The Arthur C. Helton Fellowship Program is run by the American Society of International Law (ASIL), the Washington-based professional body for international lawyers. It awards small grants, which the Society calls micro-grants, to law students and young professionals so they can spend time in the field working on international law, human rights and humanitarian affairs.
Each Fellow arranges a placement with an established educational institution, international organization, governmental agency or non-governmental organization active in those areas, and builds a project around it. ASIL states that it does not help applicants secure that host.
The program was created in 2004 in memory of Arthur C. Helton, a refugee and human rights scholar and advocate who was killed in the bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003. ASIL says the program has supported more than 120 young lawyers on projects across four continents.
Benefits & funding
- A micro-grant toward the direct cost of fieldwork and research; in the most recent cycle the award was US$2,000 per Fellow.
- The grant covers travel, housing, living expenses and other costs tied to the project.
- Funding is partial by design. Applicants are expected to identify other sources of money for the rest of the budget.
- The program is financed by contributions from ASIL members, interest groups and private foundations.
Eligibility
- Law students and young professionals working on international law, human rights, humanitarian affairs and related areas.
- The project must be carried out in association with an established educational institution, international organization, governmental agency or non-governmental organization. The applicant secures that host independently.
- No nationality or residency restriction is published. Past Fellows have run projects on four continents.
- Preference, not a requirement: projects with a substantial fieldwork component, and projects on the human rights of refugees, internally displaced persons and other vulnerable populations. Work in international criminal law and international humanitarian law is also encouraged.
- No age limit and no minimum years of experience are published.
Can you apply?
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Education required
Bachelor Enrolled · Bachelor · Master Enrolled · Master
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Application process
- 1Watch the ASIL program page for the annual call. Materials for a new cycle are posted ahead of a mid-winter deadline.
- 2Line up the host organization and agree the scope of the fieldwork before applying.
- 3Complete the ASIL application form and assemble the supporting documents listed in that cycle’s instructions.
- 4Arrange two letters of recommendation, which the most recent cycle required.
- 5Email the complete package to the Society by the stated deadline. In the most recent cycle, late or incomplete applications were not reviewed.
- 6Wait for the selection committee’s decision, then start fieldwork inside the window set for that cycle.
Program timeline
Autumn to early winter
application materials for the next cycle are posted
deadline of the most recent cycle
Jan 16, 2026
awards of that cycle announced
March 2026
Fellows begin their fieldwork
April to September 2026
projects from that cycle must be finished
March 2027