Externships

2,082

Students have participated
in at least one externship

125

Sites in 20 different practice areas

50%

Of 3L Classes participate
in at least one externship

Mentoring & Professional Exploration

For two decades, Carolina Law’s Externship Program has engaged students in real life lawyering experiences with practicing lawyers and judges in the community. Students receive academic credit for participating in the program, which requires on site work with one of our partner placement sites for a set number of hours each week as well as completion of accompanying journal and class requirements at the law school. Our partner placement sites include judges at federal and state levels as well as lawyers from government agencies, public interest groups, and corporate counsel who serve as mentors and on-site supervisors for the students, providing direction, supervision and feedback as the student initiates, progresses through and completes assigned projects.

The Externship Program’s faculty supervisors guide and facilitate the students’ exploration of their externship experience through tutorials, journal writing and class discussion.

Students externs have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the law while exploring a particular area of practice and observe different lawyering styles and techniques. The program aims to train students to examine legal doctrines and practice in the context of actual social and business problems and concerns. In the process, externships promote the students’ development of key lawyering skills such as legal analysis, research and writing, interviewing and counseling, negotiation, policy making and both informal and formal advocacy. Through their work with faculty supervisors, students critically examine their learning strategies, their goals and progress, and develop self-directed learning habits. The program also promotes students’ understanding of professional responsibility through discussion of ethical and moral issues arising in practice.

The Externship Program offers five academic options:

Application Process and Course Requirements
Externship Sites
Information for New Sites