International Legal Studies Post-Graduate Fellowships

The International Legal Studies (ILS) Post-Graduate Fellowships are designed to improve participants’ understanding of international and/or transnational law by supporting recent HLS graduates who will be clerking or interning at an international or foreign regional/supranational court or tribunal. It is expected that up to one or two ILS Post-Graduate Fellowships will be awarded for 2025-2026.  Please note that this is separate from the Law School’s support for positions at the International Court of Justice; for more information regarding support for ICJ clerkships, please see the International Court of Justice Judicial Fellows Programme web page.

Applications for the 2025-2026 ILS Post-Graduate Fellowships are due on Monday, January 13, 2025.

Eligibility

• The 2025-2026 ILS Post-Graduate Fellowships are open to HLS graduates from the classes of 2022-2025.
• Applicants should not have previously been employed as clerks or legal interns in the court/tribunal where they are proposing to work.
• The ILS Post-Graduate Fellowship is available to applicants seeking positions that would otherwise be unfunded. Applicants who have secured positions with stipends of less than $1,000/month may also be considered for the ILS Post-Graduate Fellowship.
• The ILS Post-Graduate Fellowship is designed to fund an eligible position of nine months or longer with a grant in the amount of up to $45,000. Positions of six to eight months will also be considered, with concomitantly reduced funding. Placements of less than six months in duration will not be considered.
• Positions in U.S. or foreign national courts are not eligible for funding.
• The award of funding is contingent upon a nominee securing a qualifying internship or clerkship by April 15, 2025. (Note: if the stated hiring timeline of a particular court is such that a position cannot be secured by this deadline, applicants may petition the Post-Graduate Fellowship Committee for an extension. Petitions should include documentation regarding the court’s stated application and hiring timeline, as well as an expected start date for the clerkship.)

Applications

All application materials should be submitted to the ILS Post-Graduate Fellowship program (c/o International Legal Studies) via the CARAT online application system by Monday, January 13, 2025.

The following application components should be submitted as PDF files via CARAT:

• a statement of interest (not to exceed 1,000 words) describing:
  • relevant experience, background, and skills pertinent to international and/or transnational law, and language proficiency
  • professional goals
  • a description of the proposed clerkship/internship, including details regarding:
    • the host court or tribunal
    • the work (including any specific projects) that the applicant expects to undertake
    • the type of supervision the applicant expects to receive at the court or tribunal
• a current CV/resume
• a letter from the host court or tribunal indicating a commitment to hosting the applicant, and duration of the position*; additional details may be requested at a later date
• A Harvard Law School transcript. Currently enrolled students may submit an unofficial transcript (current as of the date of the application). Alumni should submit a transcript that reflects all HLS grades. Information on ordering transcripts can be found at https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/registrar/transcript-requests/.

*Note: applicants who have not yet secured a position/commitment letter must instead include an addendum (of no more than 250 words) to their statement of interest, describing the specific steps they have taken to secure a position with the court or tribunal. 

Applicants must also provide:

• Two letters of recommendation, at least one of which must be from a Harvard Law School professor. Recommenders should upload their letters as PDFs directly into CARAT in accordance with the instructions received from the CARAT system. Reference letters must be submitted by recommenders directly via CARAT by Monday, January 13, 2025. Note: In order to give your recommender sufficient time to submit their recommendation by the deadline, please contact them well in advance of the application deadline, and request that they send the letter as a PDF file via CARAT once the system has prompted them to do so.

Please note that interviews may be required for shortlisted candidates.

Selection Criteria

Factors considered by the Selection Committee will include:

• strength of the application in demonstrating how the proposed clerkship/internship aligns with the applicant’s career plans
• applicant’s HLS academic performance, relevant background, experience and skills, and commitment to international and/or transnational law

Notification of Award(s)

The Selection Committee will review applications and make determinations by early February.  Award notifications will be sent shortly thereafter.

Reporting Requirements

Selected candidates will be required to submit two reports detailing their experience as ILS Post-Graduate Fellows, one due at the halfway mark of their clerkship/internship, and one due upon its completion.  Fellows should also report their employment plans following the period of their Fellowship.

Travel Policy

Please note that the award of the ILS Post-Graduate Fellowship and associated funding will be contingent on the ability of recipients to adhere to all Harvard University travel policies.

For More Information

Please contact International Legal Studies at ils@law.harvard.edu.

And read about Francisco Balbín LL.M. ’22, the 2023-2024 ILS Post-Graduate Fellow, who worked at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and Anoush Baghdassarian ’22, the 2022-2023 ILS Post-Graduate Fellow, who undertook a placement at the International Criminal Court.