The Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program is run by Salzburg Global Seminar through its Lloyd N. Cutler Center for the Rule of Law, established in 2010 in memory of the Washington lawyer who chaired the organization’s board. The fellows program began in 2012 and now runs annually: up to 60 graduate law students, four from each of 15 partner US law schools, gather in Washington, DC for a three-day program in February. Each fellow brings an original paper on public or private international law and presents it in a small thematic working group, where two faculty readers give detailed critique aimed at publication.
Around the workshops sit plenary debates, keynote sessions and mentoring conversations with judges, government lawyers, firm partners and international-organization staff. The February 2026 edition ran under the theme “Disruption and Renewal: Charting the Future of the International Rule of Law, Democracy, and Pluralism”, with paper topics spanning national security, economic measures, investment law, climate change and human rights. Fellows are selected by their own law schools rather than by Salzburg Global.
Benefits & funding
- No participation fee — Salzburg Global Seminar provides the program itself.
- Meals during the Washington, DC program are provided by Salzburg Global Seminar.
- Two faculty readers give publication-focused critique on each fellow’s paper, in a small thematic working group.
- Career mentorship in rotating small-group sessions with practitioners from government, private practice and international organizations, plus keynote speakers and faculty-led roundtables.
- Travel and lodging support comes from the nominating law school and varies by school: NYU states it covers transport and two nights of accommodation in Washington, DC; the University of Chicago covers an economy Chicago–DC flight and two nights of lodging; Harvard Law School states selected participants receive some funding to defray travel expenses.
Eligibility
- Current enrollment at one of the 15 partner US law schools: Berkeley, Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Michigan, NYU, Northwestern, Penn, Stanford, UCLA, Virginia and Yale. Students elsewhere cannot take part.
- Second- and third-year JD students (2L, 3L) and LLM students.
- An original paper project in public or private international law that the applicant will workshop at the program.
- No nationality, residency, age or work-experience requirement is stated; the LLM route is open to students on any passport, and the gate is enrollment at a partner school.
- Roughly four students per school, up to 60 fellows in total.
- Selection criteria are set by each school. Chicago encourages applicants with substantial international backgrounds; Harvard weighs commitment to international law and academic promise.
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Application process
- 1Confirm the applicant’s law school is one of the 15 partners, and find its internal call — usually run by the international-law center, global engagement office or graduate programs office.
- 2Prepare a summary of the paper to be workshopped. Length differs by school: the University of Chicago asks for a two-page abstract, NYU for a project summary of at least one to two pages, Harvard for a five- to eight-page executive summary.
- 3Add a cover letter setting out background and interest, a resume or CV, and an unofficial transcript. Some schools ask for a faculty supervisor’s name; a fuller draft of the paper is usually optional.
- 4Submit to the school’s internal address by its deadline in the autumn. For the February 2026 edition, Chicago and NYU closed on 31 October 2025 and Harvard on 10 November 2025.
- 5The school notifies its nominees — NYU by 7 November 2025 for the 2026 edition — and sends the names to Salzburg Global.
- 6Join the online orientation in January, then attend the three-day program in Washington, DC.
Program timeline
31 October 2025
internal application deadline at the University of Chicago and at NYU for the 2026 edition
NYU notifies its selected fellows
7 November 2025
internal application deadline at Harvard Law School
10 November 2025
online orientation session
21 January 2026
three-day program in Washington, DC
5–7 February 2026
partner schools expected to open the next round; no dates announced yet
Autumn 2026