The Law, Societies, and Justice Department offers a number of innovative and engaging experiential learning opportunities. Read more about the opportunities below and talk to the LSJ Advising Staff for more details.
LSJ 401: Fieldwork Experience
The Law, Societies & Justice internship program seeks to create a connection between academic coursework and ‘real world’ experience. The objectives of the internship are to:
- Provide students with insights into the workings of law in practice;
- Scrutinize and ‘test’ some of the theories and concepts found in the academic literature against ‘real world’ practice;
- Initiate career development and goals, and
- Provide 100 hours of local community service.
Students work with a variety of governmental and non-governmental agencies, including law enforcement agencies, social service organizations, courts, rights groups, policy organizations, and social support groups.
For more information, visit our Internship Process and our Internship Database pages.
Juvenile Parole Project (JPP)
In this course, groups of 2-3 LSJ students are paired with volunteer attorneys to represent individuals preparing for hearings before the Clemency and Pardons Board or the Juvenile Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (ISRB, the equivalent of a parole board).
Prison Book Clubs
LSJ offers prison-based book clubs. These book clubs meet monthly and run for the entire academic year. Students can apply for this opportunity in Spring of the year before they wish to begin participating. The options include:
- Special Offenders Unit. SOU is one of the five prisons at the Monroe Correctional Complex, and is reserved for men who have mental health issues. Students must be 21 years of age by the start of fall quarter.
- Twin Rivers Unit. TRU is a medium security men’s prison at the Monroe Correctional Complex. Students must be 21 years of age by the start of fall quarter.
- Echo Glen Children's Center. Echo Glen is a juvenile detention facility in Snoqualmie. LSJ hosts two book clubs at Echo Glen - one for females, and one for males. Students must be 18 years of age by the start of fall quarter.
- Read2Me. This program runs at the Washington Corrections Center for Women. LSJ students bring children’s books and tape recorders to the prison once each month. The incarcerated mothers who participate in the program read the books into the tape recorders, and the LSJ students then e-mail the audio-files to the mothers’ children. Students need to be 18 years of age by the start of fall quarter.
Social Justice Through Philanthropy
Each Winter Quarter, LSJ offers a Social Justice Through Philanthropy course. In this class, students have the unique opportunity to award funding to non-profit organizations. Students are empowered to read through proposals from non-profit organizations that are seeking funding, researching and scrutinizing each proposal. At the culmination of the quarter, students award the selected organizations with up to $50,000. This innovative course provides students with a meaningful opportunity to learn about the purpose of philanthropy and the challenges associated with evaluating alternative theories of change.
Study Abroad
The LSJ Department offers several Study Abroad programs each year, encouraging students to explore law, rights, and justice in a myriad of social contexts. See our Study Abroad page for more details: https://lsj.washington.edu/study-abroad.