Scholars for Justice award

Seattle University School of Law's Scholars for Justice award is part of our continuing mission to educate leaders for a just and humane world. This award supports up to two incoming students through a full-tuition scholarship. The awards encourage these students to focus on public interest commitments while in law school and after graduation.

The Admission Committee seeks candidates who demonstrate service and leadership, community engagement, and academic excellence. Scholars for Justice are selected on the basis of:

• A demonstrated commitment to pursuing a career as a public interest lawyer;
• Involvement in significant public service and/or social justice activities prior to law school; and
• Academic achievement. Those eligible for consideration are typically drawn from the top 25% of the applicant pool.

While at Seattle U Law, Scholars are expected to meet the following minimum requirements:

• Engage with public service opportunities through the Access to Justice Institute (ATJI), the home for pro bono, public interest, and social justice activities;
• Take the Pro Bono Pledge and complete at least 100 hours (for full-time students) or 50 hours (for part-time students) of legal pro bono and community volunteer work before graduation;
• Pursue leadership opportunities in the law school or community and participate in ATJI programming;
• Complete a minimum of one year of public service work within three years of graduation. Public service is defined broadly and could include work focusing on advocating for marginalized and under-represented individuals, organizations, and communities; and
• Graduate with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Application procedure

To be considered for the Scholars for Justice Award, applicants must complete the regular JD program application through LSAC by February 6. Applicants must also provide by February 6:

1. A maximum two-page, double-spaced, typewritten essay describing the applicant's background and experience, emphasizing public interest and social justice activities. This statement is required in addition to the personal statement that is part of the JD admissions process.
2. Two letters of recommendation from persons familiar with the applicant's public interest and/or social justice involvement. These can be additional letters or two of the letters that are already a part of the regular JD application CAS Report. If submitting additional letters not included in the CAS Report, please have the recommender upload letters using the online Scholars for Justice Award Recommender Upload page.

Scholars for Justice applications should be submitted online no later than February 6.

For more information about the scholarship or the application process, contact the Admission Office at: lawadmis@seattleu.edu.