Justice Fellows

About The Justice Fellows Program

The Justice Fellows Program is a long-term intellectual and community home for Yale undergraduates interested in justice, public service, and social change. The program prioritizes belonging, mentorship, interdisciplinary exploration, and experiential learning while intentionally supporting students who may not already have access to professional networks or traditional pathways into justice-oriented careers. Fellows engage in interdisciplinary conversations, mentorship, community-based projects, internships, and reflective learning experiences that help them connect academic inquiry to real-world understandings of justice.

Through a curriculum that is both theoretically grounded and empirically informed, fellows are encouraged to synthesize perspectives drawn from history, philosophy, political theory, law, public health, and the social sciences. Rooted in Yale's liberal arts mission, the JC Justice Fellows Program enables students to investigate the interrelated notions of fairness, rights, citizenship, equality, law, and social control, and to consider how these ideas emerge, transform, and interact across disciplinary boundaries. Fellows will explore how justice operates in communities, institutions, and everyday life.

The Justice Fellows Program is for students who demonstrate curiosity and openness, a commitment to community, intellectual engagement with justice, potential for growth, and a desire to contribute meaningfully to the cohort. A group of 8-12 fellows is chosen each fall semester. Yale students must be sophomores or juniors to apply.

Requirements

Fellows are required to take one Justice Studies course, Justice & Society (AFAM 2909) & four elective courses drawn from the approved JS list (courses taken with a Credit/D/Fail will not count). An elective can be substituted with an applied or research experience approved by the JS Fellows’ administrator. All fellows are expected to attend at least three Justice Collaboratory events and submit brief reflections. Yale students must be sophomores or juniors to apply.