Judicial Externships

The Judicial Externship Program offers eligible upper-division students to receive academic credit for positions as law clerks under the direct supervision of judges and research attorneys in state and federal courts.

During the fall and spring semesters, judicial externships for credit must be in the San Francisco Bay Area, which includes the counties of San Francisco, Marin, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. During the summer session only, students may apply for credit for externships outside of the Bay Area.

Full-Time Externships

Full-time externships (13 units for full-time students and 11 units for part-time students) are permitted in federal courts (Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals; U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, including bankruptcy judges), the California Supreme Court, and the California Courts of Appeal. Full-time externships are not permitted in California Superior Courts. The 13 and 11 unit options are unavailable during the summer session.

Half-Time and Part-Time Externships

Half-time (6 units) and part-time (3 or 4 units) externships are permitted in federal courts (Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals; U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, including bankruptcy judges), the California Supreme Court, the California Courts of Appeal, and California Superior Courts. The 6-unit option is unavailable during the summer session.

To receive credit for the externship, judicial externs are required to attend a two-day Judicial Process Orientation, which takes place shortly before or at the beginning of the semester. Externs also must submit evaluations and weekly timesheets, meet individually with the Director and Assistant Professor for the Externships, and complete other assignments as directed.

Academic Eligibility and Other Criteria

Minimum GPA and other academic policy requirements apply in order for the student's externship to be approved for academic credit. Full-time students in their last three semesters of law school are eligible for academic credit for a judicial externship. Part-time students who maintain part-time status are eligible during their final four part-time semesters. Students either must have completed Evidence before the externship begins, or be concurrently enrolled in Evidence during the semester of the externship.

Please review the FAQs located under Resources and the Judicial Externship Application Packet below to determine your eligibility to participate. A list of courts that have taken USF students as externs in the past is included in the Application Packet. Students are advised to work with the Office of Career Planning to prepare cover letters and resumes and to locate additional courts not listed in the Application Packet.

Student Application Packet

• Judicial Externship Application Packet

Before completing these forms, please make sure that you have reviewed all of the policies, requirements, and procedures in the packet referenced above. You may also review the FAQs under "Resources".