Whitehurst Public Interest Summer Fellowships

2023 Whitehurst Summer Fellows: (l-r) Apurva Gunturu ’24, Amaris Diaz ’24, Emani Brown ’24, Ana Cruz ’24, Amelia Austern ’24, and Justin Atkinson ‘24

The Whitehurst Public Interest Summer Fellowships Program provides summer funding for students between their second and third years of law school. Preference is given to students who intend to pursue careers in public interest law. The program addresses these students’ particular need to work in public interest positions during the summer before their third year of school in order to be viable candidates for public interest fellowships and jobs following graduation.

In summer 2023, the program will provide a stipend of $8,000 for up to 5 students for at least 10 weeks of work under the supervision of an attorney at a qualified sponsoring organization. A sponsoring organization must be 1) a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit providing legal services and/or advocacy to underrepresented individuals or communities or 2) a government office providing indigent defense. Government agencies (except offices providing indigent defense), labor unions, and legislative offices do not qualify as a sponsoring organization.

These fellowships are supported by a generous multi-year gift from Stephanie Whitehurst and Bill Whitehurst, ‘70. Each summer, the Whitehursts name the fellowships for lawyers and others they admire in hopes that the recipients will be inspired by the honorees’ work in the public interest. In the summer of 2022, the Whitehursts named the fellowships in honor of Trey Apffel, Lynn Bradshaw, Claude Ducloux, Laurie Eiserloh, Marcy Greer, and Erica Grigg.

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

Application Information

Application due: March 10, 2023

This fellowship is awarded through the Summer Public Service Program (SPSP). For summer 2023 eligibility and application information, visit the SPSP Apply page.

The SPSP application includes an additional short statement for students applying for Justice Center named fellowships. To apply for this and other Justice Center named fellowships, apply to the SPSP program (with the additional short statement) by noon on Friday, March 10, 2023. Students selected for named fellowships will be informed by the end of March. Students who do not receive named fellowships will be considered for funding through the SPSP.