Frequently Asked Questions

Students beginning law school must complete at least 6 experiential learning credit hours to graduate law school. While we strongly recommend that all students enroll in a clinic or externship before graduation. Students matriculating in Fall 2024 and beyond are required to complete at least one externship or clinic for 2+ credits*.

The following classes will meet the Experiential Learning requirement: 

• all live-client clinics
• externships
• simulation courses
• In some instances, with faculty approval, credits earned in ACRE or AFR may be counted towards the experiential learning requirement.

Please review the Graduation Checklist for your year of matriculation for information about the credit caps for these courses.

*Waivers may be granted in rar circumstances. Please refer to the student handbook for any waiver conditions.

Externships are available in several areas of law:  In-House  Corporate Counsel, Courts, Criminal Law, Government & State Agency, Health Law, Intellectual Property, Not-for-Profit, and Sports & Entertainment Law.

Yes. Externship opportunities are available every semester (spring, summer, fall).  The externships offered each semester vary based on the needs of the supervising attorneys at the externships and the availability of the faculty advisors.  Contact Mary Morris to see what opportunities will be available for the upcoming semester.

Applicants must have a GPA of 2.3 on a 4.0 scale and be in good standing with the school at the time an externship application is submitted. Some externships have additional requirements which will be noted on the externship application.  Additional information can be found in the Student Handbook.

In most cases, no. You do not need to be a CLI to apply for an externship except for a few select placements. All externships have different requirements which can be found in the externship application or the course description.

Students interested in being certified to practice should speak to their supervising attorney at the externship.

Students that are eligible to be certified should visit the Indiana Board of Law Examiners (BLE) website and complete the Certified Legal Intern forms.  An additional IU certification form must be completed as well.

The completed forms should be sent to the Office of Student Affairs for processing.

No. Students are not eligible to participate in externships until they have successfully completed at least 18 credit hours (generally this will be after the second semester of enrollment).

Yes. LLM students that have completed at least 8 credit hours are eligible to participate in externships, though they are not required to do so.

No, MJ students are not permitted to participate in externships.  They can participate in ACRE or AFR.

Students wishing to receive academic credit for an externship are required to submit an application, along with a resume, during the open application periods.   There are two externship application periods offered each semester:  The Standard Application and the Extended Application.  The opportunities offered in each application vary.

After the application deadline, the applications are sent to the supervising attorneys to review.

Some supervising attorneys conduct telephone or in-person interviews before selecting their externs.  Some attorneys select their externs directly from the applications. 

Students selected for an externship should communicate with the faculty advisor of the externship and Mary Morris in order to be registered for the externship.

No. Submitting an application does not guarantee a student will be selected for an externship.

Students are encouraged to register for classes as if they didn’t apply for an externship. If selected for an externship, the student can drop a 2/3 credit class and the externship will be added to their schedule.  If the student isn’t selected for the externship, at least their schedule is already set for the upcoming semester.

Externships have instructor blocks and students cannot register for the courses themselves. The externship will be added to the student’s schedule shortly after registration once the placement has been confirmed. 

Students are responsible for reviewing their schedule prior to the start of the semester to ensure everything is correct.  If there are concerns, the student should contact Mary Morris.

Yes. Students must pay and enroll in externships as they do other law school classes.

Most externships do not have a class component, but students will be required to connect with their faculty advisor during the semester. The Health Law and State Government externships require students to enroll in the externship as well a separate, mandatory 1-credit wrap-around class which is graded.

Students should review the externship application, the website, and the course list for more information.

The faculty advisor overseeing the externship will assign the student a S/F at the end of the semester.

Students enrolled in a wrap-around class will receive a separate letter grade for the class component.

Each externship has an assigned faculty advisor who oversees the experience.  The faculty advisor may assign various assignments such as writing a short goals or reflection paper.  Students may be asked to keep a journal of their experiences at the externship. Students will be required to track all hours worked at the placement office and submit the information to the faculty advisor as directed.

EXTERNSHIPS are for-credit experiences requiring students to pay and enroll in the course as they do other law school classes. 

Students wishing to be considered for an externship must submit an application during one of the application periods.  All externships have an assigned faculty advisor who oversees the experience and communicates with the student and supervising attorney throughout the semester. 

Externships can be paid or unpaid, although most are offered for credit only.  Externships count towards the experiential learning requirement needed to graduate law school.  Questions?  Please contact Ginger Mullis, or stop by the Law Clinic, Room 111.

INTERNSHIPS are pro bono or paid opportunities that do not require registering or paying for a course. Students do not receive academic credit for participating in internships.

Please stop by the Office of Professional Development, Room 115, or log-in to McKinney Works, to learn more about internships, pro bono experiences, or job opportunities.

* Some field placements host both EXTERNS and INTERNS, which is great! This allows students to gain real-world learning on a platform that works best with their schedules!

Please review the student handbook on the McKinney website for the caps on non-classroom courses.  Questions?  Contact your academic advisor in the Office of Student Affairs.

Most formal externships require student participation during normal business hours.  Evening students are encouraged to pursue experiential learning credits through SEP or simulation classes.  Students may also pursue experiential learning credits through ACRE or AFR with faculty approval.

Externships are available for 2 or 3 credit hours, though certain summer externships may be eligible for 4 credit hours. Students spend 45 hours of time at the placement office for each credit earned. 

Yes, although most externships are only offered for academic credit.

Students seeking to work with their current employer as an extern to receive academic credit must compose a Current Employee Legal Externship Authorization (CELEA) form and submit it to the faculty advisor of the externship, and the Director of Externships, for approval.

The form should be submitted for review at least two weeks prior to the first day of the semester in which credit is being sought.

Except in extraordinary circumstances, and only with the approval of all affected faculty supervisors and supervising attorneys, students may not enroll in two externships, two clinics, or an externship and a clinic during the same semester.  Additional information can be found in the Student Handbook.

The duration of an externship is generally a single semester. Except in extraordinary circumstances, students may not enroll in an externship with the same placement for more than one semester.  Additional information can be found in the Student Handbook.

Students can pursue academic credit for an experience that’s not in place with the school through the Supervised Externship Placement or SEP.

SEP allows students to earn academic credit for experiential learning done in conjunction with a field placement with an entity for which there is no relevant existing externship or existing program with the law school.  Students must secure their own full-time faculty member to advise the experience. 

Students must complete the SEP Agreement & Request to Enroll Form.  The completed SEP paperwork must be submitted to lawsep@iu.edu at least one week prior to the first day of the semester in which credit is being sought.

Students must complete and submit the externship application during one of the application periods to receive academic credit.  In some circumstances, with faculty approval, a student may be granted permission to submit a late application.