Student Research Opportunities
The Stegner Center provides select students with the opportunity to work closely with a member of our faculty on projects involving environmental and natural resources law. Student experiences will vary depending on the Fellow’s interests and experience, and faculty needs. In recent years, Research Fellows have worked on a diverse range of issues including helping Native American communities obtain access to potable water, promoting public health in Native communities, evaluating legal protections for fossils on lands excluded from national monuments, and analyzing federal agency practice and environmental litigation to inform regulatory reform efforts. Some exceptional students have had the opportunity to co-author law journal articles with their supervising professor.
The program is competitive and is designed to recruit highly-motivated students with superb research and writing skills (which may be demonstrated in ways not measured by GPA) that are interested in environmental and natural resources issues. Stegner Center Research Fellows receive an attractive package of financial support which includes a stipend and tuition reduction. Program alumni have gone on to clerkships with the Utah Supreme Court, to jobs with federal agencies like the EPA and National Marine Fisheries Service, to jobs in environmental advocacy, and to jobs with regional and national law firms.
Fellows are expected to work approximately 150 hours per semester (roughly 10 hours/week), and should be prepared to make a firm commitment to that level of time and effort. Applicants should take into account any planned outside work or extra-curricular activities before making this commitment. Fellows will be required to maintain and submit time records as a prerequisite to receipt of the stipend payments and tuition benefits described below.
Benefits
Opportunity to work one-on-one with a professor
Opportunity to hone your legal research and writing skills while working on real-world issues
Stipend for the Academic Year
Tuition Benefit for the Academic Year
Eligibility
Students apply during the spring semester of their first and second years for placements during following academic year.
Application Requirements and Selection
Applicants must complete the Common App and provide the following:
- Resume
- Written personal statement (no more than 500 words) that addresses the personal qualifications required by the fellowship
- Unofficial College of Law transcript
- Writing sample
Recipients will be selected by a committee of deans and faculty.