Summer Funding
Public Interest Grant Program
Each year, the Law School distributes grants to students working in public interest positions over the summer through the Public Interest Grant Program. The grants are distributed in the amount of $5,000 for those who have completed their first year of law school, or $6,000 for upper-level students.
The application cycle for these grants begins in January, with the deadline being within the first week of April. During the month of January, the Public Interest Director and Program Manager host a summer funding info session to go over all the application details and instructions. View the recorded 2024 info session.
Please see the timeline for the Summer 2024 grant application below:
| January 8, 2024 | Application Opens |
| January 31, 2024 | Summer Funding Info Session |
| April 1, 2024 | Application Deadline |
| April 16, 2024 | Announcement of Decision |
| April 19, 2024 | Awardees Must Submit Acceptance Forms |
| April 23, 2024 | Alternates will be Notified |
| September 6, 2024 | Sponsor Certification Forms Due |
Equal Justice Foundation (EJF)
This student-run organization raises money and awards stipends to students working in unpaid public interest internships. To be eligible for a stipend, students must volunteer at least 20 hours with EJF. Email [email protected] for more information about volunteer opportunities.
Squire Patton Boggs Fellowships
For the past 20 years, the law firm Squire Patton Boggs, through its charitable foundation, has provided five fellowship opportunities for public interest students at GW Law and other law schools. All grants will be in the amount of $5,000. If a rising 3L receives a grant, GW will add $1,000 for a total award of $6,000.
The application cycle for these fellowships typically opens in December and ends in late-January.
- Joe Brand "Human Rights First" Fellowship
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This fellowship is offered exclusively to GW Law students and is named after Joe Brand, a GW Law alumnus.
- Sustained Impact Racial Justice Fellowships
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There are three organizations that students can apply for through this fellowship program. They are:
- The Lone Star Justice Alliance in Dallas/Austin doing juvenile justice work in minority communities
- The Cincinnati Citizen Complaint Authority doing police-minority community relations work
- The Voting Rights Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Washington, DC
Sustained Impact Racial Justice Fellowship Application
The Law School will nominate only one student for all three placements, and GW law students will compete with applicants from other law schools.
- Veterans Justice Fellowship at "Swords to Plowshares"
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This fellowship is with Swords to Plowshares in San Francisco, addressing justice for veterans. GW law students will compete with nominees from other law schools for this position.
Swords to Plowshares - Veterans Justice Fellowship Application
NEW Squire Patton Boggs Fellowship Available
- Human Rights Watch Fellowship
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This fellowship can be done remotely or in DC. This project will build on Human Rights Watch’s long-term research and advocacy that contributed to the adoption in November 2022 of a global political declaration to curb the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas, which has now been endorsed by over 80 states. Read more about the type of work this fellowship will entail here. Applications are due March 31, 2024 at 5pm.
Shapiro Public Interest Summer Fellowship
Each summer, Professor Jonathan Turley selects fellows for the summer. These fellows will be awarded $12,000 and will work under Professor Turley's supervision on litigation projects at outside organizations.
Students should send a cover letter explaining their proposed work, their resume, and most recent transcripts to Professor Jonathan Turley ([email protected]) and his assistant Seth Tate ([email protected]). The deadline is March 15, 2024. While late submissions may be considered, grants are likely to be made by the end of March.
- Details and Requirements
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The positions must be for:
- A minimum of 10 and a preference for 12 weeks in the summer.
- Litigation or the preparation of litigation in the public interest on the trial or appellate levels.
- Include a written offer from the project or organization describing the nature of the organization.
- A general description of the tasks to be performed by the student. If this work is being done outside of the law school, the project or organization must allow the student to share with Professor Turley benchmarks or progress reports on the work being performed.
- Students applying with Professor Turley should note if they have also applied for the Public Interest Grant Program. Students are allowed to apply to both programs and dual applications are not a factor in the consideration of your application.
Knowledge in Action Career Internship Fund (KACIF)
This highly competitive program provides grants ranging from $750 to $3,000 to GW undergraduate and graduate students pursuing internships that are necessarily unpaid. Necessarily unpaid internships are typically those with non-profit, governmental, educational and non-governmental organizations that genuinely lack the financial resources to pay salaries or wages to their interns. In order to maximize the number of students who receive funding, grants for internships in the District of Columbia and other U.S. domestic locations typically range from $750 to $1,500, while grants for international internships typically range from $2,000 to $3,000. KACIF also awards travel grants of up to $300 to cover the costs of using public transportation to and from an unpaid internship.
Summer Application Period
- Applications open on April 1 and close on April 30
- Application decisions will be sent via email the third week of May