Edinburgh Law School 2022 Career Development Scholarships

Thanks to generous gifts and legacies from alumni, Edinburgh Law School is delighted to announce an annual programme of Career Development Scholarships for LLB, LLM and PhD students at Edinburgh Law School, starting April 2022.

The purpose of the Career Development Scholarships is to assist current Edinburgh Law School students on their path to achieving their career goals, and the scholarships have been supported by alumni for this purpose. It reflects the Law School’s commitment to enhancing opportunities for its students to reach their potential in whatever career they wish to pursue.

The Career Development Scholarships will provide a bursary of up to a maximum amount of £2000 to each successful applicant in support of the costs of pursuing a career development opportunity such as an internship, work placement, or fellowship within an organisation*. Conference attendance and similar kinds of activities will not be funded, but is the subject of a separate bursary to be announced soon.

Each scholarship can be used by successful applicants to defray the costs associated with the internship, work placement or fellowship, where those costs are not met by the entity or organisation offering the internship, placement or fellowship*. The scholarship will bear the name of the donor and this will be acknowledged by the successful applicant in any publication or other public-facing activity.

Awardees will be required to submit a 1000 word report on their experience that can be shared with donors and the wider law school community.

The process for applying for a Career Development Scholarship is competitive, and applications will be reviewed by a panel of Edinburgh Law School faculty taking into account at least the following criteria:

• Evidence of acceptance to an internship, placement or fellowship, with some explanation as to the nature of the opportunity and the organisation in which it will take place.
  • Students who have applied for an internship, placement or fellowship, but have not secured an acceptance at the time of application for the Career Development Scholarship, are eligible to apply. If selected, they may be conditionally approved for a Career Development Scholarship, but will need to provide evidence that they have been accepted before the disbursement of any funds.
• Motivation of the student as explained in a letter of motivation, including why they wish to undertake the internship, placement or fellowship, and how it relates to their career goals and ambitions.
• Academic performance and excellence, where appropriate to the application. Please note that academic performance is not the sole criteria and the selection panel will consider academic results as only one dimension of the decision process.
• Demonstrated financial need, based on a budget submitted by the student as part of the application.

Students interested in applying should note that it is the responsibility of the student to apply for and obtain the internship, placement or fellowship. The internship, placement or fellowship must take place in the 2022 calendar year. Career Development Scholarships will not be awarded retrospectively.

Applications should be submitted by 9 May 2022 to Elizabeth.Lilley@ed.ac.uk. Only complete applications will be considered and must contain:

1. A letter of motivation explaining the nature of the internship, placement or fellowship and the organisation in which it will be undertaken; the relationship between the applicant’s career ambitions and the internship, placement or fellowship, and the applicant’s motivation for undertaking it; the extent to which the applicant has undertaken courses and other forms of training relevant to the internship, placement or fellowship.
2. Evidence of acceptance of the applicant for the internship, placement or fellowship, such as a letter or email of acceptance. Where a decision is pending, evidence of the application for the internship can be accepted on the understanding that any award of the Career Development Scholarship will be conditional upon a confirmed acceptance of the applicant by the organisation.
3. A budget setting out estimates of:
   • the income from undertaking the internship, placement or fellowship;
   • the costs of undertaking the internship, placement or fellowship;
   • the expected funding shortfall taking into account any support provided by the organisation at which the placement takes place; and
   • any personal access to other resources to make up for such shortfall. Please note that having the ability to make up the shortfall does not preclude the applicant from obtaining a Career Development Scholarship, but is one of the factors that will be taken into account.
4. Academic transcripts for all courses undertaken so far at Edinburgh.
5. One letter of reference from an academic staff member at Edinburgh Law School.

Decisions on all applications will be made by 30 May 2022, and students will be notified soon thereafter.  The amount awarded to successful applicants will be in the sole discretion of the Awards Panel.

Students interested in applying for Career Development Scholarships are invited to an information session with Professor Nehal Bhuta and Dr Jonny Hardman at 12:00pm on 5 April 2022 in the Quad Teaching Room, Old College.

*Internships, placements or fellowships

Any structured activity provided by an organisation that can be linked to your professional or personal development goals will be considered. This may include, for example, an internship at a UK or International Law Firm, conducting voluntary work for an aid organisation or global NGO, or other forms of placements that allow for reflective learning and development.