Legal Internships

From August 1, 2024, the requirements for the recognition of legal internships will be adjusted and a modified recognition process will apply. A transitional provision is in force until October 31, 2024. You will find all the information on these three topics below (Information on further changes in the area of recognition can be found on Recognition and Transfer of Credit).

You have completed a legal internship in Switzerland or abroad and would like to have it recognized towards your studies at the Faculty of Law of the University of Zurich (RWF UZH).

Legal internships amounting to 3 ECTS credits or 6 ECTS credits can be recognized with a “pass” as an elective module in law, if they are usable for a degree. Such recognition requires that the internship

• consisted of a predominantly legal content
• that it comprised a total of 90 hours of work within a maximum of six months (3 ECTS credits) or a total of 180 hours of work within a maximum of twelve months (6 ECTS credits).

Starting from fall semester 2023, the recognition of a legal internship for the Bachelor of Law UZH requires that the internship was completed only after passing all modules of the assessment stage except for one (cf. § 37 RVO). This means that internships can be recognised in the following semester from August 1 (autumn semester) or February 1 (spring semester) at the earliest if all requirements are met.

Bachelor's students who have earned at least 150 ECTS credits at the Faculty of Law in the previous semester (including recognized law modules from other universities) can take legal internships for the Master's degree course in advance. This means that internships can be recognized in the following semester from August 1 (autumn semester) or February 1 (spring semester) at the earliest if all requirements are met.

For the Master of Law UZH International and Comparative Law, only legal internships in English can be recognized. Internships cannot be recognized for the Double Degree and Joint Degree Master's programs.

Please note:
- Only internships completed after 01.08.2021 will be recognized.
- General Transfer of Credit at Master's level  excludes the recognition of legal internships.

The following two steps are necessary for the recognition of legal internships:

1. Request for recognition: Submit the completed "Recognition form Legal Internship", which you can find on the forms page, as well as a confirmation of the internship from the employer (as a PDF) to the Student Center via contact form (section "Recognition & Crediting"). Please note that the "Application for Recognition of a Legal Internship" must be completed partly by you and partly by the employer. The application will only be processed if the data is complete, otherwise it will be rejected for completion.

The confirmation must contain the following information:

• The student’s surname and first name
• Name and address of the institution (court, law firm, etc.) where the legal internship was completed
• Period of time during which the legal internship was completed
• Information on the degree of employment or of the total number of hours worked
• Tasks performed during the legal internship
• For recognition in the Master of Law International and Comparative Law UZH, it must also be stated that the internship was completed in English.

2. Notification of recognition: After the internship has been recognized, you will receive a notification from the Student Center. The recognized achievement can then be viewed in the student portal or in the UZH now app.

It is recommended that you submit the application immediately after completing the internship. The processing time is at least two weeks.