Leadership & Advocacy for Women in Africa 2021 Fellowship Program For Study - Georgetown University USA

Published: 23 Nov 2020 1,387 views

The LAWA Program helps defray the costs for candidates who would not otherwise be able to afford an LL.M. degree and additional professional development training.

The LAWA Fellowship provides the tuition for the mandatory Foundations of American Law and Legal Education course held from mid-July to mid-August (a U.S. $5,000 benefit) and for the Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from the Georgetown University Law Center (a U.S. $66,872 benefit).

Georgetown University Leadership & Advocacy for Women Fellowship

Benefits of Georgetown University Leadership & Advocacy for Women Fellowship

1. Candidates who are awarded a LAWA Fellowship must be prepared to cover the costs of all additional expenses (such as visas, travel, housing, utilities, food, clothing, and health insurance, etc.).
2. Candidates must be able to demonstrate to the U.S. Embassy for visa purposes that they have the full amount of funds available to cover these expenses at the time of their visa application. This totals U.S. $30,000. Please refer to this sample budget.
3. These costs are significantly less for those that can reside with family in the Washington, DC area. Candidates still must show at least $8,000 for living expenses. For the summer internship portion, students need to show $2,232 per month, for the 2 to 3 month internship period.

Requirements for Georgetown University Leadership & Advocacy for Women Fellowship

In order to be eligible to apply for the scholarship, applicants must:

1. You must be a women’s human rights lawyer from Africa in order to be considered. You must hold an LL.B. or other law degree. A preference is given to candidates who:
   1. are currently living and working in Africa, and
   2. do not already have a Masters’ Degree.

1. The strongest applicants tend to be about five to ten years out of law school, but those with less or more experience will be considered. Candidates with no work experience who are applying directly from an LL.B. degree or other law school will not be considered.
2. Men and women who are committed to women’s rights are strongly encouraged to apply.
3. As a requirement of participation in the LAWA Program, all applicants must commit to return home to their own countries upon completion of the Fellowship, and to use their best professional efforts to advance women’s human rights throughout their careers.
4. You must have strong English language skills, both written and oral. Language problems have been the primary barrier to success for LAWA Fellows.
5. The LAWA Program requires candidates to become proficient in using computers for drafting papers and conducting research. Candidates are strongly encouraged to learn basic computer skills before arrival in order to make this transition easier. At the very minimum, candidates should work to improve their typing speed.
6. Candidates must be prepared to enter a very demanding course of study. LAWA Fellows take four required courses and several more elective courses over the course of the two academic semesters. Each class requires advance preparation of reading hundreds of pages. Fellows are required to produce a Masters’ Thesis totaling no fewer than 40 pages, including several drafts with intense research, writing and editing. Successful completion of the program requires exceptional focus, and very hard work. Please do not apply if you are not prepared to make this serious academic commitment.

Application Documents

1. Complete the Application Form, including all three essay questions.
2. Current Resume or CV
3. Two Letters of Recommendation
4. Transcript from the institution granting your law degree

Application Deadline

How to Apply