Public Interest Law Fellowships Summer 2025
Through the Public Interest Law Fellowship, a Cardinal Quarter opportunity, students have the opportunity to spend a summer working full time for nine weeks in the field of public interest law with a supervisor/mentor in a domestic U.S. public interest organization (nonprofit or governmental) of their choice.
Four Public Interest Law fellows (out of a cohort of 10-15 Public Interest Law Fellows) will be designated as Liman Fellows. The Liman Summer Fellowship is coordinated by the Arthur Liman Public Interest Program at Yale Law School, and offers students an opportunity to participate in public interest law projects in order to support organizations and offices most in need of resources, including nonprofit social service, cultural, or state or local government organizations. Liman Fellows are expected to work on-site with their host organizations (i.e., not remotely) and cannot work as academic research assistants or in federal government. Previous Liman Fellows have worked on issues such as immigrants’ rights, workers’ rights, prison conditions, educational adequacy, and juvenile justice. Liman Fellows are required to attend the annual Liman Public Interest Colloquium at Yale Law School (expenses paid) from April 3-4, 2025, and will be incorporated into a cohort of fellows from Barnard, Brown, Bryn Mawr, Harvard, Morehouse, Princeton, Spelman, Stanford, and Yale.
Applicants propose their own placements with organizations with which they have corresponded before the application deadline and effectively demonstrate that their intended partner organizations have the need, interest and capacity to work with a fellow and to support the proposed project/work plans. Students can submit an application after they have received and accepted an offer from a host organization, and the host organization must then complete the Community Partner Questionnaire (via the fellowship application) by the application deadline.
The Haas Center has many Resources for Fellowship Applicants, including our list of Cardinal Quarter Connections of host organizations seeking to work with Stanford undergraduate students, and our Meet the Undergraduate Fellows page with information on previous fellows' community partners and projects.
Each Public Interest Law Fellow receives a base stipend of $7000 to support travel and living expenses during the fellowship. Financial aid and supplemental funding are available to students who qualify.
For opportunities during the Fall, Winter, or Spring quarters, please see the Jane Stanford Fellowship. For international opportunities, please see the International Public Service Fellowship.
Please review the program policies in their entirety before applying.
Are you working on a “project” this summer? Would your “project” benefit from additional funding? A Cardinal Quarter “project” is defined as 1) student designed in consultation with a community partner, 2) student implemented, 3) provides a tangible deliverable to the community, and 4) is sustainable beyond the summer. Students working on projects may be awarded up to an additional $1000 for project-related expenses. Click here for more information about projects and here to see a list of project-related expenses that may be covered. Please check the relevant box on the fellowship application if you will be applying for project-based funding.
This fellowship is made possible by Haas Center donors as part of the Cardinal Quarter program.
Eligibility:
For complete eligibility requirements, please review our program policies in its entirety.
Applicants must be:
- enrolled at Stanford for the winter and spring quarters of this academic year (2024-25);
- be in good academic standing and not on suspension; and
- enrolled as a first-year, sophomore, or junior (from all academic disciplines), or a senior who will be returning for a co-term program during the following academic year
Graduating seniors are only eligible for Round 2 opportunities if funding is available after the February deadline, and the Round 2 deadline may be in early April. Students who have begun their coterm programs are not eligible to apply. Priority will be given to students who have completed fewer than two previous Cardinal Quarter opportunities.
Students are welcome to propose placements with a variety of public interest organizations, keeping in mind funding will be restricted for certain types of political, research, Stanford-based, for-profit, and faith-based organizations. Please review the “Host Organization Eligibility” section of our program policies for more information.
Requirements:
Selected fellows are expected to begin their fellowship following the completion of spring quarter classes and no later than July 7, 2025. All fellows are required to work with their community partners 35-40 hours/week for nine consecutive weeks.
Fellows are expected to work on-site at their host organizations at least on a hybrid schedule, but some fully virtual experiences may be allowed on a case-by-case basis. Fellows must have a designated full-time professional staff member on-site as their supervisor/mentor. Please review the complete program policies for additional requirements. Other commitments include the following:
Spring Quarter
- Complete and online program orientation
- Complete the Engaging in Ethical and Effective Service in-person workshop or worksheet.
- Identify and meet with an on-campus mentor at least once.
- Design a personal learning plan and share the learning plan with the site supervisor and on-campus mentor.
- Complete all required pre-orientation forms.
Summer Quarter
- Submit a brief preliminary report
- Submit a final report, complete a program evaluation, and correspond with fellowship donor(s) as requested by fellowships program staff.
Fall Quarter
- Meet with on-campus mentor at least once
- For project-based fellows, apply to present at the Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Public Service (SURPS)
- Participate in outreach activities to share the experience and help publicize the program
Selection Process:
For those who seek assistance, advising is available through the Haas Center to help students develop their applications and/or to identify potential partner organizations. Please reach out to a Cardinal Quarter Peer Advisor or email cardinalquarter@stanford.edu for an advising appointment with program staff.
Students are strongly encouraged to discuss ideas for placements with program staff well before the application deadline to identify appropriate/relevant opportunities and prepare effective application materials. Developing a suitable fellowship placement takes time, so it is important to start the application process early and consult with professors, advisors, and community partners regularly.
This fellowship is intended for individuals whose application, references, and interview demonstrate
- an integration of the fellowship experience with the applicant’s academic, personal and/or career goals
- prior demonstrated interest or involvement in the subject area, including related coursework
- a compelling match between applicant’s skills and interests and an organization’s work and needs
- strong potential for the fellowship experience to deepen a candidate’s understanding of an identified community issue or challenge
Complete applications are screened, finalists interviewed, and fellows selected by a committee with the intention to award fellowships within six weeks of the application deadline. Applicants must respond promptly (within 48 hours) via email to a fellowship offer, or the offer will be rescinded. Once an applicant accepts a fellowship offer, the student should promptly notify all other Stanford and non-Stanford programs to which they have applied that they have accepted another offer and to withdraw their candidacy.
