Public Interest Summer Funding

Summer internships offer valuable professional experience to students in a variety of practice areas. Many students spend their summers working in public sector positions, including government, legal services, and other positions. These internships are frequently unpaid. The PILC offers the Public Interest Summer Fellowship, the school’s only general funding source for unpaid off-campus summer internships in the public sector. In recent years, PILC has funded close to 100 students each summer. Placements have been funded at organizations including the New York State Office of the Attorney General, US Attorney’s Office, US Environmental Protection Agency, Legal Aid Society of Westchester, and Catholic Charities Community Services.

The application process for the Public Interest Summer Fellowship generally opens early in the spring semester. PILC holds a program each fall to discuss finding and funding a summer internship. An information session is held early in the spring semester, prior to the application period, to provide more information on this fellowship to students.