Blume Public Interest Scholars Program

The Blume Public Interest Scholars Program, originally named the Public Interest Law Scholars Program when it was founded in 1988, is an integral part of Georgetown Law’s public interest community. Facilitated by the Office of Public Interest and Community Service (OPICS), the program has helped launch the public interest legal careers of hundreds of Georgetown Law graduates. In 2024, up to 20 Blume Public Interest Scholars will be selected from the incoming JD class.

The application window is open from now through June 17, 2024 at noon EST for incoming Georgetown Law JD students interested in applying for the Blume Public Interest Scholars Program. See the Application and Selection section below for more information.

Purpose

The Blume Public Interest Scholars Program at Georgetown Law provides multidimensional support to a cohort of JD students demonstrating extraordinary commitment to pursuing a public interest career after graduation. Through a variety of carefully tailored program benefits, the program aims to reduce financial, informational, and other barriers to public service for students displaying an exceptional level of intentionality and potential to use their law degree as a tool for change. In doing so, the program also aims to support and empower a cohort of public interest scholars to serve as leaders and ambassadors for public interest work in the Georgetown Law community, cultivating an ethic of service and contributing to broader efforts to reduce barriers to public interest careers.

Benefits At-A-Glance

Blume Public Interest Scholars at Georgetown Law receive or have access to a variety of benefits, including:

Enhanced public interest summer funding (of $9,000 for 1L students and $11,000 for 2L students) and postgraduate bar stipends, helping to fill critical gaps in financial support for public interest students not already addressed by Georgetown Law’s nationally-recognized Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) and the federal Income-Driven Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs
Blume Public Interest Scholars orientation designed to cultivate a strong sense of support and belonging from the start of the law school experience
Faculty, practitioner, and peer mentorship support
Enrollment during 2L year in a public interest seminar featuring preeminent public interest leaders from the Blume Leaders in Residence Program as guest speakers and mentors
Early access to individualized career advising, and eligibility to receive leadership coaching, as a supplement to the already-robust public interest-focused career development support provided by OPICS in the form of programs, recruiting events, and individualized counseling
Public interest community-building and leadership opportunities, through automatic membership in Georgetown Law’s Public Interest Corps (PIC)

For additional details, see the Benefits page.

Application and Selection

Incoming Georgetown Law JD students can apply to the Blume Public Interest Scholars Program after they have decided to attend Georgetown. The deadline to apply is noon EST on June 17, 2024. Click here for application instructions and the link to the application form.

Up to twenty Blume Public Interest Scholars will be selected from the incoming class in summer 2024. Blume Public Interest Scholars will be selected based on a variety of factors, including their intentionality about pursuing a public interest career; demonstrated engagement with social justice and/or change making; connection to or experience with the issue or community they hope to engage as a public interest lawyer; and barriers to public interest practice faced, including financial need.