The Sharswood Fellowship was established by the Editorial Board of Volume 155 of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review in 2007. The fellowship funds one to two years of research, writing, and teaching in residence at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and is intended to sponsor promising Penn Law graduates who intend to pursue academic legal careers.

1. Writing and research – The Sharswood Fellow will be expected to produce at least one legal academic work of publishable quality during any year of funding. The work is expected to be of a length akin to a standard law review article.

2. Fall presentation – The Sharswood Fellow will be expected to give a presentation on the topic of his or her research during the fall semester which will be hosted by the Penn Law Review and will be open to the general public and the Law School community.

3. Spring class or seminar – The Sharswood Fellow will ordinarily be expected to teach a spring seminar based on the subject of his or her research, although the scheduling and type of class might be changed in particular cases.

By February 15, 2008, applicants must submit the following materials to the Law Review:

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 transcript
6. The names and contact information of a minimum of three references (at least one must be an academic reference)

Application materials should mailed to:

Sharswood Fellowship
University of Pennsylvania Law Review
3400 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia PA 19104-6204

Sharswood Fellowship applicants must be current final-year law students (i.e., students in the final year of a J.D., L.L.M., LL.C.M., or S.J.D. program) at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, or graduates of Penn Law who have not yet held a full-time tenure track legal academic appointment. Questions should be addressed to the University of Pennsylvania Law Review at lawrev@law.upenn.edu.

George Sharswood was born in Philadelphia on July 7, 1810 and died on May 28, 1883. He graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania in 1828. On September 5, 1831 he was admitted to the bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was later nominated to a position on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, where he served from 1868 until his retirement in 1882. He served as chief justice on that court, beginning on January 6, 1879.

Sharswood was appointed professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania in 1850 and served for eighteen years. He reorganized the law school at Penn, and served as dean beginning in 1852—the year of the establishment of the American Law Register, predecessor publication to the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.