Financial Support
Northwestern Pritzker Law through the Public Interest Center offers public interest students an array of financial support opportunities throughout their time as students and post-graduation.
Full-Tuition Public Interest Scholarships
Each year the Law School awards two full-tuition scholarships to students who demonstrate a strong commitment to public interest. The Dawn Clark Netsch Scholarship is in honor of our late graduate and faculty member Dawn Clark Netsch and is funded by a generous gift from her estate. The Hari M. Osofsky Scholarship is named in honor of Dean Hari M. Osofsky and recognizes her distinguished leadership and enduring commitment to public service during her tenure as dean.
Guaranteed Summer Funding & Named Summer Fellowships
The Law School provides $8,000 in guaranteed summer funding to JD students who work full-time in public interest jobs in the U.S. during their law school summers. The funding is available for JD students doing legal work supervised by an attorney for non-profit or government agencies during the summer. In addition, thanks to generous gifts from alumni, the law school offers several named fellowships to support public interest students with summer funding. Visit the Summer Funding page for more details including eligibility information.
Public Interest Post-Graduate Fellowships
The Law School recognizes that although the need for public interest lawyers is strong, many organizations lack the funding to offer entry-level opportunities. The post-graduate fellowships launch public interest careers of dedicated graduates by providing a $65,000 salary to work for one year as a lawyer at a domestic nonprofit or government agency of the graduate’s choice. After a year as a fellow, recipients gain the experience needed to be hired for competitive public interest positions. Each year five to eight graduating students are awarded the fellowship through a competitive process. To date, over 40 graduates have received the fellowship and are employed in public interest agencies across the country. For more information checkout the Post-Graduate Public Interest Fellowship Guide.
Bar Support
The Law School offers bar study grants to support graduating students pursuing public interest careers. These grants help ease financial pressures during the bar preparation period so grads can focus fully on the exam.Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP)
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law is committed to supporting graduates who want to pursue careers in the public interest. The Program has been revised over the years to respond to changes in salaries and student loan debt. LRAP was recently revised in 2026 following changes to student loan borrowing. Those who matriculated before July 1, 2026, will be part of “Legacy LRAP,” and those who matriculate after July 1, 2026, will be part of “New LRAP.” Both programs provide generous support to graduates pursuing public interest careers to help them repay their student loans. LRAP is supported in large part by the generosity of the Estate of Dawn Clark Netsch (JD ‘52). Vist the Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) page for details.
Student Funded Public Interest Fellowships (SFPIF)
SFPIF’s primary focus is providing funding for 3L students who have unique funding needs such as bar exam preparation and bar application fees, on top of summer living expenses. To bridge the financial gap between graduation and the start of a job (usually in late summer/early fall for public interest positions) and prevent them from having to work while studying for the bar exam, 3Ls preparing for a career in public interest get the bulk of the funding. The remainder goes to 1Ls and 2Ls to “top off” the funding given to them through the school. For more information visit SFPIF's website.