Personalized Guidance and Support
Obtaining a Placement
You are responsible for securing your own externship placement. However, you do not have to navigate the process alone. The externship office offers personalized guidance and support every step of the way, including help identifying potential placements, reviewing your eligibility, and ensuring your proposed externship meets academic standards.
To assist with your search, the externship office maintains two valuable resources:
- A list of organizations that have hosted externs in previous semesters, offering insight into placements that have successfully met program requirements.
- A regularly updated list of current externship opportunities from courts, agencies, nonprofits, and corporate legal departments that have contacted the law school and are actively seeking students.
In addition, the Career Resource Center is available to help you prepare strong application materials and practice your interview skills so you can present yourself professionally and confidently to potential placement sites.
Whether you pursue an opportunity from our curated lists or propose a new placement, both the externship office and the Career Resource Center are here to support you in finding a placement that aligns with your academic goals and career path.
Registering
If you are interested in enrolling in an externship, your first step is to schedule a meeting with Aimee Maldonado, Director of Academic Externships. During this meeting, you will discuss your proposed placement, confirm eligibility, and review program requirements. This meeting is required before you can register.
- To schedule your meeting, please use the following link:
👉 https://calendly.com/amaldonado-stcl/meeting-with-prof-maldonado
- Important: Registration for the externship course requires an authorization code, which will only be provided after your placement is reviewed and approved.
You may register for 2, 3, or 4 credit hours, depending on the scope of your placement. Please note that you cannot change your selected number of credit hours after the add/drop deadline, so be sure to consult with both your site supervisor and the externship office to confirm that your expected workload aligns with your selected credit level.
While you are responsible for securing your own placement, guidance and support are available through the externship office, including help identifying opportunities and preparing application materials. Placements may be in-person, remote, or hybrid, and may be either paid or unpaid, as long as they meet program requirements.
Repeat Placements
- You may request a second externship at the same placement, but only with prior approval from the Associate Dean for Experiential Education. To qualify:
- You must demonstrate how the second experience will provide new or expanded learning opportunities beyond your original placement.
- To request approval, complete this form and email it to Aimee Maldonado at amaldonado@stcl.edu.
Course Management
All students enrolled in the Professional Competency or Advanced Professional Competency courses will use D2L (Desire2Learn) as the course management platform. D2L serves as the central hub for the academic component of the externship experience.
Within D2L, you will find:
- Course materials, including instructional videos, reading assignments, and guidance documents
- Assignment submission portals for reflective exercises, evaluations, and weekly or cumulative timesheets
- Announcements and deadlines from externship faculty
You are expected to check D2L regularly and to submit all course-related requirements on time. The platform is designed to support your professional development while maintaining the academic structure of the externship program.
