The Anthony Lester Fellowships, launched in 2024, are run by the Human Rights Project at Bard College in New York and honour the British human rights lawyer Anthony Lester QC.
Each academic year two fellows carry out a practical human rights or rule-of-law project outside their country of residence. The program page says applications are closed and will reopen in Fall 2026.
Benefits & funding
- A $25,000 stipend per fellow for a project lasting at least three months.
- Full-time work on the project for a minimum of three months is expected.
- Afterwards: an invitation to present at Bard’s Hudson Valley campus, with travel and accommodation paid, and a short report published by the Human Rights Project.
Eligibility
- Early-career lawyers or law students.
- No geographical restrictions: no nationality or residence bar.
- The project must be in a country other than your own.
- It must be practical fieldwork, not academic research.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Education required
Bachelor Enrolled · Bachelor
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Application process
- 1Shape a project that meets the selection criteria on the program page.
- 2Write a cover letter on who you are and how the fellowship would deepen or broaden your knowledge and advance your trajectory.
- 3Apply through the link on the program page once applications reopen in Fall 2026; questions go to lesterfellowships@bard.edu.
Program timeline
Last published deadline (2025–26 round)
Feb 17, 2025
Recipients announced
June 2024, June 2025
Applications reopen (program page)
Fall 2026