6th Semester in D.C. Program

Washington, D.C. provides a wealth of opportunities for field placements (externships) with government agencies, think tanks and nonprofit organizations. Our students have found placements in organizations as diverse as:

• Administrative Conference of the United States
• Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
• American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
• AmeriCorps
• Department of Homeland Security, ICE, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor
• EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
• Equal Justice Under Law
• House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law
• NAACP
• National Association of Attorneys General
• National Resources Defense Council
• North American Securities Administrators Administration
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
• Senate Agriculture Committee
• Senate Judiciary Committee
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, Office of General Counsel

Students enroll in 6 to 9 credit hours for the field placement through work at approved organizations. If you are a current KU Law student interested in the 6th Semester in D.C. Program, visit the Field Placement Program page for more details.

Through the 6th Semester in D.C. Program, you will build connections within the D.C. legal, political and public interest communities. As part of the program, you will meet with U.S. senators, members of Congress and their staffs, senior lobbyists, U.S. Supreme Court practitioners and others in small-group settings organized by KU Law.

Participants in the program have met:

• U.S. Senate delegation for Kansas
• Alumni attorneys at the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Federal Communication Commission
• Alumni attorneys at AMARA Legal Services and Prime Policy Group

They got a behind-the-scenes tour of the U.S. Capitol from Krisann Pearce, L'95, general counsel for the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and met legendary former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole.

When work and study demands aren’t calling, you will be able to take advantage of the city’s wealth of cultural amenities. You can quickly get from the National Mall to locations in Maryland and Virginia, or anywhere around the Beltway. You’ll have time to tour the city, enjoy extraordinary monuments, museums and historic sites; catch a Nationals baseball game; or watch the cherry trees blossom in the spring.

Housing

There are many wonderful neighborhoods in and around D.C. where you can live. Please see the program director for more details.

There are no additional tuition costs or program fees for the 6th Semester in D.C. Program. Students are responsible for housing and living expenses.

Jennifer Schmidt is the director of the 6th Semester in D.C. Program and a lecturer of law at at KU Law. Schmidt joined the KU Law faculty part-time in 2008, became an associate clinical professor in 2017 and became a lecturer of law in 2022. She works at the intersection of law and public policy. Before she coming to KU Law, Schmidt worked as senior counsel to U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), as counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committe's Subcommittee on the Courts and more.

Becky Weber is an adjunct faculty member. Since 2002, Weber has been a managing director at Prime Policy Group, a Washington D.C. government relations firm, managing the firm's transportation and infrastructure practice. She has served in a wide variety of government roles including an honors attorney at the U.S. Department of Transporation (DOT), an attorney in the Office of the Chief Counsel of the Research and Innovative Technology at the U.S. DOT and on the Bush/Cheney Transition Advisory Team for DOT. 

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