"George Sharswood Fellowship"

The Sharswood Fellowship was created in 2007 to encourage scholars committed to entering a career in legal academia. Each year the Penn Carey Law faculty awards two fellowships that each fund two years of research, writing, and teaching. The Sharswood Fellowship is distinguished by fellows' full integration into the law school faculty and its emphasis on teaching classes that the fellow feels will help them prepare for the teaching they will do as an assistant professor. The Law School has an excellent record of placing fellows, and Sharswood Fellows have gone on to tenure-track legal academic positions at law schools including those at Stanford, U.C. Berkeley, the University of Chicago, New York University, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Sharswood Fellows join a vibrant community of academic fellows from the Law School's Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice; Center for Technology, Innovation, and Competition; and the Penn Program on Regulation. Sharswood Fellows also benefit from faculty mentorship and enjoy faculty access to Law School services and events. They hold academic standing comparable to that of visiting assistant professors.

Writing & 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 (2026-2027)
Spring - Fellows teach a seminar based on the subject of their research.

Teaching: Academic Year 2 (2027-2028)
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.

Job Preparation
Typically, Fellows prepare for the academic teaching market during their first year and apply for academic jobs during their second year.

Qualifications
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 Fellowship 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 University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School graduates.

Application Instructions
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) (For each reference, please give name, title, mailing address, email address and telephone number.)

Letters of recommendation from references are not required. Applicants should apply using Interfolio. Questions about this program should be directed to sharswoodapp@law.upenn.edu. To apply, visit https://apply.interfolio.com/170879.

*Equal Employment Opportunity Statement: The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin (including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any class protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.*