Rising 2L and 3L students can arrange summer field placements for academic credit with government agencies, non-profit organizations, and in judicial chambers. Students perform field work and participate in an online faculty-guided course.
While the law school has many pre-approved summer field placements, students may also request approval to earn academic credit for work performed through volunteer internships with government agencies, non-profit organizations, and in judicial chambers outside Iowa. Students are encouraged to work with the Career Services Office to find summer internships.
Many internship opportunities are posted on 12Twenty, and many law-school pre-approved externships will use 12Twenty to collect resumes from students through the Spring OCI session.
Seminar theme
For the upcoming summer term, the Summer Legal Placement program will be organized around one theme— *General Section. Students in all Summer Legal Placement sections will respond to guided reflections and participate in periodic online class and individual meetings. In addition, all students must participate in an orientation session scheduled for the end of the spring semester.
*If we have a large enough class/interest, we may add a Criminal Justice Section.
General section
This section will provide you with an opportunity for individualized learning and exploration of your legal practice interests. You are encouraged to become a self-directed and active learner in the context of a real-life legal experience.
You will do this in a number of ways: setting goals in advance of your externship, submitting periodic reports of your activities, and engaging in assignments to reflect on your experiences and translate them into marketable skills, academic plans, and career plans.
You will be in a section with students working in a wide variety of externships. The resulting discussion will allow you to compare and contrast the different roles attorneys play in the legal system.
Additional information
How to apply
All pre-approved summer field placements are included in the Spring OCI on 12Twenty. Students may also apply directly to volunteer internships with government agencies, non-profit organizations, and in judicial chambers. In seeking field placements, look for structured legal internships supervised by an attorney, who is willing to interact with the law school.
Once you have secured an internship, contact Carwina Weng, director of field placements, to determine whether the placement site needs to complete a Supervisor Application Form. You will also be provided an online application form.
Crediting and hours
Under the Iowa Law Field Placement Policy, students in a Summer Legal Placement must spend a minimum of 150 hours onsite working in their placement over the course of at least six weeks. Students also participate in an online faculty-guided seminar. Students earn 3 credits graded pass/fail. These are experiential credits and can count towards the 6-credit experiential learning requirement for graduation.
Students can expect to participate in the seminar throughout the term of the session and are strongly encouraged to arrange their externships to last the duration of the session.
Tuition and financial aid
Students pay tuition and fees and are usually eligible for financial aid. Tuition information is available on the Tuition & Fees website. Summer tuition and fees will be billed on your June U-Bill.
Students may apply for summer financial aid in MyUI after they are registered in April. In addition to financial aid, limited funds are also available through the Summer Grant Program.
Questions about financial aid? Please contact Iowa Law's Office of Financial Aid at law-financialaid@uiowa.edu.