Fellowship and Innovation Grant Overview

We think of leadership as identifying a shared goal and enabling a group of people to effectively achieve that goal. More specifically, we view leadership as existing along three dimensions (Leading Self, Leading Others, and Leading Change) and five domains (Vision and Strategy, Management and Teamwork, Problem Solving, Cultural Literacy, and Learning and Improvement). For more information, please see this matrix.

The primary differences are in programming, target audience, project focus, and student award.

The Fellowship is a year-long program designed to bring together a cohort of J.D. and LL.M. students who are committed to acting as stewards of leadership for the Law School community and beyond. Fellows will (a) build a cohort with their other fellows, and (b) design and implement a project intended to have a positive impact within the community, broadly defined. Fellowship projects should relate to and build leadership capacity within the Law School in some way, but the Law School need not be the primary focus on the project. Examples of previous Fellowship projects are available here. The Fellowship includes mandatory weekly leadership development sessions with the cohort and with the leadership coaches, during which Fellows will practice leadership skills and workshop projects. In addition to up to $1,000 in project funding, each Fellow also receives a $5,000 award.

Innovation Grants are intended to be more independent and self-guided than the Fellowship. Grant projects must directly relate to a concrete need within the Law School. This could include (but is not limited to) addressing an unsolved issue at the Law School, helping advance a goal or project that directly affects the Law School community, or collaborating with others to integrate Law School students, faculty, and staff with the surrounding community. The Restorative Justice Initiative, for example, began as a 2022 Innovation Grant project under which students established a reading group and collaborated with outside practitioners to bring the practice of restorative justice to the Law School. Examples of other previous Grant projects are available here (please note that grant criteria for projects prior to Fall 2023 did not require applicants to show a need directly related to the Law School).

As with Fellows, Innovation Grant projects are eligible to receive up to $1,000 in funding, but Grant recipients are only required to attend introductory programming and periodic check-ins with leadership coaches (not mandatory weekly sessions), and they do not receive a $5,000 award. Innovation Grants are particularly appropriate for student groups, staff departments, and/or other groups who have an institutional project in mind, but they are not limited to groups—individuals are also encouraged to apply as long as they have laid a foundation for collaboration moving forward.

It depends on what your goals are for yourself and for your project. 

If you are interested in and committed to improving your leadership skills, and would like a space to develop those skills with a cohort of like-minded students, the Fellowship may be right for you. 

If you are primarily interested in working on a project relating to the Law School, and you prefer a more self-guided approach to project creation and leadership development, or if you are an existing group at the law school (e.g., a student affinity group), the Innovation Grant is right for you.

Fellowship applications open once a year, in August. Applicants fill out an online form that includes a few short answer questions focused on your leadership experience and project proposal. Applicants also submit a resume and transcript. Once the application period closes, the Leadership Initiative reviews all applications and selects a subset of applicants for interviews. Applicants are interviewed over Zoom by at least two members of the Leadership Initiative Selection Committee. Based upon the interviews and application materials, the Initiative makes final selections and announces the Fellows in late September/early October.

Innovation Grant applications will open at the same time as Fellowship applications, but will remain open and be reviewed on a rolling basis. The first group of Grant applications will be reviewed around early- to mid-October, after the selection and announcement of Fellows. The process is largely the same as the Fellowship, including an application form and interview. The Initiative will continue to review Grant applications until our slots are full for the year.

We typically select between five to six Fellowship projects, and between four and ten Grant projects. The Initiative allows for group Fellowship and Grant projects, so the number of Fellows and Grant recipients may be greater than the number of projects in a given year.

Yes! However, you will need to submit separate applications for each, and you can only receive one award per project. The Fellowships and Grants have different criteria, so you will need to articulate the difference between your applications and project proposals. You can use the same broad project idea for both, but we strongly recommend that you tailor the proposal and explain how your project would fit within each scenario. 

