lunch and time spent completing class assignments in their calculation of total hours worked.
• Non-Classroom Credit Hours
  • Total Units: 87 units
  • CLASSROOM UNITS: Complete at least 64 units in regularly scheduled law school classroom courses (non-classroom courses include Directed Research, Moot Court, clinical and externship courses or programs, and certain co-curricular programs for which academic credit is awarded, such as advocacy competitions, ASP Program Tutor, Maritime Law Journal, and USF Law Review). To be sure you are on-track for graduation, please reach out to the Registrar.
  • Limitation on Types of Non-Classroom Units Allowed in One Semester:
    • Although you may take advantage of all of these programs during the course of your law school education, you can take only one in-house clinic, civil/criminal law or judicial externship in any given semester.
  • Concurrent Enrollment in Other Classes for Full-Time Externs:
    • Full-time civil/criminal externs who are full-time students may enroll in units in addition to the externship for a maximum total of 16 units for the semester, subject to the policies above.

Mandatory Class Attendance Policy

Class attendance is mandatory. If you cannot attend class, you cannot participate in the externship program this semester. 

Students enrolled in an externship must attend all corresponding class meetings. Students who fail to attend the first class will result in disqualification from the Externship Program that semester. Failure to attend subsequent classes and complete assignments on time risk receiving a grade of Credit-Unsatisfactory or No-Credit. Please note that fieldwork at the externship is not an acceptable reason to miss classes. Students must notify their supervisors about the classes and plan accordingly.

Students enrolled in an externship outside of the Bay Area are not required to attend all civil/criminal classes. Students will be required to attend an orientation and meetings with the Director and Assistant Professor of the Externship Programs and complete externship coursework, which will vary by class.

The judicial course will meet Saturday, January 11th from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM in person at Kendrick Hall, Room 340.

The civil course, meet on the following dates:

• 1st Class: January 10th, 1 to 3 PM (orientation)
• 2nd Class: February 7th, 1 to 3 PM
• 3rd Class: March 14th, 1 to 3 PM       
• 4th Class: April 11th, 1 to 3 PM 

The criminal course, meet on the following dates:

• 1st Class: January 10th, 1 to 3 PM (orientation)
• 2nd Class: February 7th, 1 to 3 PM
• 3rd Class: March 14th, 1 to 3 PM       
• 4th Class: April 11th, 1 to 3 PM 

TAAP will meet every Friday from 9 AM to 11:50 AM. In addition, we will schedule a short orientation based on student availability.

The In-House Counsel course will meet every other week on Monday nights from 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM. This class carries a separate unit for the course component. In Spring of 2025, class meetings are: 1/6, 1/27, 2/10, 2/24, 3/10, 3/24, and 4/14.

Summer Session Classes 

During the summer session, all students are required to attend one of two orientations offered. For the Summer 2025 session, the orientation options for civil/criminal externship students are on date TBD from time TBD or date TBD from time TBD. The orientation options for judicial externship students are on date TBD from time TBD or date TBD from time TBD. If you cannot attend either of the orientations, you should not participate in the externship program this session.  Students should get in contact with the Externship Programs Office prior to the two dates to get more information about the orientations and receive pertinent communication that ensures they comply with course policies before they begin their externships.

Grading

Grading for the Civil/Criminal Law Externship Program is awarded on a Credit (CR)/ Credit-Unsatisfactory (CU)/ No Credit (NC) basis. Grading is based on class attendance and submission of assignments, including—but not limited to—timesheets, reflections, and supervisor evaluations.

Criminal and Civil Placements: Obtaining an Externship Placement

ASSISTANCE FROM THE OFFICE OF CAREER SERVICES:

Students are responsible for making the initial contact with the agency/office/firm and securing the externship. The search for an externship is similar to any other job search process, and the List of Prior Externships serves as a helpful starting point. During this search, students are strongly advised to meet with a Career Services Director to discuss practice area interests and employers and review submission materials, including cover letters, resumes, references, and writing sample format. Located in Room 335, the Office of Career Services can be reached at (415) 422-6757 or at lawcareer@usfca.edu.

ELIGIBLE EMPLOYERS (Civil and Criminal Placements)

Supervisor Eligibility

The externship must offer students substantial professional experience in a variety of tasks similar to those which a practicing attorney would perform with the agency or office. * Participating in an externship should give students a broader perspective of the legal system and law practice.

• The office or agency where the externship takes place must assign a supervising attorney to oversee the student’s fieldwork and provide the Law School with evaluation reports; and
• All supervising attorneys must have been admitted to a state Bar for at least two years and be in good standing with the Bar.

Previously Approved Employers

For a list of pre-approved externship employers, please see our List of Prior Externships page.

If you seek credit for an externship at a legal employer that is not on the attached List of Prior Externships, that employer must complete a Request for Approval of Agency for Civil/Criminal Law Externship Program, which is attached to this packet.

Approved Status of Employers/Site Visits

The Director and Assistant Professor of the Externship Programs will conduct periodic site visits of certain externships in compliance with ABA Standards. The Director will meet with supervisors to discuss the employer’s externship program (as well as the student’s performance) to evaluate the employer’s suitability for future externships. Depending on these visits and communications, please note that the Law School has full discretion to disapprove or inactivate an employer from participating in the Programs for any period of time.

