Information for Students and Application

The Judicial Fellowship Program is for Dartmouth undergraduate students on a leave term.  (Applications from First Year students will not be accepted).

Fellowship opportunities exist in judicial chambers throughout the country. These opportunities do not all exist every term, and vary based on the needs of different chambers and preferences of the mentoring judges. Because attending judicial proceedings and having exposure to the daily workings of a court and the judicial system are integral to the learning experience of a Judicial Fellowship, the Fellowships are all in person. 

Judicial Fellows are provided with a $6,000 stipend by the Rockefeller Center (Fellows are not funded by the courts in which they work; all funding comes from the Rockefeller Center). As with other Rockefeller Center funded internships, students are responsible for travel to and from the Fellowship location and making their own living arrangements for the duration of the Fellowship. 

Specific start and end dates can be arranged by agreement between the student and mentoring judge, but the typical duration of a Fellowship will run the equivalent of one academic term, and Fellowship funding is for a single academic term.

Students will have the opportunity to note in their application if they have preferences with regard to geography, type of docket, research interests, and so on. The Program will do its best to match students and chambers based on their mutual preferences, and all placements will be subject to final agreement of the mentoring judges and prospective Fellows.

Judicial Fellows will be held to the Student Requirements Agreement; students should review these requirements prior to applying to ensure they are willing and able to meet them.

For questions, please reach out to Professor Julie Kalish, Coordinator of the Rockefeller Center Judicial Fellowship Program, and Professor Herschel Nachlis, Associate Director and Senior Policy Fellow of the Rockefeller Center: Julie.L.Kalish@dartmouth.edu and Herschel.S.Nachlis@dartmouth.edu.

1. Interest letter addressed to "Judicial Fellowship Selection Committee" explaining each of the following (1-2 page max): 

a. Why you want to participate in the program

b. Past relevant experience (broadly conceived – law is in many ways a generalist field that draws on diverse talents and interests)

c. What you hope to gain from the experience

2. Transcript. A copy of your most recent academic transcript (unofficial is fine – fully up to date is essential).

3. Writing sample. Strong research and analytic writing skills are important for almost any Judicial Fellowship placement. Please submit an analytic paper of 7-10 pages that reflects your academic written work. This can be a full piece of analytic writing, or a section from a longer piece.

4. Resume. Please provide an up to date resume. The resume should ideally be 1 page, and must be no longer than 2 pages. Make sure to include your overall GPA, and, if possible, in-Major and in-Minor GPAs.

5. References. Contact information (name, title, email) for 2 academic references we can reach out to should your application progress.

 Application Deadline for 2024-2025 Academic Year:  Monday October 7, 2024, (Monday of Week 4, Fall 2024 Term)

The Student Application Form can be found here.

1.  Applications will be reviewed by Rockefeller Center faculty and staff.

2.  Some applicants may be selected for interviews with faculty and staff.

3.  Some applicants may, at the request of participating judges' chambers, be asked to interview with specific judges and their staff.

4.  Placements will be determined by the Rockefeller Center and participating Dartmouth alumni judges. 

 5.  Placement match notifications:  

a) Placement match notifications will generally be made by Week 3 of the Winter 2025 Term (the week of 1/20/2025), for placements occurring in the Spring 2025 Term, Summer 2025 Term, and Fall 2025 Term.

b) A small number of placements may be available for the Winter 2025 Term; should any such placements occur, such notifications will occur by Week 7 of the Fall 2024 Term.

6.  Accepted students will have 7 calendar days from the date of notification to accept the Fellowship.

7.  Once a judge and their chambers accept a prospective student Fellow and the Fellow their placement, the Rockefeller Center will process agreement forms to be signed by the Fellow, the Judicial Chambers, and the Rockefeller Center as the funding source of the Fellowship.

8.  At the completion of the Fellowship, the student Fellow is required to submit a short final report (described in the Student Requirements Agreement document) discussing their experience.