List of 7 Fellowships for Law Students in India
1. United Nations International Law Fellowship Programme
The United Nations International Law Fellowship Programme is organized by the Codification Division of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs.
The Fellowship Programme provides high-quality training by prominent international law scholars and practitioners on a broad range of core topics of international law. In addition, the interactive nature of the training allows the participants to share experiences and exchange ideas, which promotes greater understanding and cooperation on contemporary issues of international law.
- Eligibility: To qualify for the Fellowship Programme, candidates must have a legal background with professional experience in the field of international law. The selected candidates are required to certify that they are able to attend the Fellowship Programme in its entirety. The Fellowship Programme will be conducted in French in 2023. Fluency in spoken and written French is required.
- Financial: The fellowships cover the fellowship recipient’s travel costs in economy class, accommodation, medical insurance, participation in the Fellowship Programme, the training material and the registration fee for the public international law session at The Hague Academy of International Law. In accordance with the policies and procedures governing the administration of United Nations fellowships, participants will also receive a stipend to cover other living expenses. Qualified candidates may also apply for self-funded positions. Self-funded participants bear all costs associated with their participation (travel, accommodation, living expenses and registration fee for The Hague Academy of International Law). Training materials are provided to all self-funded participants free of charge.
- Tentative date: Jan-Feb
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2. Columbia Law School’s Jagdish Bhagwati Fellowship
The Jagdish Bhagwati Fellowship—underwritten by the Indian government—provides partial to full funding for up to three fellows per academic year. The Law School offers a comprehensive course in these areas, co-taught by professors Jagdish Bhagwati (Economics) and Petros C. Mavroidis (Law). In addition, the Law School and other divisions of Columbia University offer specialized seminars in international trade law and related topics.
- Eligibility: To be eligible for the Jagdish Bhagwati Fellowship, you must first be admitted to the LL.M. Program at Columbia Law School.
- Deadline: The application deadline for the 2024-2025 Jagdish Bhagwati Fellowship is December 1, 2023 (the same deadline as the application for the LL.M. Program).
- Financial: Columbia offers merit-based financial assistance to some Executive LL.M. and LL.M. candidates in the form of grants and institutional loans. These awards typically only cover a portion of the cost of tuition and fees, allowing us to provide some form of assistance to a greater number of students.
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3. Samvidhaan Fellowship
The Constitution of India, while remaining the cornerstone of the Indian republic, has limited significance in the lives of ordinary citizens. Beyond the law school curriculum, even lawyers do not get adequate opportunities to sustainably work on constitutional law issues in their professional lives. As a result, the study of the Constitution often gets restricted to academic settings.
However, the need for a baseline constitutional culture arises in analyzing any legal or policy issue. This gap between constitutional principles and the practice of law and public policy can only be bridged through a bottom-up change in the legal system by dedicated constitutional scholars who apply constitutional principles to their everyday work.
- Eligibility: Samvidhaan Fellows will be lawyers with an interest in constitutional law, who will work in different parts of India to promote constitutional law research at the grassroots level. The Fellows will pitch their own project proposals on one of the identified themes, determine their research methodology and the manner of presenting their final outcomes.
- Duration: the Samvidhaan Fellowship is a one year, full-time and paid Fellowship.
- Benefits: During the Fellowship, Vidhi will provide extensive monitoring and support to all Fellows, through mentorship, periodic check-ins, reviews and feedback, etc.
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4. Justice Leila Seth Fellowship
The Justice Leila Seth Fellowship is a remunerated, 18-month programme, which nurtures a cohort of exceptional lawyers who understand what it takes to create positive change in our society. Selected Fellows work directly on litigation, research and advocacy on core social justice issues related to child protection and juvenile justice. They are mentored by iProbono and our community of dedicated advocates.
- Eligibility: The required academic qualification is an undergraduate law degree. Early career professionals are encouraged to apply.
- Duration: 18-month tenure
- Tentative dates of application: Aug-Sept
Click here for the official details
5. NLSIU Infosys Digital Library Fellowships for Law Students
Hosting one of India’s largest collections of legal books, journals and database subscriptions, the Sri Narayan Rao Melgiri Memorial National Law Library has been an essential part of the experience of studying, teaching and researching at the National Law School of India University. In Academic Year 2022-23, the Library’s physical infrastructure has been entirely reimagined and redeveloped to provide a library that is among the best academic libraries in India.
With the generous support of the Infosys Foundation, we are proud to offer the ‘NLSIU Infosys Digital Library Fellowships’ to current students of the law in India. The Infosys Digital Library Scholarship project at the University aims at democratizing access to library resources through modes of digital inclusion.
- Eligibility: Fellowships will be awarded to at least 100 students studying law in India on a need-based assessment. At least 10 scholarships will be reserved for law students with disabilities.
- Duration: 1 Year
- Benefits: Students receiving the Fellowship shall have access to the same e-resources as an NLSIU student, which include twenty e-databases for legal and social sciences materials, hosting journal and periodical articles, and e-books. Students shall also have access to the Sri Narayan Rao Melgiri Memorial Law Library at the University campus for the duration of the Fellowship.
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6. Judicial Fellowship Programme 2024
The Judicial Fellowship Programme, formerly known as the University Traineeship Programme, was established in 1999 to enable recent law graduates to gain professional experience by working for the International Court of Justice. The programme aims to improve participants’ understanding of public international law in practice and the Court’s procedures by directly involving them in the activities of the Court.
- Eligibility: To be eligible, candidates should be 31 years old or younger at the start of their fellowship. This requirement may be waived only in special circumstances. Candidates must demonstrate excellent results in their legal studies, and an interest in public international law through their studies, publications and/or work experience.
- Duration: The duration of the fellowship is approximately ten months, from early September to June of the following year. The Court generally selects 15 participants nominated by universities across the world.
- Deadline: The deadline for the submission of applications is 5 February 2024.
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7. The Reginald F. Lewis Fellowship 2024-25
The Reginald F. Lewis Fellowship for Law Teaching is made available through a gift from Reginald F. Lewis, a graduate of Harvard Law School (1968) and his wife, Loida Nicolas-Lewis. Shortly before his death in 1993, Mr. Lewis gave the largest grant at the time in the Law School’s history. Harvard Law School’s International Law Center was renamed in his honor. Mr. Lewis was founding CEO of TLC Beatrice Foods International. He was also the author of the book Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun?
- Eligibility: Harvard Law School will offer the Reginald F. Lewis Fellowship for Law Teaching, with an appointment expected to commence July 1, 2024. The Fellowship is designed to support a recent law graduate who has demonstrated a strong interest in legal scholarship and who is preparing for a career in law teaching.
- Duration: The term for the Lewis Fellowship will be from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025.
- Stipend: The Lewis Fellow will receive an annual stipend of $55,000. The Lewis Fellow is expected to be in residence at Harvard Law School during the academic year.
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