Student Evaluations of Prior Externships

Student evaluations of past externships are available in this USF database. Type a keyword into the search box on the blue line at the top of the page. (E.g. "Duane Morris").

Ineligible Externships

The following internship experiences are not eligible for academic credit:

• A student may not receive academic credit for work previously performed or completed during a prior semester. Academic credit must be arranged at the outset of the student’s work for the agency/office/firm.
• A student may not earn credit for work performed at a family or relative’s (including spouse’s/domestic partner’s) office/agency/firm.
• A student may not earn credit for a repeat internship/position unless the experience provides a qualitatively different or substantially more rigorous learning experience. See repeat externship section for further explanation.

*Bar Certification: Some externships may provide students with an opportunity to make court appearances under attorney supervision. To be able to do this, students must apply for Certification under the Practical Training of Law Students Program of the State Bar of California. Complete and submit the application as soon as possible, as processing by the State Bar may take several weeks. Applications are available in the Registrar’s Office and on the State Bar of California’s website. Keyword search “Practical Training of Law Students Program.”

Judicial Externs: Obtaining an Externship Placement

ELIGIBLE COURTS For Judicial Externs

Students are only permitted to extern for 2 (summer session only) to 13 units in federal courts (Ninth Circuit, Northern District, including the Bankruptcy Judges), the California Supreme Court, the California Courts of Appeal, and California Superior Courts as well as with Administrative Law Judges. Please note that during the summer session, only the 2 (summer session only), 3, 4, and 5-unit options are available.

Student Evaluations of Prior Externships

Student evaluations of past externships are available in this USF repository.

Type a keyword into the search box on the blue line at the top of the page. (E.g. "Duane Morris").

APPLYING TO THE COURTS

Please see the list of prior judges and courts who have accepted USF externs in the past. Externships are NOT limited to this list. Rather, the purpose of the list is to give you an idea of where you might consider applying.

Prior to submitting applications to courts or the Externship Programs Office, students are advised to meet with a Director from the Office of Career Services to cover the following:

• Discuss the different judicial externship experiences possible depending on the type of court and where to locate these opportunities;
• Review cover letters and resumes; and,
• Discuss how to prepare a writing sample.

Located in Kendrick Hall, Room 335, the OCS can be reached at (415) 422-6757 or at lawcareer@usfca.edu.

Addressing a court in a cover letter is different than addressing other legal employers. OCS has written guidelines, which include sample cover letters. The OCS guidelines also include sources to locate court opportunities and judicial profiles.

Application materials for federal and appellate courts usually include a cover letter, writing sample, transcript, and references. Some superior courts may not require a transcript at the outset. Please see Individual Judge Application Details in the LawLink Document Library for information regarding the appropriate procedure and materials for applying to past judicial externship placements. Note, the information may not always be current.

If you receive an externship offer from a court, you should respond to the offer within a day or two of receipt. You are strongly encouraged to accept the first offer received unless you feel uncomfortable doing so. For this reason, you may consider staggering the mailing of your applications based on the order of interest in these courts.

The courts have yet to agree upon uniform deadlines for accepting applications, and judges are free to hire whenever they choose, so anything that delays your application can make a difference. The Externship Programs Office recommends that you apply to the courts at least 2-3 months in advance of the semester of the externship at a superior court, and at least 3-6 months for an externship with a federal court or appellate court.

Repeat Externship Policy

Fieldwork for Employers Where You Have Previously Volunteered or Worked:

A student seeking course credit for an externship with the same agency, office, or firm for which a student has previously worked (whether volunteer, paid, work-study, or extern) for substantial periods of time must obtain approval from the Director and Assistant Professor of the Externship Programs according to the following guidelines:

1. A student may not enroll in an externship program with the same mentor or at the same site at which the student has been placed as an extern, had an employment relationship, or has worked as a volunteer unless the placement will provide a qualitatively different or substantially more rigorous learning experience than the student previously experienced.
2. A student may receive externship credit for no more than two semesters at the same placement.
3. A student may receive up to 9 credits during their second semester at the same placement.

Prior to approval of the student’s application, the Director and Assistant Professor of the Externship Programs will have a one-on-one conversation with the supervising attorney to ensure the student’s experience will be a qualitatively different or substantially more rigorous learning experience.

PLEASE NOTE: The Externship Programs Office has the discretion to deny a student’s application to participate/enroll in the Externship Program again, based on the student’s performance in the previous semester.

Students must complete the Petition for Repeat Civil/Criminal Law Externship and turn it into the Externship Office by the application deadline.

Remote Externship Policy

During the COVID-19 pandemic, remote placements were necessary, and most were completed successfully. As the legal field returns to in-person work, in-person externships are preferred.

Remote externships, where students work in a separate location from their supervisors more than 25% of the time, will be considered on a case-by-case basis according to the following factors:

1. Whether an in-person externship is a possibility with the placement;
2. Whether a substantially similar placement offers an in-person experience;
3. Whether the student may be able to extern in-person at a different time (e.g. summer term);
4. Whether quality work and a meaningful experience can be provided remotely;
5. Whether the placement can fully integrate the student remotely;
6. Whether the placement is responsive and adequately addresses the remote arrangement; and,
7. Whether the student demonstrates responsibility and initiative, necessary for a remote placement.

FAQs