Stanford Law School Empirical Research Fellowship

Description

Assist Stanford Law School faculty, including economist Dr. John J. Donohue, in conducting policy-relevant empirical social science research. Designed for graduating seniors or recent college or master’s program graduates, the fellowship provides a unique opportunity for those considering graduate school, law school, and/or business school in the future.

Over the past 5 years, research fellows have matriculated in PhD programs at: Berkeley (Economics), Columbia (Economics), Harvard (Sociology), MIT (Economics), Northwestern (Economics), Penn State (Economics), University of Pennsylvania (Economics), University of Wisconsin-Madison (Economics). In the past 5 years, fellows have also matriculated in law school at Stanford Law School and Yale Law School.

Commitment

Full-time, starting Summer 2027. Some applicants available to start earlier will also be considered. Fellowships last for one year, with the opportunity to renew for a second year based on performance and mutual agreement of the professor and fellow.

Responsibilities

Job responsibilities will vary, but will involve all aspects of the research process including:

Collecting, managing, and structuring quantitative datasets
Conceptualization of suitable empirical methodologies and models
Statistical analyses of complex datasets and interpretation of results
Communication with government officials, industry stakeholders, and research collaborators
Report writing and manuscript preparation

Qualifications

Experience in a quantitative discipline, such as economics, political science, computer science, statistics, or applied math
Training in causal inference and/or machine learning methods
Bachelor’s degree, preferably in the social sciences or another relevant field
Outstanding academic credentials and intellectual creativity
Eagerness to take initiative and solve intricate problems
Excellent time-management skills and ability to work effectively with minimal supervision
Exceptional research and analytical writing skills
Programming experience in R, Python, Stata, and/or other languages is strongly preferred
Prior research experience and coursework in the empirical social sciences is preferred, but not required

Salary and Benefits

Budgeted Salary Range: The budgeted salary range for this position at Stanford Law School, as a full-time Stanford University employee, is: $31.40 to $35.00 per hour. If these hourly rates were annualized based on working 2,080 hours/year, the range is equivalent to: $65,312 to $72,800 per year. This represents a good faith estimate of what Stanford University expects to offer as compensation. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographic location and external market pay for comparable jobs.

Participation in this fellowship opportunity allows you to take and audit Stanford courses and attend on-campus lectures and seminars free of charge. In addition, incumbents in this fellowship will be eligible to take one course per quarter, not to exceed a maximum of 5 units (paid for by the department), with approval from your faculty supervisor. Additional restrictions may apply, such as a limit on the total number of courses you may take during the entirety of your fellowship.

At Stanford University, base pay represents only one aspect of the comprehensive rewards package. The Cardinal at Work website provides detailed information on Stanford’s extensive range of benefits and rewards offered to employees. Specifics about the rewards package for this position may be discussed during the hiring process. You will be eligible to elect a benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, access to campus athletic and academic facilities, paid vacation time, professional development funds, and the capacity to audit Stanford courses and attend on-campus lectures and seminars free of charge.

How to Apply

There will be two rounds of application review. The deadline for the first round is 7:00AM PST on Friday, October 23, 2026. All applications received before this date are guaranteed to be read while there is a spot open. After this date we will still be accepting applications, however preference will be given to first round applications.

Applicants with Optional Practical Training (OPT) temporary employment authorization are eligible to apply. Depending on the circumstances, Stanford may sponsor J-1 visas for this position.

There is a dual application process:

Please submit your resume and cover letter through Stanford’s career site – reference job number: 200728.
Please apply online at https://law.stanford.edu/research/sls-fellowships/empirical-research-fellowship/ (this webpage).

Make sure to upload each of the following:

Brief cover letter explaining your interest in the position and which graduate degree(s), if any, you hope to pursue following the fellowship
Current resume
Transcript (unofficial version acceptable)
Short academic writing sample, preferably empirical or social science-related
Contact information for no fewer than two academic references who can attest to your academic research skills and for any additional references who can speak to your character and professional skills

Questions

Please see our FAQ page. If your question is not addressed there, please email us at fellows@law.stanford.edu. Do not contact the professors or their support staff with any questions about hiring.

Application

Note: Do not use this form to submit High Risk Data.

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Applicant Information

Name*

First Last

Email*

How did you hear about this fellowship?*

If you selected "Other", please specify:*

Have you applied for this fellowship before?*

This will not affect how we evaluate your application.

Would you be interested in staying in the fellowship for one year or two years?*

This will not affect how we evaluate your application, and if selected for the fellowship, you would not be bound by your choice here.

