International Externship
The Summer 2012 Long Distance International Externship Seminar will be held at WCL in May the week following exams and in August the week before classes start. Enrollment and attendance is MANDATORY for all students externing abroad this summer.
Thank you for your interest in an international externship for summer 2012. Please visit the 2011 International Externship Highlights and the International Database. The International Externship Highlights reflects organizations that have hired WCL students in the past or have agreed to accept applications from WCL students. The International Database contains a broader listing of organizations with which the Externship Program has had some contact.
All students interested in externing outside of the United States must complete the request form found below to receive assistance from the Externship Program in securing an international placement. The request form indicates an expression of interest and does NOT bind the student to participating in an externship.
The deadline To request assistance from the Externship Program for Summer 2012 in November 8, 2011. Please complete the application at the bottom of the page.
Once your Request for Assistance is reviewed, you will be contacted by the Externship Program. If you have not heard from the Externship Office by December 1st, please contact us at externshipfellow@wcl.american.edu.
Please note that the Externship Program cannot guarantee that you will secure an international placement. However we encourage you to use the Externship Program as a resource in finding international placements as we have extensive contacts all over the globe. Also take note that by no means is our database comprehensive. The Externship Program encourages you to seek out and contact organizations that are not in our database. You may extern with any organization that meets the Externship Program requirements.
Request the assistance of the Externship Program in securing an international externship
The Washington College of Law's International Externship Program offers students a unique opportunity in American legal education. Students can earn academic credit while performing fieldwork outside of the United States in NGOs, government agencies, tribunals, and law firms engaged in pro bono work. Students participating in the International Program gather at WCL the week of May 16th for a three-to-four day intensive seminar, which prepares them for their fieldwork. At the conclusion of the seminar, students disperse to their externship sites where they normally work fulltime for 7-10 weeks. During the field placement portion of the program, students and WCL faculty are linked via an Internet "virtual classroom" for continuing discussions of the students' experiences. When the field placement concludes, students reconvene at WCL for the week of August 15th for another three-to-four day seminar to further reflect on their externship experiences. Attendance at the mid-May and mid-August seminars is MANDATORY. These seminars meet at WCL. All international travel for academic credit must be approved by the University.
The mandatory Externship Seminar is three credits; in addition students earn 1, 2 or 3 credits for their field placements, depending on the number of hours worked. Students cannot participate in a Study Abroad program and earn externship credit as students may only earn a total of seven credits over the summer semester.
- International Application
- Highlights of International Opportunities for Summer 2011
- Getting an Internship/Externship Abroad
Approval Process
All foreign travel related to an externship must be approved by the following:
- Externship Program
- Washington College of Law Office of the Dean
- American University Office of the Provost
Once you have accepted an offer for an international placement please fill out the forms below and return them to the Externship Office. If approved by the Externship Office, your forms, along with a program description and a copy of the country's risk assessment, will be submitted for approval to the Office of the Dean, and to the Office of the Provost. You will not be permitted to receive academic credit for an international externship unless you have received approval for international travel from the University. All externships must be approved by the University and the law school. Placements deemed unsafe will not be permitted.
Approval Forms
If the travel is approved, information will be forwarded to AU's Vice President for insurance coverage.
