Legal Commentary

To encourage scholars who plan to enter legal academia, the Editorial Board of Volume 155 of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review established the first Sharswood Fellowship in 2007. Penn Law has since expanded the program so that now each year the School awards two fellowships that each fund two years of research, writing, and teaching. One of the Fellowships continues to be generously funded by the Law Review.

Sharswood Fellows enjoy faculty access to Penn Law services and events, holding academic standing comparable to that of visiting assistant professors. Click here for a list of our fellows and visitors.

More details about the application for the fellowship below.

Fellowship Requirements

Writing and research

The Sharswood Fellow will be expected to produce at least one legal academic work of publishable quality during each year of funding. The work is expected to be of a length akin to a standard law review article.

Teaching: Academic Year 1

Spring - Fellows teach a seminar based on the subject of their research.

Teaching: Academic Year 2

Fall - Fellows teach the same seminar that they taught the previous spring.

Spring - Fellows teach a course to be determined in consultation with the dean.

Application Materials and Deadline

By Monday January 26, 2009, applicants must submit the following materials:

1. Detailed research proposal
2. Teaching statement (course abstract and plan for class or seminar)
3. Writing sample(s)
4. Curriculum vitae
5. Law school and/or graduate school transcript(s)
6. Three references, minimum (at least one must be an academic reference)

Electronic applications are preferred, and applicants are encouraged to submit the above materials in electronic form to sharswoodapp@law.upenn.edu. Alternatively, applicants may submit a paper copy of their application to:

Margaret Ulrich

Sharswood Fellowship Program

University of Pennsylvania Law School

3400 Chestnut Street

Philadelphia, PA 19104-6204

Questions about this program should be sent to mulrich@law.upenn.edu

Eligibility

Sharswood Fellow applicants must have earned a law degree or PhD or equivalent in a related field and should not yet have held a full-time tenure track legal academic appointment. The Sharswood Fellows Program provides excellent opportunities for predoctoral research for candidates who have completed a JD or for postdoctoral research.

One of the Fellowships every two years is designated for Penn Law graduates.

About George Sharswood

George Sharswood was born in Philadelphia on July 7, 1810 and died on May 28, 1883. He graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania in 1828. On September 5, 1831 he was admitted to the bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was later nominated to a position on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, where he served from 1868 until his retirement in 1882. He served as chief justice on that court, beginning on January 6, 1879.

Sharswood was appointed professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania in 1850 and served for eighteen years. He reorganized the law school at Penn, and served as dean beginning in 1852?the year of the establishment of the American Law Register, predecessor publication to the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.