Externships earn four credit hours. To earn the four credits, you typically work 12 to 15 hours per week at your placements, and must attend a weekly one-hour externship course at the College of Law. All credits are provided on a pass/fail basis.
Externships
The externship program offers you opportunities to earn academic credit while performing real legal work in outside placements. Placements are allowed at private law firms, for-profit companies, government, non-profit organizations, judicial chambers and other entities.
Law student externs work on active legal matters alongside supervising attorneys who provide feedback and guidance. Externships provide practical, real-world experience and connections that often prove to be advantages when entering the job market. You may be paid by an externship employer, and you may participate more than once in the externship program.
Refer to the externship handbooks for more information:
- Fall 2025 Externship Handbook (DOCX)
- Spring 2025 Externship Handbook (DOCX)
- Summer 2025 Externship Handbook (DOCX)
If you have any questions, please email the director, Assistant Dean Anderson, at lawexternship@niu.edu.
Externship Types and Eligibility
Externships are available only if you have previously completed at least three semesters’ worth of coursework toward your degree. (See Student Handbook, §3.15.)
Additional requirements vary by externship type.
In the Civil Externship program you are immersed in the practice of law under the supervision of attorneys in placements that can include law firms, for-profit companies, government, non-profit entities, and some other entities. You will engage in many aspects of civil practice, which may include counseling clients, planning and other aspects of litigation, legal research and memorandum writing, negotiating with opposing parties, representing clients before administrative and judicial tribunals and transactional work. Prerequisites for this externship are Professional Responsibility (643) and Introduction to Lawyering Skills (720).
In the Criminal Law Externship you are supervised directly by experienced assistant state's attorneys and assistant public defenders. You are encouraged to use 711 licenses to appear in court for motions, hearings and trials. You are able to apply the skills you have acquired in the Lawyering Skills and Trial Advocacy courses. The training received in this program has prepared many students for successful careers in criminal law, including positions at the offices of the state's attorneys and public defenders.
Prerequisites for this externship are Professional Responsibility (643) and Introduction to Lawyering Skills (720). Trial Advocacy (725), Criminal Procedure (601) and Criminal Procedure (602), and Evidence (655) are highly recommended. You must also have a 711 license to participate in this program and have a grade point average of 2.2 or higher.
The Judicial Externship Program provides you with the opportunity to observe and participate in the legal process from the unique vantage point of the judiciary, while using and improving your research, writing and analytical skills. The program is limited to third-year students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. As with other types of externships, you must secure a placement with an employer before completing an application. Prerequisites for this externship are Professional Responsibility (643) and Introduction to Lawyering Skills (720).
Applying to the Externship Program
First, you must secure an externship placement with an employer. Students often secure externship placements by reaching out to employers that have worked with our students in the past. You can also find postings on Career Corner and consult TWEN to find past Career Corner postings.
Please contact the director at lawexternship@niu.edu if you have questions or encounter difficulty in the process.
After securing a placement, you may apply to the externship program.
Duration and Scheduling
Externships typically last for one semester or summer term, though some span two semesters. Externships for academic credit require 12 hours per week of work at your placement, and you must also attend a classroom component for one hour per week.
Work schedules will be determined by agreement among you, the externship director and placement supervisor.
Summer Externships
Summer externships are more flexible than fall and spring externships, but because students benefit most from an experience that extends as long as a typical semester, some guidelines are in place:
- You must work a total of 168 hours between May 21 and August 12.
- You must work a minimum of 24 hours per week for a period of at least seven weeks of your summer externship.
- You may not earn credit for more than 40 hours in a week (although you may work more).
Academic Credit
Externs earn four credit hours per semester, and the course satisfies students' experiential learning requirement for graduation.
Past Externship Employers
Recent externship employers include:
- CAIR Chicago
- CASA DeKalb County
- City of Chicago Law Department
- City of DeKalb Legal Counsel
- City of Naperville Legal Department
- City of Rockford Legal Counsel
- Cook County Domestic Relations Court
- Cook County Public Defender
- Cook County Public Guardian
- Cook County State's Attorney
- DeKalb County Public Guardian
- DeKalb County State's Attorney
- DuPage County State's Attorney
- Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project
- First American Title Insurance Company
- Illinois Attorney General
- Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC)
- Illinois Legislative Reference Bureau
- Kane County Public Defender
- Kane County State's Attorney
- Kendall County Public Defender
- Lake County State's Attorney
- Metropolitan Family Legal Services
- NIU Athletic Department
- Prairie State Legal Services
- Rockford Public School District
- US Air Force JAG
- US Securities and Exchange Commission
- Winnebago County Public Defender
- Winnebago County State's Attorney
Frequently Asked Questions
You are required to take only one experiential course and related classroom component to meet the experiential requirement for graduation, but you may also earn credits through additional externships or other experiential courses. However, of the 90 total credit hours required for graduation, at least 65 hours must be earned in traditional coursework (see Student Handbook, §3.2.1). Further, you may not take more than one practice class in a single term (see Student Handbook, §3.15.4). You may not receive credit for a practice experience that is substantially duplicative of a prior practice experience for which you have already received credit (see Student Handbook, §3.15.1).
You must receive prior approval from the director. You should ensure that you meet the requirements for participation in the externship program (listed below), then complete an application and submit it to the director of externships. The director will review the application and enroll students who meet the program's qualifications. This must be done before beginning the externship. If you have questions about the application or enrollment process, contact the director.
711 licenses are required for all criminal externships and some civil externships. If you hold the license you can engage in direct legal work, including court appearances, under the supervision of a fully licensed attorney.
You may apply for a 711 license by contacting Sean Raleigh at sraleigh@niu.edu or 815-753-0589.
Yes. Although the majority of externship placements are unpaid, you may also receive credit for paid placements.
Contact Us
Office of Career Opportunities and Professional DevelopmentGreg C. Anderson, Assistant Dean and Director
Swen Parson 280
815-753-0589