College Access

Public Interest Fellowships allow WashULaw graduates to experience public interest practice. Students are able to pursue their passions and interests while helping St. Louis citizens.

The WashULaw Civil Rights and Mediation Clinic focuses on housing, education, and consumer discrimination. Clinic students provide representation for low-income St. Louis clients on a multitude of different legal subjects ranging from housing to education to municipal court claims.

The WashULaw Clinical Education Program is considered one of the finest in the country. Established in 1973, the clinical education program allows WashU’s law students, and sometimes students outside of the Law School, to work to provide legal advice and litigation to clients in the St. Louis area.

The externship program at WashULaw provides students with the opportunity to develop legal skills as they work in law offices and legal departments of non-profits, corporations, and government. Students can be assigned to a placement arranged by the school or they can find their own at different St. Louis corporations.

The St. Louis Fellows Program offers a 6-month civic leadership training to undergraduates who dedicate their summer to St. Louis. Students engage in an experiential curriculum to explore St. Louis’ history, culture, politics, challenges, and opportunities, and contribute to mission-critical work in the region through full-time nonprofit or civic internships.

The Civic Scholars Program is a two-year civic leadership training with academic coursework and experiential learning for undergraduates. It includes immersive opportunities in St. Louis to engage with local neighborhoods, the policy-making process, and civic change efforts in the region. During the summer, students engage in a Civic Summer project through a nonprofit internship or self-designed civic impact project that often takes place in partnership with St. Louis civic and community organizations.

MSW students complete nearly 1000 hours of practicum during their time at WashU. Translating the classroom theories and skills, students are able to provide meaningful care at their carefully selected practicum sites. Previous opportunities include the St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center, PROMO (Promoting Equality for All Missourians), and Care International.

This collaborative effort between the Brown School’s Buder Center with leaders at the St. Louis Zoo, St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri Humanities Council, Missouri History Museum and Lutheran Indian Ministries, is meant to advance Native partnerships and programming. Strengthening collaboration and communication will allow better dissemination of knowledge, stronger programs, and improved outreach.

The Clark-Fox Policy Institute works to advance social and economic justice. The goal is to connect policy solutions to public awareness, practicum training, and policy decision-making. The institute provides students with the opportunity to participate through a number of different avenues: the Graduate Policy Scholars, internship and practicum, and working through the master of Social Policy.

Washington University has announced the Gateway to Success Initiative, a $1 billion additional financial assistance commitment from the university that allows us to be immediately and forever “need blind” in our admission process for first-year domestic applicants. WashU will no longer consider an applicant’s ability to pay when making admissions decisions.