Rudolf and Bernice Moos Fellowship
Stanford Law School’s Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law offers postgraduate Public Interest Fellowships which enable our graduates to work full-time for a year in a law-related endeavor designed to further the public interest. These include both international general postgraduate Stanford Law School fellowships on any public interest issue and those targeting specific substantive areas (e.g., criminal defense, criminal justice, immigrants’ rights, and environmental law, education law, or youth law).
The subject of this page is the Rudolf and Bernice Moos Fellowship. There are slightly different eligibility requirements for each program, but there will be one joint application process for these fellowships.
Rudolf and Bernice Moos (pronounced mose) hold an abiding, and personal, interest in immigrant rights and labor rights. They established The Rudolf and Bernice Moos Stanford Law School Post-graduate Public Interest Fellowship to support a fellow who plans to work full-time for one year focused on immigrants’ rights and related law and policy at a domestic nonprofit organization, a labor union, or an international, tax-exempt, non-governmental organization that provides legal or public interest services.
Longtime friends of Stanford University and the Law School, Rudolf Moos is Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Health at Stanford, and Bernice Moos, now retired, served as a program systems analyst and computer programmer in the Stanford Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and in the research service at the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System (now the Palo Alto VA Medical Center).
Please review the FAQ on our Fellowship Program and direct any questions regarding the fellowship to Levin Center staff.
Eligibility
All members of the current graduating SLS JD class and the prior two classes who have not previously been awarded a postgraduate legal fellowship or government honors/new attorney program position are eligible to apply for this fellowship. Current students must be in good standing to be eligible.
Eligible host organizations may engage in direct legal services, impact litigation, or policy advocacy, either domestically or abroad. Federal, state, and local governmental agencies may be potential hosts, but Fellows will face additional logistical hurdles because most government agencies cannot accept funds from SLS and hire the Fellows as employees. Applicants do not need to propose creation of a new project but should outline the responsibilities they anticipate undertaking if selected. SLS makes no recommendations regarding specific fellowship host organizations and does not guarantee that placement will be feasible and/or permitted with all potential sponsors or in all foreign jurisdictions.
If feasible, hosting entities are asked to contribute toward the Fellow’s salary. The host organization must also demonstrate its ability to support the Fellow (e.g., appropriate supervision, adequate office space, resources to support program expenses). Note that Stanford University entities (e.g., clinics, programs, and centers) are ineligible to host a Postgraduate Fellow.
Program Details
Each fellowship will include a grant of up to $60,000 maximum for a 12 month term. Grants are typically distributed to the host organization but may be made directly to the alumnus/a if the host organization cannot receive the grant (such as when the host is a government agency). We encourage our fellowship recipients to seek host organizations who can supplement the SLS grant by increasing the Fellow’s salary and benefits.
After the Fellows are selected and before payment can be disbursed, each host agency is also expected to sign a Memorandum of Understandinglink1 outlining each party’s responsibilities. International or governmental hosts who cannot accept the funds from Stanford would sign this Memorandum of Understandinglink2, which grants the funds directly to the Fellow.
Grant payments are made after September 1 due to Stanford University’s fiscal calendar. Thus, the fellowship start date is usually after September 1, with some flexibility upon consultation with Levin Center staff. If a Fellow ends their fellowship before the 12 month period for any reason, the fellowship grant is prorated and remaining funds must be returned to Stanford.
Finally, SLS’ Loan Repayment Assistance Program will provide additional funds directly to JD alumni to meet qualifying educational loan repayment obligations during the fellowship year.
Application Process
The 2026-2027 application is due Monday, February 9, 2026. The Fellows will be selected by the middle of March 2026.
Please address all questions regarding the fellowship to Anna Wang.
Each applicant should also request that their host organization submit a commitment letter. This letter should outline the host’s capacity to support a Fellow, whether they can supplement the SLS Fellowship grant, and what their past record has been in hiring previous Fellows at the end of their fellowship term. We provide a sample host letter from a domestic nonprofit and an international nonprofit here:
Domestic fellowship host organization’s commitment letter
International fellowship host organization’s commitment letter
The Selection Committee will include members of the faculty and alumni who previously served as an SLS Fellow. Selection will occur by the middle of March each year.
In reviewing each application, the committee will consider several factors, including:
- the applicant’s commitment to a career in public interest law,
- the applicant’s capacity to maximize the fellowship opportunity,
- the applicant’s contributions to the public interest community at SLS,
- the potential impact of the applicant’s work, and
- the capacity of the sponsoring organization to provide meaningful supervision to the fellow.
In evaluating these factors, the committee will look to the application and accompanying essays, law school record, recommendations, and organizational letter of support. All letters of recommendation and support should be specific to your candidacy for this fellowship. All information provided will be used only for the purpose of considering your candidacy for the Fellowship.
Starting in 2025, the committee will not be conducting interviews. Instead, there is an option for applicants to upload/record videos answering brief prompts. You must have an active SUNet ID to access the Canvas website. Any alumni applicants who wish to submit pre-recorded answers should contact Anna Wang so she can request to temporarily reactivate your SUNet ID.
Current and Past Fellows
David Toppelberg, JD ’25, will be the inaugural Moos Fellow. At UNITE HERE Local 11, David will support the Union’s efforts to organize new workplaces and enforce existing collective bargaining agreements, with a special focus on upholding the rights of Spanish-speaking immigrant workers.