William H. Gates Public Service Law Program Gates Public Service Law Scholarship
Supporting the law school’s vision of making public service a reality for students, the Gates Public Service Law Program enables scholars to pursue a career path in public service law through the Gates Public Service Law Scholarship.
The Gates Public Service Law Scholarship was created in November 2005 to honor William H. Gates Sr., a prominent Washington state attorney, public servant and UW Law alumnus. Each year, the program awards full-ride scholarships to five first-year students entering the JD program at the UW Law.
Gates Scholars have gone on to impact change on a local, national and international level at a variety of organizations, including the ACLU of Washington, Inner City Law in L.A. and the Immigrant Advocacy Project in Virginia.
Download the Scholar Employment Information Map.
Program Overview
Each year, five scholarships are awarded to first-year students entering the JD program and covers tuition, books, other enrollment fees, costs of room and board and incidental expenses.
Acceptance of a Gates PSL scholarship represents a commitment on the part of each recipient to work in public service for five years following graduation.
Eligibility and Obligations
Scholars are selected from admitted students through a competitive review process.
Scholars are required to meet the participation and administrative requirements as outlined in the program guidelines to qualify for continued funding. Scholarships must be repaid to the University in the event a scholar fails to graduate from UW Law or complete the required period of employment in public service work.
The following activities associated with the program are required for all scholars:
- Annual retreat
- Seminars and speaker series
- Scholar meetings
- Two internships
- Mentoring program
- Career coaching
Learn more about Scholar responsibilities
Selection Process
Gates Scholars are selected from among the group of students admitted each year to UW Law who apply for the scholarship. They are selected based on their sincere interest and stated intent to work in public service.
An internal faculty review committee reads all the Gates PSL Scholarship applications of admitted students. This group selects approximately 20-24 applications to forward to the selection committee, which includes a faculty member, a Gates Scholar alum, a person working in public service law and a person active in civic affairs in the community. The committee is appointed by the dean and a representative named by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The selection committee reviews the application files and selects 12 scholarship finalists for interviews. Interviews will be conducted with all scholarship finalists during a weekend in April. The scholarship recipients are announced after the interview process.
Apply to the Gates PSL Scholarship
Advisory Board
Members of the current Gates Public Service Law Program Advisory Board:
- Tamara Lawson
Toni Rembe Dean & Professor of Law
University of Washington School of Law
Ex Officio - Aline Flower
Associate General Counsel
Gates Foundation - Jeffrey Grant
Assistant Attorney General
Washington State Attorney General - Vanessa Hernandez
Integrated Advocacy Director
The ACLU of Washington - The Honorable David Keenan
Judge
King County Superior Court - Monte Mills
Charles I. Stone Professor or Law
Director, Native American Law Center
University of Washington School of Law - Blanca Rodriguez
Attorney
Columbia Legal Services, Yakima - Matthew Sanders
Managing Attorney
King County Department of Public Defense, ACA Division