Fellowships and Scholarships

 

The Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership & Public Service provides financial, curricular, and experiential support to UNH Franklin Pierce law students pursuing public service and public-interest lawyering

 

Rudman Center Public Service Summer Fellowship Program

About

The Rudman Center fellowships support students who work in the summer for government agencies or 501(c)3 non-profit organizations that perform public interest legal work.
Host Organizations are government agencies or non-profit organizations where students will be summer interns.

  • The fellowships pay a maximum of $4,800 for the summer (e.g., $12.00 per hour for 10 weeks X 40 hours per week). Students may work part or full-time during their internship.
  • Students are not paid more than $4,800 for summer work, regardless of the agreement they have with their host organization. This means students must fulfill the terms of their internship (hours per week, start and end dates, and any other terms) agreed upon with the host organization.

Placements

Students must secure their own placements. Students work primarily in the greater Concord/New Hampshire area but have found placements around the country. 

See where the 2023 Fellows worked! 

Required steps to apply for a summer fellowship: 
 

  • Attend Rudman Info Session (January 16, 2024).
  • Complete your 2024-2025 FAFSA.
  • Meet with a CSO counselor about next steps on how to secure a summer internship.
  • Accept an unpaid or underpaid summer 2024 internship with either a government agency or non-profits with a Host Organization.
  • Application opens in early March.

Decisions about fellowships will be made in April 2024 and you will be notified via email.

Get a head start on your application! Use the document, found here, to review the information that you will need to provide.

Rudman Center Building

 

Contacts:

 

Judy Prosper, Room 311  
Director of Career Services 
judy.prosper@law.unh.edu  

Susan Harding, Main CSO 
Career Services Outreach Specialist
susan.harding@law.unh.edu  

 

 

Rudman-Peterson Fellows Program

The Rudman-Peterson Fellowship is awarded each spring to a 1L who is interested in fiscal policy. The fellowship is funded by a generous grant from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.  

The application process is currently being revised; we will update the information as soon as possible. If questions, please contact Rudman Center Coordinator Ellen Grimm:  ellen.grimm@law.unh.edu

Peter G. Peterson Fundation logo

Faculty with expertise in the Fellow’s chosen focus area will supervise and advise that Fellow during over the final two years of law study. Upon graduation, each Rudman-Peterson Fellow will have accomplished the following:
•    Completed the fiscal policy seminar titled “The Federal Budget, Legislation & Appropriations.”
•    Engaged in a legal residency or research internship in the areas of fiscal policy, public policy, and government either within the University, at a government office, or at an independent non-profit research or advocacy organization.
•    Worked in a summer placement following the first and second years of law study with an organization or law office focusing on fiscal policy, public policy, and government.
•    Played a significant role in developing, organizing, and hosting at least one speaker/event dedicated to the subject of fiscal policy.
•    Received mentorship from faculty with expertise in the Fellow’s chosen focus area, including course selection, legal residency or research internship placement, and career networking.
•    Participated with other Rudman Center Fellows in programming designed to promote justice, leadership, and public service.

Selection Process

The Rudman Center solicits fellowship applicants from the 1L class in late January. Applicants must articulate their interest in fiscal policy and public service, and identify the law and fiscal policy issues that they wish to study more deeply as a Fellow. The Fellow selection committee includes the Rudman Center Director and two reviewers with expertise in fiscal policy, at least one of whom is a lawyer. Selection criteria will include: (1) academic performance in the 1L year; (2) evidence of commitment to public service prior to, or during, law school; and (3) the applicant’s articulation of their interest as noted above.

Rudman-Peterson Fellows

Lyla Boyajian '25
Eva Scheiwe ’24
Christian Merheb ‘23
Shannon Mulholland ’22

Additional Resources 

•    The Peter G. Peterson Foundation
•    The Concord Coalition

Rudman Scholars Program 

The Rudman Scholars Program offers two $10,000 scholarships ($5,000 paid out in each of the 2L and 3L years) and guaranteed summer-placement funding to two members of the 1L class who are committed to public interest work after graduation. Applicants must demonstrate, and attest to, an intention to work for a government agency or non-profit that serves vulnerable or underserved populations after their graduation. Applicants must also be willing to serve as student ambassadors for the Rudman Center during their 2L and 3L years.

Applications are available at the end of the spring semester. The endowed scholarship committee, which includes the director of the Rudman Center, will choose the Rudman Scholar recipients.  

Rudman Scholars

Alex Attilli '25
Rocky Grant '24
Tayla George ’23
Alyssa Scott ’23

AhLana Ames '24
Michael Oropollo '24

Endowed Scholarships 

UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law offers several endowed scholarships, three of which focus on public interest law or a career in public service, and are described below:

warren rudman center

Bruce E. Friedman Scholarship Award

This award was established as a memorial in 1997 to Bruce E. Friedman by the Friedman family with gifts from the family, friends, Franklin Pierce faculty, staff and alumni, and legal and social-welfare colleagues. Professor Friedman founded and directed the law school’s Civil Practice Clinic for many years. The scholarship is awarded to a rising 2L or 3L UNH Franklin Pierce law student who demonstrates a dedicated commitment to social justice and public interest law, preparing for a career that advances social justice through course work combining legal knowledge with practical skills, project development, and exposure to practice models for the delivery of legal services.

Doris Monroe Rapee Memorial Scholarship Award  

Established in memory of Doris Monroe Rapee by her family and friends, this scholarship is awarded to a rising 2L or 3L UNH Franklin Pierce law student who intends to pursue a career in public service. 

Robert M. Viles Fellowship Fund 

This fund was established in honor of former President and long-time Dean of Franklin Pierce Law Center, Robert M. Viles. The fund provides a merit-based scholarship to a full-time first year student at UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law. Preference is given to a student pursuing a career in community lawyering with a minimum GPA of 3.0 in undergraduate work and a score of 154 or higher on the LSAT. 

Applications

Applications for these and all of the law school’s endowed student scholarships are available at the end of the spring semester. The selection committee will send an email announcement to all students when applications are open.