Summer Fellowships
How does the funding cap work?
The funding cap is the maximum a student can earn through all combined sources (external stipends or fellowships, student organization fellowships, income/stipend from an employer), if one of those sources is the Boalt Hall Summer Fellowship. For the summer of 2008, the funding cap for 1Ls is $5000; the funding cap for 2Ls is $6000. (For the summer of 2008, the Boalt Hall Summer Fellowship alone is $4000.) If a student draws on work-study funding plus summer fellowship funding during the same summer, the normal arrangement will be this: the employer will be expected to provide $2000, $2000 in work-study funds will be used, and $2000 in Boalt Hall Summer Fellowship funds will be provided, for a total of $6000.
Examples of how the funding cap works:
A 1L student has secured a 10 week summer position at a public interest/public sector organization. She applied for and was awarded a $3500 fellowship from Equal Justice America, an external funding source. This student can receive $1500 in Boalt Hall Summer Fellowship funding, up to the cap of $5000.
A 1L student has secured a 10 week summer position at a public interest/public sector organization. She has been awarded a $2000 fellowship from the Berkeley Law Foundation (BLF). This student can receive $3000 in Boalt Hall Summer Fellowship funding, up to the cap of $5000.
A 1L student has secured a 10 week position at a public interest/public sector organization. She has been awarded a $1000 Ken Bryan Fund Fellowship, sponsored by the Queer Caucus. This student can receive up to $4000 in Boalt Hall Summer Fellowship funding, for a combined total of $5000.
How does the “banking” option work?
This option allows students to save (or “bank”) any unused portion of their guaranteed Boalt Hall Summer Fellowship funds for use during their 2L summer. To use banked funds, a student must be completing eligible work in their second summer and request the support as set forth in the Summer Fellowship Guidelines. For Summer 2008, the guaranteed Boalt Hall Summer Fellowship is $4000 for students completing a first summer of public interest. 2Ls completing a second summer of eligible public interest work, who were also eligible for Boalt Hall Summer Fellowship funding during their 1L year, are provided an additional $2000. Students completing a second summer of eligible public interest work may combine banked funds of up to $4000 with the “second-timer” award of $2000, for a total of up to $6000.
Examples of how the “banking” option works:
In the Federal Work-Study scenario above, the student received $2000 from her employer, $2000 in Boalt Hall Summer Fellowship funds, and $2000 in Federal Work Study funds. This student can “bank” $2000, the unused portion of her Boalt Hall Summer Fellowship funds, for use during her 2L summer.
In the first example above, the student received $3500 from an external funding source and $1500 from the Boalt Hall Summer Fellowship. This student can “bank” $2500, the unused portion of her Boalt Hall Summer Fellowship funds, for use during her 2L summer. The student can apply for the banked amount of $2500 and “the second-timer” award of $2000 during her 2L summer, for a total of $4500. In addition, if the student meets the criteria set forth for discretionary award, including having applied for external funding sources, the student may also apply for additional discretionary funding of up to $500, for a total of up to $5000.
