Social Justice Initiatives | Columbia Law School
Externships
Columbia Law School offers innovative opportunities for experiential learning in which students tackle the legal problems of real clients while gaining theoretical knowledge of the underpinnings of their work.
Social Justice Initiatives has the primary responsibility for the creation and the oversight of externships at Columbia Law School. Many graduates emphasize that externships—as well as clinics and practice seminars—were essential to their preparation for becoming excellent lawyers.
At Columbia Law School, an externship consists of a seminar that in most cases meets once a week, and a field experience at an NGO or government office that is closely related to the seminar. The seminars are taught by adjunct professors who are leading practicing attorneys, and the field placements usually are at their workplace. In most instances, the seminar leader also supervises the work of the students. In other cases, the seminar leader places the students with other supervisors in his or her office.
Select a semester below to see a list of externships offered during that term.
For for more about the externship program at Columbia Law School and how the application process works, read our FAQs.