Application & Selection

FAQs  PRIOR FELLOWS

NOTE: Your application will automatically be considered for the NYU Public Interest Law Center (PILC) Fellowship. You do not need to submit separate applications.

Application & Selection

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PILC Engagement Requirement

In order to be considered for the NYU RJWR Fellowship, all applicants must meet with a PILC counselor to discuss their post-graduate job search and their fellowship proposal at least three weeks before the application deadline. Students who have already met with a PILC counselor in the context of preparing their proposed project for other fellowship applications are not required to do so again. Students who have not yet met with a PILC counselor, as well as anyone who has questions or would like to discuss the program further, should make an appointment with Katie Neilson.

Application Requirements

Required PILC Forms

1. Completed Application Cover Sheet

2. Job Search Engagement Form

   The purpose of the job search engagement form document is to give the selection committee information about your postgraduate job search.

   • List all applications  you have submitted for post-graduate fellowship funding and employment. Include only those fellowships and jobs to which you have actually applied and the status of those applications.
   • Please describe any restrictions in your search (i.e., geographic, type of work, etc.).
   • Please specify and explain any offers that you have received or have turned down, including any private law firm offers.

Substantive Components

1. Resume (up to two pages)
2. Project Proposal (300-500 words) describing:
   • The need that the project would address.
   • The goals of the project.
   • The work that the fellow will undertake.
3. Personal Statement (300-500 words) discussing
   • Applicant’s career goals and how this fellowship would contribute to those goals.
   • Applicant’s skills and knowledge, including relevant clinics, internships, student group involvement and coursework.
4. Host Organization Commitment Letter (300-500 words) describing:
   • The mission, current programs and staff of the organization.
   • The training and supervision that the fellow would receive, including the name and experience of the lawyer who would supervise the fellow.
   • How the applicant’s project would support the organization’s mission.

Letters of Recommendation

You must submit two Letters of Recommendation, including one academic recommender and one professional recommender. Note that clinical professors count as academic recommenders. 

 

The letters can be addressed to “NYU Reproductive Justice & Women's Rights Selection Committee” and can either be submitted as part of the application packet, or separately by the recommender to pilc.info@nyu.edu.

Submission Instructions

Submit your full application package to pilc.info@nyu.edu as a single PDF file.

• File name: [Last Name] [First Name] - RJWR Fellowship Application
• Email subject line: NYU RJWR Fellowship

Selection Process & Criteria

NYU RJWR Fellows are selected by a selection committee consisting of one law school faculty member and one or two former RJWR fellows.

 

Selection criteria include:

• Applicant’s qualifications, including commitment to public interest work.
• Quality and potential impact of the proposed work.
• Relevance of the proposed work to the applicant’s career goals.
• Applicant’s job search and engagement with PILC.

 

Finalists will be invited to interview with the committee, generally in mid-March, at the law school or over Zoom, and selection will take place shortly thereafter.

 

Please reach out to Katie Neilson with any questions.