Each project may receive up to $1,000 in funding for any expenses allowable by the Law School Business Office. The $1,000 may be used to compensate others for time and labor, but cannot be used to pay yourself. Beginning in Fall 2023, charges incurred for ordinary use of Law School facilities (i.e., room reservation and cleanup for lunch events) will no longer be counted towards the project budget (meaning the Initiative will cover that cost separately from your funding).

$1,000 is a hard cap, and the Initiative does not allow for exceptions. We want the money to be a starting point for your project, but not the primary or permanent source of funding. For that reason, we place a great emphasis on thinking about project sustainability and fundraising early on in the design and implementation of each project.  

Previous Fellows and Grant recipients may apply for an Innovation Grant if they have new projects unrelated to their Fellowship projects. Projects that have already been funded by the Initiative are not eligible for additional funding, regardless of whether there is a new team of applicants. We would, however, be happy to meet with you to brainstorm other ways to continue an existing Grant project.

Yes!

Yes! Positive change in the community can mean many different things to different people. We are actively looking for participants across the full spectrum of interests and career aspirations.

Yes! A number of our Fellows and Grantees are students who were not selected in their first application cycle and reapplied. Those interested in reapplying are encouraged to contact Director Eunice Hong (eh2646@columbia) for feedback on their prior applications.

Yes. As a Fellow, you will receive a $5,000 award, which is yours to spend however you wish. Separate from the award, each project is also entitled to receive up to $1,000 in project funding, for any actual expenses incurred in implementing your project. Please note that this $1,000 in funding can be used to pay others for time and labor, but cannot be used to compensate yourself for any work you do on your own project.

Fellows should expect to spend 1–3 hours per week in Fellowship-related training, meetings, check-ins, and the like. This includes a mandatory weekly session with your Fellowship cohort and leadership coaches, which will take place during the Tuesday lunch hour (12:10–1:10 p.m.). Fellows will spend additional time on their project-related efforts, and that time commitment will depend upon the nature of the project. Fellows may also spend time toward the end of the year planning a leadership-related symposium or other event; the time commitment there will depend on the cohort’s conceptualization of the event.

Fellows may also be asked to help build interest in the program throughout the Law School community by, among other things, participating in events and information sessions, and identifying other leaders who may be interested in applying.

We accept Fellowship group applications for up to three students. Your group should plan to collaborate on the application, just as you would collaborate on your project if selected to receive a Fellowship. Please submit one application for the whole group. Please designate one point person, who will submit the application under their name. You will be able to upload multiple resumes and transcripts in the application form.

Each member of a group Fellowship project will receive their own award of $5,000. Project funding will still be capped at $1,000 for the entire project. For example, if two co-fellows apply with a joint project, the Initiative will give each of the co-fellows a $5,000 award, but will only reimburse up to $1,000 in expenses incurred for their project.

The timeline will be project-dependent, but you should have a concrete end date for the grant-supported work in mind when you apply. Grant funding may roll over to the next academic year depending on the circumstance. The hope is that the project will continue beyond the term of the Grant project, with independent support.

It largely depends on your project. During the first few weeks of the Spring semester, Grant recipients should expect to spend 1–3 hours per week in introductory sessions, meetings, and check-ins. After that, grant recipients may meet together or with members of the Initiative as often or as infrequently as they wish, although they will be required to check in periodically with the leadership coaches (twice per semester), and should expect to provide regular reports on their progress to the Initiative Director.

In addition to initial trainings and meetings, Grant recipients will spend additional time on their project-related efforts, and that time commitment will depend upon the nature of the project.

Your group should submit only one (1) application for the whole group, and you should therefore plan to collaborate on the application, just as you would collaborate on your project if selected to receive a Grant. Please designate one point person, who will submit the application under their name. There will be space in the application to list all the members of the group, and certain questions are geared specifically towards group applicants. The application allows you to upload up to 10 resumes and up to 10 unofficial transcripts so that each member of your team can include their relevant documents. As with an individual project, a group project is eligible to receive a total of up to $1,000 in expense funding per project.