Equal Justice Scholarship

2024-2025 Equal Justice Scholars (l-r) Lissette Castillo ‘26, Joshua McClain ’25, and Emily Rose ’27

The Equal Justice Scholarship covers full tuition and fees for all three years. Summer stipends for public interest legal work are available through the Law School’s Summer Public Service Program. The scholarship is awarded to an entering student with strong academic credentials, demonstrated commitment to public service, and a specific intent to serve low-income individuals or groups following graduation. The scholar is selected through a competitive process in the spring.

The Equal Justice Scholars are expected to be ambassadors for public interest at the Law School. They participate in the Justice Center’s student advisory board starting their 1L year and are immediately part of the Law School’s vibrant community of students, faculty, and alumni who are committed to the public interest. The recipient profiles on this page and the alumni profiles elsewhere on this website convey the breadth of clinics, pro bono, internships, and other opportunities available to our students as well as where they go after graduation.

The Equal Justice Scholarship was established in 2005 to help increase access to justice in Texas. The scholarship is sponsored by the William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law at the Law School, and it was developed in partnership with Baylor University School of Law and the Texas Access to Justice Commission. Originally established to provide financial support for students who would work following graduation to provide civil legal services to low-income Texans, the scope of the scholarship was expanded beginning with the class of 2011.

Class of ’27 Scholar:

Texas Law Welcomes Incoming Public Interest Scholars, Members of the Class of 2027

For more information, please email: justicecenter@law.utexas.edu

Application Information

Application information for class of 2028 applicants will be posted in fall 2024.

Apply by 11:59 PM CST Saturday, February 15, 2025. Submit the FAFSA by February 15, if you are eligible to submit one. See the online application form for more information. (Opens October 1, 2024)

Class of 2028 application information:

The scholarship recipient for the class of 2028 must commit to work full-time for three years immediately following graduation (or after completing a judicial clerkship) providing direct legal services to low-income individuals or groups at a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, public defender office, or government agency in the United States. A student who accepts the scholarship but does not fulfill his or her three year employment commitment is obligated to repay the amount of the scholarship (possibly on a prorated basis). During law school the scholarship recipient is expected to spend at least one summer working for at least 10 weeks at a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, public defender office, or government agency in the United States, enroll in a clinic or internship, participate on the Justice Center Student Advisory Board, and sign and fulfill the Pro Bono Pledge. The scholarship recipient must sign an agreement committing to these terms at the beginning of each school year.

All application materials must be submitted via the online application form. Please direct any questions about the status of your scholarship application to the Admissions Office: admissions@law.utexas.edu