Education

Highest Degree Earned or Expected by Summer 2027*

Bachelor's Degree

School*

Major*

Additional Major?*

Second Major

Year Degree Conferred or Expected (yyyy)*

GPA Scale*

GPA Scale (if Other)

Cumulative GPA (x.xx)*

Error. Cannot have value greater than 4.0

Cumulative GPA*

Are you applying for graduate school (or considering applying) for fall 2027?*

Would you be willing to withdraw and/or defer your graduate school applications if offered the fellowship?*

Master's Degree

School*

Field of Study*

Year Degree Conferred or Expected (yyyy)*

GPA Scale*

GPA Scale (if Other)

Cumulative GPA (x.xx)*

Error. Cannot have value greater than 4.0

Cumulative GPA*

Programming Experience

Prior Experience with Programming?*

Stata

MATLAB

SAS

Python

C/C++

Additional programming experience (if not listed above):

Proficiency in additional programming language/package

Courses

Have you taken an introductory statistics or data science course?*

Please list any courses you have taken relevant to empirical research.*

Please just list the course names and numbers, separated by semicolons.

Documents to Upload

For security, please do not include any sensitive (aka "high-risk") information (e.g., social security number, driver's license number) with your application materials. For reference, you can see Stanford's policy and classification here. Your application materials will be used exclusively in hiring for the fellowship program.

1. Cover Letter

Please explain your interest in the position in a brief cover letter. Be as concrete as possible about what you would bring to this research fellowship and why you feel you are a good fit for the job. Also, if applicable, be sure to explain your experience with any statistical software packages (STATA, R, SAS, etc.,) and/or programming languages (Python, Java, C++, etc.). [Max file size: 32 MB]

Upload Cover Letter*

Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 32 MB.

2. Resume

Please upload your most current resume. [Max file size: 32 MB]

Upload Resume*

Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 32 MB.

3. Transcript

Please submit a copy of your undergraduate transcript here. If you have earned academic credit from multiple institutions and/or attended graduate school, please merge each institution's transcript into a single file and submit this. Please do not submit any locked or encrypted pdfs. If you attended a university outside of the U.S., please submit a transcript guide if available. [Max file size: 32 MB]

Upload Transcript*

Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 2 MB.

4. Writing Sample

Please submit a writing sample, preferably one relevant to social science. When choosing a writing sample for submission, please keep the following in mind:

The most important requirement of the writing sample is that you are either the sole author or a main contributor to the work. For example, we would greatly prefer to read a paper written solely by the applicant for a class assignment than a paper published in a reputable social science journal to which the applicant contributed little. Ultimately, the purpose of the writing sample is to observe the applicant’s understanding of econometrics. A well thought out thesis proposal that lays out a rigorous plan of analysis is better than an exploratory analysis from class.

The ideal writing sample would be an empirical piece that utilizes well-known empirical, econometric, or statistical methodologies to analyze a research question. In so doing, it would typically present substantive data analysis and/or data visualization. Writing samples may be drawn from an honors thesis (even if incomplete), published journal article, class writing sample, etc. However, other writing samples will be accepted if you do not have a sample that meets the above criteria. [Max file size: 32 MB]

Please feel free to submit additional writing samples in the Additional Documents section if you are uncertain about which one to submit.

Upload Writing Sample*

Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 32 MB.

5. References

Please provide the contact information (name, title, institution, phone number, e-mail address, and relationship to the applicant) for 2-5 references, preferably ones who can speak to your academic research skills. While we require a minimum of two references, we welcome more if you believe they can speak to relevant qualifications for the position. All references should be available to speak over the phone regarding your application. [Max file size: 32 MB]

We are only requesting contact information and not letters of recommendation, although letters can be submitted if available. Letters of recommendation must be signed and sent to fellows@law.stanford.edu by the recommender.

Upload References*

Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 32 MB.

6. Additional Documents

Please upload additional application materials you would like us to consider. For example, standardized test scores (e.g. GRE, LSAT, GMAT) will be considered, but are not required. Please do not submit any locked or encrypted PDFs. [Max file size: 32 MB]

Upload Additional Documents

Drop files here or

Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 32 MB.

Submission Confirmation

After clicking submit, the website should take you to a confirmation page and send a confirmation email. If the form simply resets, you have NOT successfully submitted your application. Please check the sizes of uploaded files.

Note: By submitting this Stanford Law School Empirical Research Fellowship Application 2027 form, I hereby consent to Stanford University’s collection and processing of any sensitive personal data contained in this form for the other purposes described in Stanford University’s Online Privacy Policy and Offline Privacy Policy which can be found at privacy.stanford.edu. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and our privacy policy applies.

Stanford is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The job duties listed are typical examples of work performed by positions in this job classification and are not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Specific duties and responsibilities may vary depending on department or program needs without changing the general nature and scope of the job or level of responsibility. Employees may also perform other duties as assigned.

Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodation to any employee with a disability that requires accommodation to perform the essential functions of their job.

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