Scholarships, Fellowships, & Pipelines for Arab American Law Students (2023)

Arab American students face certain unique challenges when it comes to pursuing a legal career. Although the more common of these challenges include cultural barriers, societal prejudices, the lack of representation, and the overall political climate, one remains specifically discouraging. This is the financial burden or lack of adequate financial support to complete law school. 

Thankfully, there are scholarships, fellowships, and pipelines that help Arab American students overcome these unique challenges — opportunities specifically dedicated to helping Arab American students succeed in their pursuit of legal education and a prominent legal career. In the list below, we will discuss several of these opportunities, telling you everything you need to know about eligibility and the amount of support to expect. 

Arab American Bar Association Scholarships 

The Arab American Bar Association (AABA) offers three levels of scholarship support to Arab American students looking for involvement in the legal profession. These are the Pre-Law Institute Scholarship, the Law School Scholarship, and the Public Interest Fellowship. 

The Pre-Law Institute Scholarship is AABA's low to no-cost pipeline program dedicated to intending Arab law students looking for guidance in the pre-law school stage. Through the pipeline, Arab-American students get assistance with LSAT preparation, law school application, orientation for law school, and mentorships against the challenges they expect to face.

The Law School Scholarship is a financial assistance initiative for students showing strong academic fortitude in their current law school programs. Although there is no specific indication of how much a scholarship provides, recent grants saw six students from six law schools across Ohio receive $2,000 each. 

The final level of support provided by AABA through the Public Interest Fellowship program is an initiative to encourage students who seek legal careers in public interest law. The fellowship provides monetary compensation to qualified graduates who are unpaid by the organizations at which they intern. Membership in all programs is appropriately open to law students or law graduates upon providing certain identifying information.  

Arab American Lawyers Association of Southern California

The Arab American Lawyers Association of Southern California (AALASC) partners with ChangeLawyers to provide scholarship opportunities to Arabic and Middle Eastern individuals looking for a career in the legal profession. ChangeLawyers specializes in providing these opportunities to underrepresented groups and AALASC brings its scholarship to third-year law students who intend to take the California bar exam. 

The AALASC scholarship awards $5,000 to qualified individuals, with qualifications requiring outstanding skills in leadership and public service. These are skills that are needed for tremendous contribution to the Arab law community in California. 

ChangeLawyers, in a more general offering, also provides a 1L Scholarship Program to students looking to eliminate financial roadblocks to legal education in California. Alongside the $7,500 funding, students have access to mentorship and ongoing support. 

Law school graduates can enroll in ChangeLawyers' two-year Immigration Legal Fellowship program. This program dedicates its opportunities to individuals who wish to be deportation defense practitioners in the Central Valley and Central Coast regions.

Islamic Scholarship Fund

The Islamic Scholarship Fund (ISF) is an initiative started back in 2009 and one dedicated to providing American Muslims with the resources to positively impact perception and change in the public. The fund is available to 1L, 2L, and 3L students who enroll in an accredited U.S. educational institution. While we recognize that not all Arabic people are Muslim, statistically 93 percent of Arabs are, so we thought this was appropriate to include.

With financial assistance of between $5,000 to $10,000, the ISF is available to Muslim students majoring in Law, Public Interest Law, or Human Rights Studies who have a minimum GPA of 3.0. Qualifying individuals are Muslims or active members of a Muslim community who are permanent residents or citizens of the US/recipients of DACA. 

Alongside an application form, these students are also required to submit college transcripts, work samples, a resume, two letters of recommendation, a video introduction, and answers to essay questions where applicable.

Diverse Attorney Pipeline Program (DAPP)

The DAPP Scholars Program accepts first-year law students from underrepresented communities for an intensive, one-year program to help them prepare for summer internships after their first year. The program, indeed, helps with placement and offers academic support, coaching, counseling, financial assistance, tutoring, seminars, workshops, professional development, and mentorship. Applicants must have an outstanding undergraduate record, demonstrated commitment to the community and leadership, and a commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion in law. Typically, applications, which also require a personal statement, are due in early September. However, DAPP sometimes extends the deadlines, so keep an eye on their Facebook page for updates.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings Diversity Scholarship

The Bradley Diversity Scholarship is part of the law firm's active commitment to introducing members of underrepresented communities into the legal profession. Bradley offers two scholarships yearly to law students, a $5,000 grant available to first-year law students and a grant of up to $10,000 to second-year law students. 

Applicants need to submit an online summer associate application and a 750-word personal statement on the importance of improving diversity and how to improve diversity within the legal profession. Successful applicants are then expected to act as clerks in one of Bradley's offices for at least six weeks after the award of the scholarships. 

Find More Scholarships, Fellowships, and Pipelines for Arab-American Law Aspirants

Our list has provided some of the scholarships, resources, and support communities dedicated to Arab American individuals who are either intending to enroll or are already students at a law school across the U.S. Be sure that there are even more for you to choose from. 

If you’re looking for more support, we’re here to help! Learn more about how you can take advantage of our private package discounts for BIPOC, first-generation, and other marginalized students. Contact us if you have any inquiries on scholarship highlights and other funding opportunities for Arab American law school students.