PHRGE Scholar Award

For Summer 2024 Co-op Support

• The deadline for applying for a PHRGE Scholar Award for the 2024 summer term was  Monday, April 1, 2024, at 10:00 am. The application portal is now CLOSED.

For Fall 2024 Co-op Support

• The deadline for applying for a PHRGE Scholar Award for the 2024 fall term is Tuesday, July 23, 2024 at 10:00 am. The application portal will open on July 2, 2024.
• After reading the instructions on this page, please complete and submit the online application form. (After the application portal opens on July 2, the words "application form" will link to the online application form). Thank you!

General

• For general information about the PHRGE Scholar Award and a list of current and former recipients, please visit the PHRGE Fellowship page.
•  Please review all of the information on this page with care before applying for the PHRGE Scholar Award.
•  If you have any questions about the PHRGE Scholar Award, please contact Elizabeth Ennen, Director of PHRGE, at e.ennen@northeastern.edu.

Eligibility

• All (and only) Northeastern JD and LLM students are eligible to apply. PHRGE generally awards two unrestricted PHRGE Scholar Awards (i.e., awards available to JD students and to LLM students) each semester. In addition, PHRGE typically awards one restricted PHRGE Scholar Award (i.e., an award available only to LLM students) per year.
• Applicants must first receive and accept a co-op offer before applying for a PHRGE Scholar Award.
• A student may not receive a PHRGE Scholar Award and an additional NUSL-based co-op stipend in the same quarter.
• The co-op for which you are seeking funding must be unpaid.

Application Process

Step One: Please compose a cover letter.

• It is important to describe the relationship between human rights and the work you will be doing on your co-op. If your co-op organization is not explicitly devoted to promoting human rights, please explain how your work will promote human rights and further your understanding of human rights. Please address your cover letter to Elizabeth Ennen, Director of PHRGE.

Step Two: Please gather your application materials.

• Application materials include (1) your cover letter, (2) your resume, (3) your unofficial transcript, and (4) your co-op evaluations.
• To access your unofficial transcript (i.e., the “short” transcript with HH, H, P, etc., for your courses but no course comments), log into the Student Hub (me.northeastern.edu), navigate to “Academics, Classes & Registration,” and select “My Transcript.” (Please do not include your long transcript with course “comments” in your application package.)
• If you are going on your first JD co-op, or your only LLM co-op, you do not need to explain the absence of co-op evaluations in your application packet. If you are a more advanced JD student and are missing one or more co-op evaluations, however, please explain why (e.g., late evaluation) in your cover letter.

Step Three: Please compile your applications into a single PDF, your “application packet.”

• Please use your last name (only) for the title of your application packet.
• The application packet should contain, in the following order: (1) your cover letter, (2) your resume, (3) your unofficial transcript, and (4) your co-op evaluations.
• Adobe Software, which can be used to assemble multiple documents into a single PDF, is available on NUSL library computers.

Step Four: Please complete the online application form (see link above), upload your application packet to the form, and submit the form.

• The last question on the form will invite you to upload your application packet to the form.

Application Evaluation Criteria

PHRGE evaluates applications holistically. Relevant factors include the following:

• The degree to which the applicant will be using human rights strategies (e.g., the use of international human rights treaties, participation in UN human rights reporting procedures) during the co-op;
• Whether the applicant has excelled academically at NUSL and has performed well on NUSL co-ops;
• Whether the applicant will be working in one of PHRGE’s focus areas: economic, social, and cultural (ESC) rights in general; land and resource rights; the application of a human rights framework to domestic litigation; and the rights of noncitizens; and
• The number of additional opportunities the student is likely to have to apply for a PHRGE Scholar Award. (PHRGE may, in the case of comparable applications, privilege applications from students who are closer to graduation.)

Financial Issues

• The PHRGE Scholar Award is disbursed in one of two ways: (1) a $3500 award from PHRGE, paid at the beginning of the co-op semester, or (2) a larger (generally more than $7000) award paid through work-study funds over the course of the semester.
• Please note that in both cases, if you have already borrowed the maximum cost of attendance, your PHRGE Scholar Award will be applied toward reducing the amount of your outstanding loan.
• In order to receive work-study funding for your co-op, (1) the NUSL financial aid office must determine that you are eligible to receive federal work-study funding for this co-op, and (2) the co-op office must determine that your co-op employer is able and willing to serve as a work-study employer.
• Recipients are responsible for consulting with the co-op office and the financial aid office about the disbursement method of their PHRGE Scholar Award.