Public Interest Law Scholarship

The Public Interest Law Scholars (PILS) Program offers full tuition scholarships, renewable each year, to selected students. It is the most generous and prestigious scholarship offered by the law school and recipients are among our strongest students.

Not only do PILS recipients have academic profiles that boast strong scores and grades, they also have very strong backgrounds in fields that pertain to social justice and public service. Many have worked for years in areas such as human rights, immigration, social work, child advocacy, prison reform, politics and welfare reform. All prospective students interested in this scholarship must submit a special application.

Launched in 1999 by generous donors who believed that the mission of the law school naturally led to the need for such a scholarship, the first class of scholars graduated in 2003. These graduates have now started to build what will become a strong network, giving back to the program and assisting new students as they begin their pursuit of public interest law careers. Once scholars have graduated from the School of Law, it is expected that a significant portion of their careers be dedicated to public interest law.

• Read Bios of Public Interest Law Scholars
• Our Commitment to Public Interest Law
• College Cost Reduction and Access Act

We also offer a variety of other scholarships, such as the Social Justice Scholarship and the Peace Corps and Teach For America Scholarships, for those students who have demonstrated a deep commitment to social justice and a solid academic background.

Students who wish to be considered for the Public Interest Law Scholarship must submit the following materials directly to the School of Law with a postmark no later than January 15, 2012:

• Public Interest Law Scholarship Application Form
• Public Interest Experience/Work List
  Please submit a list of all activities that are related to your public interest experience. Relevant experiences may be volunteer or paid positions and may go back as far as your high school years. Please list these experiences in a grid with the name of the organization, type of activity and dates/times spent in each activity.
• Public Interest Essay
  Please discuss, in no more than two pages, your view of the role of law as a vehicle for influencing social change. Please focus on your professional and/or personal experiences with a specific social issue. How do you expect the knowledge you gain from legal studies to advance your ability to address this or similar issues?
• Optional Letter of Reference(s) [Up to two]