UNEP-Georgetown Law Global Environment and Sustainability Law Fellowship 2025-2026 (Funded) Deadline: Unspecified

Applications are open for the UNEP-Georgetown Law Global Environment and Sustainability Law Fellowship 2025-2026. The Global Environment and Sustainability Law Fellowship is an opportunity for public sector lawyers from developing countries to earn a Georgetown LL.M. and to gain international legal experience with a posting at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, or at one of its regional offices around the world.

Launched in 2016, the UNEP – Georgetown Law Global Environment and Sustainability Law Fellows program has supported Fellows from Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Chile, Fiji, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Peru, Uganda, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe. Equipped with the knowledge and experiential training gained at Georgetown Law and UNEP, Fellows have gone on to positions in government ministries, environmental agencies and international organizations, as well as positions of traditional authority.

Benefits

The Program helps defray the costs for candidates who would not otherwise be able to cover all of the necessary costs of an LL.M. degree and professional experience including:

• Tuition costs for the LL.M. at Georgetown Law, including the Summer Experience Program;
• All required textbooks;
• A monthly stipend to cover living expenses during the internship with UNEP;
• Health insurance for the duration of the LL.M. and internship;
• Flights to and from Washington, D.C., before and after the LL.M.;
• Flights to and from the UNEP posting, before and after the internship.

Note that the Fellowship does not cover living expenses in Washington, D.C. Fellows must be prepared to cover the costs of housing, food and other personal expenses for the duration of the LL.M. program.

Eligibility

To be eligible for this Fellowship, a candidate must:

• Reside in a developing country;
• Possess the requisite degree to practice law in his or her home country;
• Be currently employed by a national or local government entity; and,
• Be engaged in practicing environmental law, energy law, natural resources law or a related legal field.

Fellows must commit to return to their home country to continue working in public sector environmental law for no less than three years.

Application

National Focal Points (NFP) to the Montevideo Environmental Law Programme are invited to nominate candidates by email. Nominations should be accompanied by a curriculum vitae of the nominee, of no more than two pages. Each NFP may nominate up to two candidates. Nominees will be reviewed and shortlisted, and shortlisted candidates will be provided with a waiver of application fees.

Any other interested candidates can also apply directly to Georgetown and indicate their interest in the Fellowship on their LL.M. application. Candidates who apply directly are not eligible for application fee waivers. Visit here for application forms and other information on requirements, deadlines and processes.

All candidates must submit a supplemental essay of 500 words or less on an issue of environmental law or policy of particular interest, with their application.

For more information, visit UNEP-Georgetown Law Fellowship.