FASPE Law Fellowship 2027 at Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics, Germany and Poland (Fully Funded)

Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE), a New York-based charitable organisation, has opened applications for its 2027 Law Fellowship. FASPE runs an intensive two-week study programme in professional ethics and ethical leadership for graduate students and early-career professionals in six fields: Business, Clergy, Design & Technology, Journalism, Law and Medical.

FASPE Law Fellows examine the motivations and conduct of German lawyers and judges in designing, enabling and executing Nazi policies, and then use those historical examples to identify and confront the ethical issues facing lawyers and the legal profession today. FASPE states that it is neither a Holocaust studies course nor a genocide prevention programme. The Law programme was initially developed in consultation with faculty at Yale Law School.

Each year FASPE Law awards fellowships to 13 to 16 law students and early-career lawyers.

The 2027 Law programme runs from 28 May to 11 June 2027. Fellows spend two weeks in Berlin and Poland (Krakow and Oswiecim, the site of the former Auschwitz camp), visiting key sites of Nazi history and taking part in daily seminars led by specialised faculty. Law Fellows travel with the Business and Design & Technology Fellows and share several interdisciplinary seminars, meals and activities with them.

Topics Law Fellows examine include:

• the complicity of German lawyers in the design and execution of Nazi racial laws and genocidal policies;
• the difference between legal compliance and rules of ethics on the one hand, and ethical behaviour on the other;
• the ethical challenges of ambition in professional development;
• ethics and government lawyering;
• legal ethics in the context of technological innovation;
• navigating multiple loyalties to employers, clients, systems of justice and legal frameworks;
• tactics to address ethical issues within law firms and other institutions.

Programming is in English. Fellows must attend the whole programme from start to finish, complete required readings and one or two short writing assignments before the trip, and complete a capstone project (usually a paper) afterwards; selected papers appear in the annual FASPE Journal.

FASPE seeks Law applicants who fit into one of the following three categories:

• enrolled in a JD (or equivalent degree) programme as a 2L or 3L at the time of application; or
• working in the legal profession (including a clerkship) at the time of application, having received a JD degree no earlier than May 2020; or
• for applicants from education systems where law school training does not take place at the post-graduate level, having completed the requisite legal education in the applicable jurisdiction and working as a trainee or associate (no more senior than a 6th-year associate).

FASPE’s FAQ confirms that all eligible candidates may apply regardless of citizenship or residency; applicants need not be American or live in the US. Applications that do not strictly fit the guidelines are still considered, though preference may be given to those more closely aligned. Fellows are selected on academic background, personal and professional experience, capacity for leadership and ability to contribute to the programme and alumni community. FASPE also requires all faculty, Fellows and staff to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

There is no application fee, and FASPE Fellowships are fully funded so that financial ability does not affect participation. Costs covered include:

• round-trip economy airfare to Europe (FASPE also covers travel to Berlin from points of origin outside the United States and the return flight);
• all group transport and activities in Germany and Poland;
• all admission fees and programme materials;
• all hotel costs (shared rooms in three-star hotels in Berlin, Krakow and Oswiecim);
• all group meals, plus pocket money for non-group meals.

Visa arrangements must be made by Fellows themselves. FASPE provides documentation to support visa applications but cannot arrange visas.

All applications must be submitted through FASPE’s Submittable portal. The application has five parts:

• an online cover form with contact details, schools attended and the names and contacts of recommenders and references;
• a resume or CV covering education, employment, honours, awards and publications;
• transcripts from all institutions of higher education where you spent significant time (unofficial transcripts and scans are accepted; screenshots of online transcripts are not);
• responses to six short essay questions for the Law programme, uploaded as a single PDF, not exceeding 1,800 words in total;
• two letters of recommendation from academic faculty or professional references, sent directly by the recommenders through Submittable.

The 2027 Law short essay questions ask applicants:

• why they are interested in FASPE, what they hope to gain and what perspectives they would contribute;
• what it means to them to be a professional, and their responsibility as a professional;
• to describe an ethical dilemma encountered or expected in their career, and how an individual lawyer should respond;
• where they personally are most vulnerable to ethical violations;
• why they will succeed in civil dialogue on difficult and controversial topics;
• about a work of art (loosely defined) that has shaped who they are.

The 2027 application is open through 3 January 2027 at 11:59 PM US Eastern Time (about 10:29 AM IST on 4 January 2027). Letters of recommendation must reach FASPE directly from the recommenders by 10 January 2027. FASPE aims to inform all Fellows of their acceptance by early-to-mid March 2027.