Deadlines
- Northeastern: 04/15/2024
- Fellowship: 04/15/2024
Contact
If you meet the eligibility criteria and are interested in applying for this fellowship, please fill out a preliminary questionnaire. You may contact the office with any questions.
Award Details
Central to the mission of The Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy and Innovation is bringing together and fostering the development of leaders from the disability community. In particular creating a strong pipeline of law students with disabilities who will go on to serve as attorneys, judges, public policy professionals, and public servants.
The ultimate goal is to increase disability representation in the legal profession.
As the disability rights slogan goes, "Nothing About Us Without Us!" or more aptly "Nothing Without Us!" because people with disabilities belong in every sector of society, including the legal profession. There need to be people with disabilities in law schools, in law firms, on the bench, in Congress, in legal academia and beyond!
In order to do so, there is a need to strengthen the pathway into law school for disabled students. Too often, students with disabilities are discouraged from attaining higher education. Educational barriers, along with negative assumptions and attitudes, dissuade our community from reaching careers in law and policy.
This has to change. The Coelho Center Law Fellowship Programprogram targets college students and recent graduates with disabilities to provide encouragement, support, and mentorship that is crucial to success.
Currently, there is no program like The Coelho Center Law Fellowship Program with a specific mission to train and mentor college students with disabilities to think about a path toward law school.
The 2025-2026 Coelho Law Fellowship offers:
- A summer intensive disability rights law course
- A two-day conference
- A year-long course delivered virtually via webinar during the academic year
- A disability rights project
- Publication opportunity (optional)
- $1000 stipend* (upon completion of the program)
- Virtual graduation ceremony to celebrate fellows
*Aside from the publication opportunity, all other listed items: the courses (including assignments), conference attendance and disability rights project completion are required to receive the fellowship stipend.
More detailed information on what is included in the 2025-2026 fellowship will be made live with the application, in February of 2025.
US Citizenship Not Required
The Coelho Center Law Fellowship Program is designed to serve students with disabilities interested in pursuing law school. As such, students who identify as D/deaf, hard-of-hearing and/or disabled are strongly encouraged to apply. Students must be currently enrolled in a community college, college, or university. Applicants do not need to be certain that they would like to attend law school. Only an interest in the law in required.
The Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy and Innovation has a strong commitment to diversity as a core value. As such, we encourage applicants from a broad range of backgrounds with identities intersecting with disability including race, gender, sexual orientation, and immigration status. Applicants from low income backgrounds and applicants who have been involved in the criminal justice system are encouraged to apply.
A Note on Disability:
The Coelho Center Law Fellowship Program does not require “proof” of disability. We acknowledge the challenges often associated with lack of access to medical diagnosis, mis-diagnosis, and under-diagnosis. If you identify as being part of the D/deaf and/or disability community, that is sufficient. Examples of disability include:
- Physical disability (e.g. paraplegia, amputee, multiple sclerosis, etc.)
- Intellectual and/or developmental disability (e.g. intellectual disability, Autistic, Down syndrome, language and learning disabilities, cerebral palsy)
- Psychiatric disability (e.g. depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc.)
- Sensory disability (e.g. blind, D/deaf, blind-deaf, hard of hearing, etc.)
- Chronic illness (e.g. Alzheimer’s, cancer, Crohn’s disease, Fibromyalgia, etc.)
- Other disabilities not listed above
- College Applicants Welcome – Community College & 4-year institution
- We seek to select a group of five to ten (5-10) law fellows
- Strong candidates will demonstrate an understanding of barriers to education access and have an interest in becoming leaders to break down those barriers for people with disabilities.
- Law Fellows will be required to sign a release to use their name and image on The Coelho Center website, press releases and other materials.
Our program offers:
- a one-week summer intensive course at Loyola Law School;
- an academic-year-long virtual course;
- a mentoring program between the fellows and law students and attorneys with disabilities;
- academic planning and support through the law school application process; and,
- a $1,000 stipend to be used for school supplies.
One-Week Summer Intensive Course:
- Held at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles
- Sessions include:
- Disclosure at school and in the workplace
- Asking for accommodations
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and knowing your rights
- Disability Rights Movement & Disability Justice
- An introduction to law and lawyering
- How to build your transcript and resume for law school applications
- Applying to law school
- Words of wisdom by prominent disability leaders
- Building connections with prominent attorneys with disabilities
- Introduction to law schools and law firms
To apply for The Coelho Center Law Fellowship Program, please respond to all the questions on The Coelho Center Law Fellowship Application. Your application must be submitted electronically to coelhocenter@lls.edu. In addition, applicants must send a copy of their academic transcript and a resume. An unofficial copy of your transcript is acceptable. Note: There is no GPA requirement to be eligible for the program.
You must list two references with their contact information, though we will not contact your references unless you make it to the final round of application review.
Application Materials:
- Application Form
- Acceptance of the terms of the application
- Short Answers
- References
- Personal Statement
- Academic Transcript (unofficial copy scanned and emailed)
- Resume
- Sponsorship Application (optional)
Interested? Have Questions?
If you meet the eligibility criteria and are interested in a fellowship or opportunity, please fill out a preliminary questionnaire. Contact the office with any questions: