Public Interest Summer Funding

King Hall is pleased to announce the availability of summer funding fellowships for students carrying out public service legal work at a non-profit organization or government agency this summer. Current 1L and 2L students can apply for each of the following summer fellowship opportunities by submitting a single application. 

  • Summer Public Service Law Fellowships
    • Number of Fellowships: dependent on funding
    • For: Otherwise unpaid legal work at non-profit organizations or government agencies (judicial externships are not eligible. Court-based legal assistance, such as Family Law Facilitators’ Offices and Self-Help Centers, do qualify.)
    • Maximum Possible Award: $4,000(1Ls) and $4,500(2Ls) (see fellowship eligibility rules for details)
    • Selection Process: King Hall faculty and/or staff members will review and score the applications.  Summer Fellowships will be awarded in turn until fellowship funds are exhausted.
  • The John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellowships
    • Number of Fellowships: 6 
    • For: Otherwise unpaid legal work at non-profit organizations or government agencies (judicial externships are not eligible. Court-based legal assistance, such as Family Law Facilitators’ Offices and Self-Help Centers, do qualify.)
    • Award: $6,000
    • Selection Process: King Hall faculty and/or staff members will review and score the applications.  The six highest cumulative scores will receive Stevens Fellowships.
  • The King Hall Legal Foundation (KHLF) Fellowships
    • Number of Fellowships: dependent on funding
    • For: Otherwise unpaid legal work that raises the economic, educational, and social levels of under-privileged and underrepresented individuals and groups. Note: KHLF does not provide funding for prosecutorial work.
    • Maximum Possible Award: Dependent on funding. 
    • KHLF grant recipients must disclose to KHLF the sources and amounts of all other summer funding. Any amount received in any form from their organization, including, but not limited to, stipends, transportation, and other expenses, and the amount received from all outside sources, including but not limited to, grants and scholarships must be reported. Grant recipients may not receive more than a total of $10,000 of total funding for the summer (including the KHLF summer Grant). Any amount above this cap will be refunded to KHLF accordingly.
    • Selection Process: KHLF is an independent, student-directed non-profit organization.  You must be a member of KHLF to be eligible for funding. Each applicant’s proposal is evaluated anonymously by a selection committee. The KHLF Board of Directors has developed the selection criteria in accordance with the organization’s mission. KHLF awards grants to those applicants receiving the highest overall scores tallied from each of the members of the selection committee.
  • Genes Family Watershed Fellowships - Summer 2023
    • $6000 available for up to 3 students who are working on water resources issues (water sheds, water law, river protection, etc.) this summer.
    • CalTrout - one student will be funded to work with California Trout. Apply through Symplicity resume collection under Spring 2023 (Resume Collection for CalTrout) session by Sunday, March 20. 
    • American Rivers - one student will be funded to work with American Rivers. Apply through Symplicity resume collection under Spring 2023 (Resume Collection for American Rivers) session by Sunday, March 20. 
    • One student working on water resources issues with an nonprofit or government agency who applies to UCOP will be selected. Selection will be awarded to the highest cumulative score doing eligible work.

Informational Session - Thursday, March 9, 12pm, Room 2302

Slides from the 2022 presentation are available here. Recording of 2022 presentation available on intranet here.

Summer 2023 applications - open through April 5, 2023

To Apply:

1L and 2Ls can apply for all fellowship opportunities through a single application.

Application materials will be submitted by uploading them using this link: https://ucdavis.app.box.com/f/d6a92a88011047e9ba0cbe420ba0738a  

Combine everything into one document. File names should start with applicants’ first and last name (ex. Joan Smith Application.pdf).

Your single pdf should contain the following items:

  1. Completed application cover sheet - available here in fillable pdf or here in word
  2. Resume
  3. Statement of Purpose & Financial Paragraph
    1. Statement of Purpose is 2 pages maximum, doubled-spaced, 12-point font. The statement should address the following questions (in any order):
      1. How have you demonstrated your commitment to pursuing a public service career?
      2. What work will you perform this summer?
      3. Why is this work important and who will it impact?
    2. A short paragraph (no more than 300 words) explaining your financial need and how you will use the funds to support your work this summer. Include this at the end of Statement of Purpose, it is separate and does not count against your page limit, but should be in same document.
  4. Employer Verification: Written documentation from the host organization or agency confirming that it will host your summer work (can be the email chain between you and host showing offer and acceptance).

If you would like your statement of purpose reviewed prior to submission, please send a draft in Word to Sofia Parino.  Those sent by March 27, 2023 will be guaranteed a review, those sent after may be reviewed depending on counselor's availability.

 

Other Summer Funding

There are other sources of funding beyond those offered by King Hall and KHLF. Students should look to bar associations, foundations, affinity groups, etc. Learn more about funding opportunities by checking out PSJD's Funding Sources page. Below is an example of some potential external funding sources, but there are more out there!