General information
Interested students should read the Student Extern Information Manual. It provides all pertinent information in full. A few frequently asked questions are addressed below:
Who may participate?
The Externship Program is open to second and third year students. However, the ideal time to do an externship is during the third year of law school. Some placements only accept third year students. In addition, in order to be sworn in as a limited practice student, most jurisdictions require the student to be a third year student. Preference goes to third year students if there are multiple applications.
What is Limited Practice?
Most jurisdictions permit third year law students in an externship program to be sworn-in as limited practice student-attorneys. Some jurisdictions permit second year students to be sworn-in. Some offices encourage their externs to be sworn-in while others prefer that their externs not be sworn-in. If a student so prefers, his or her office approves, and the student otherwise meets the requirements and qualifications to be sworn-in as a limited practice student-attorney, the student is encouraged to do so.
Students seeking to be sworn-in must read their jurisdiction’s pertinent rule regarding student-attorneys, consult the applicable rule (generally a state supreme court rule and or federal district court rule), and ensure he or she meets all qualifications.
How many externship credit hours can I earn and what is the corresponding number of on-site hours?
A student can earn between three and twelve academic credit hours total for externship placement(s). The maximum cumulative total externship hours a student may earn, however, is twelve. Most placements are between three and six academic credits. Special permission is required for seven or more credit hours for one placement. In terms of on-site hours to academic credit hours, refer to the below table:
| Credit hours | On-site hours |
| 3 | 135 |
| 4 | 180 |
| 5 | 225 |
| 6 | 270 |
| 7 | 315 |
| 8 | 360 |
| 9 | 405 |
| 10 | 450 |
| 11 | 495 |
| 12 | 540 |
What are the class requirements?
Student externs must (1) complete an extern information form, (2) draft a placement plan, (3) maintain a daily log documenting his or her on-site hours, (4) keep a contemporaneous journal reflecting upon his or her experiences, (5) ensure mid-placement and final evaluations are submitted by the on-site supervisor, (6) author a reflective essay, and (7) complete a student evaluation pertaining to his or her externship experience. In addition, students doing seven-credit or greater placements also read a dedicated text and write chapter summaries of such reading.
Is there a classroom component?
Yes. Externs meet on a weekly basis as a group in a seminar class. Every student participating in the externship program also meets once per week for an hour-long seminar. Participation in this seminar is mandatory. Students placed away from Oxford join the seminar via an internet based meeting program. During the summer placement, the seminar takes the form of webinar meetings. The class focuses on enhancing the experiential learning opportunities, discusses applicable ethical and professional issues that may arise and studies legal subjects pertinent to student placements. No separate grade is entered for the class.
How are students graded?
Students are graded on a pass / fail (Z grade) basis. If a student completes the required number of on-site hours and successfully fulfills the various requirements, he/she receives a passing grade. All hours and requirements have to be completed by the end of the applicable summer or semester term.
Academic/Course:
When do I officially become a third year student?
For these purposes, you are counted as a third year student when you have accumulated two thirds (60) of the required ninety academic credits required for graduation.
How do I register?
Once you have submitted your application and we have confirmed your particular placement, Professor Sinha will email you and the Registrar with the relevant information. Please review the information carefully and confirm that all information is correct. View the Applications and Forms page.
Do I pay tuition for the academic credits I earn?
Yes. Students who participate in the externship program pay the regular tuition associated with the number of academic credit hours earned pursuant to such enrollment.
What are the work hours for externships?
The ratio for on-site hours ranges from 135 on-site hours for three credit externships to 540 for twelve-credit externships. Again, the typical externship placement entails between three and six academic credit hours.
How do journaling and log entries work?
Your time logs and your journal entries are submitted via the Ole Miss Blackboard academic system on a regular basis to Professor Sinha. While your time logs are reviewed by your supervisor, only Professor Sinha reads your journal. This is intended to permit each extern to freely comment and reflect upon his or her externship experience. However, in light of this, it is particularly important that the student has an initial discussion with his or her supervisor pertaining to confidentiality and journaling. Certain placements request the opportunity to review their student’s journal entries before they are submitted to Professor Sinha. Prior to starting an externship placement, each student must read the pertinent jurisdiction’s Rules of Professional Conduct, particularly Rule 1.6 – Confidentiality of Information, and to discuss this with their on-site supervisors, both in general and in how it relates to their journal entries.
Externship Placement Questions:
If I do an externship placement during the summer term, must I coordinate my start and end dates around the official summer term schedule?
Summer extern can choose to begin their placements either at the beginning of the summer coordinated with the law school first summer term, or the week after the July 4th holiday. All summer externs spend a minimum of six weeks at their placements.
Can I do a placement away from Oxford and / or outside of Mississippi?
Yes, depending upon your academic schedule. If you do an externship in the fall or spring and are taking regular classes, you will likely want to look for a placement in or within driving distance of Oxford. However, if you are doing an externship in the summer or in your final semester you may want to consider doing so in your hometown or the city or state where you plan to move after graduation. A student can, however, do an away placement at any time of his or her third year.
I know where I want to do my externship placement. May I contact the placement directly to see if they will accept me as an extern?
Yes and no. If you are looking for a general placement in the Oxford area, we ask that you go through our program, turn in your application, and have us contact the local office regarding your potential placement there. However, if you, for example, know your judge in your hometown, and you want to do an externship placement with him or her, contact the judge to see if he or she will take you as an intern. Conversely, if you want to be placed in a certain jurisdiction but do not know anyone there, we will help you seek out an appropriate placement. Regardless, simply let us know in your application if you have or have not made contact with your desired placement office.
Can I work for pay at an office and then be placed there as a for-credit extern the next semester?
As a general rule, a student who has worked as a paid clerk at an office that otherwise qualifies for participation in the externship program, cannot do a for-credit externship placement at the same office. However, certain exceptions to this general rule exist, the most common being where the student is able to experience and participate in duties as a for-credit extern that he or she was not able to do as a paid clerk.
What types of offices qualify as externship placements?
As a rule, only not-for-profit public service oriented legal offices qualify as participating placements for the externship program. This generally encompasses governmental, prosecutor, public defender, public service, social justice, university, hospital, congressional and legal aid offices, as well as judges and court placements. The key is that the work of the office must be law related and not-for-profit or public service oriented. Question pertaining to whether a placement qualifies for the program should be directed to Professor Sinha.