NOTRE DAME FELLOWSHIP - Call for Applications: 2026 – 2027 academic year
The Fellowship at Notre Dame Law School was piloted in 2024, and finalised in 2025, in recognition of longstanding collaborations between the University of Notre Dame and the Constitutional Court of South Africa through fellowships, and to mark 30 years of democracy in South Africa.
The purpose of this fellowship is to provide an opportunity for a young South African or African lawyer who has clerked at the Constitutional Court of South Africa or the Supreme Court of Appeal, South Africa, or who is working in a civil society law organisation with a primary focus on constitutional and human rights law in South Africa, to study at Notre Dame towards a one-year graduate programme leading to a Masters of Law (LLM) degree, or an LLM in International Human Rights Law.
The fellowship is administered by the Constitutional Court Trust (CCT), a non-profit organisation that exists to promote human rights, the rule of law, constitutionalism and judicial independence in the African region - with a special focus on the Constitutional Court of South Africa. It does so through artistic expression, legal scholarship and exchange programmes, public education and library initiatives.
DETAILS OF THE FELLOWSHIP
- One fellowship will be awarded for the 2026 – 2027 academic year.
- It will be tenable only at the University of Notre Dame Law School for full-time study towards an LLM or LLM in International Human Rights.
- The fellowship award includes a full tuition waiver, as well as travel and living expenses incurred as a result of participating in the fellowship, at the prevailing Notre Dame rate for cost of attendance (see https://law.nd.edu/admissions/cost-of-attendance/)
- The fellowship award will be made directly by Notre Dame Law School once the fellow is in country.
- The award is subject to the candidate meeting the relevant university’s postgraduate selection criteria, as part of the standard admission process.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Who is eligible to apply?
- Applicants must be law graduates who are nationals of South Africa, or an African country, and have worked as law clerks at the Constitutional Court of South Africa or the Supreme Court of Appeal, South Africa, or are early career lawyers active in South African civil society;
- Applicants must demonstrate a commitment to human rights and an intention to continue working in the area of human rights or constitutional law as it relates to South Africa and / or Africa.
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Preference will be given to applicants who:
- do not hold an LLM degree;
- have not had the opportunity to study abroad;
- will be no older than 35 years of age at the start of proposed studies;
- have clerked at the Constitutional Court or the Supreme Court within the last five years.
How to apply
Applicants must send their applications by email to ndf@concourtrust.org.za by Sunday, 5 October 2025.
Applications should include the following:
- A 1 - 2 page motivational letter on why you should be awarded the fellowship.
- A curriculum vitae (CV) no longer than 3 pages.
- University transcripts for all higher education qualifications.
- One example of written work, relevant to your application, and demonstrating your ability to excel in a top tier LLM programme. The indicative length for writing samples is 2000 – 3000 words. Contextualised extracts are acceptable.
- Letters of support from two referees. If listing a current permanent Constitutional Court Justice as a referee, the name of the judge will suffice - no letter is required.
Interviews of shortlisted candidates will take place at the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg in late October 2025.
The Constitutional Court Trust reserves the right not to appoint a fellow in any given year.