George Mason Law Scholarship and Fellowship Programs

The law school continually seeks to develop new sources of non-loan funds to help defray the cost of legal education. A number of fellowships and scholarships are available to incoming law students.

Please note: scholarship and fellowship awards will not be posted to student accounts and will not appear on Patriot Web until late July or early August.

George Mason Scholarship Programs:

The Professor Richard S. Murphy Scholarship

is awarded each year to an incoming first year student based on merit. No application is necessary. This scholarship is a lasting memorial to Professor Murphy, who served on the School of Law faculty from 1994 until his death in 1997. Professor Murphy was a brilliant and energetic scholar, a gifted professor, and a beloved friend and colleague.

Senator Leroy S. Bendheim Scholarship

Named after the Virginia senator who bequeathed the funds for this award, the scholarship is given to one or more outstanding applicants, with preference given to applicants who have excelled in the study of economics or finance. No application is necessary.

The Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox Intellectual Property Law Scholarship

For the second consecutive year, the Washington, D.C., law firm of Sterne Kessler, Goldstein & Fox, P.L.L.C., is funding an intellectual property law scholarship. An entering first-year law student in the Intellectual Property Law Track will be awarded a scholarship in an amount ranging from $2,000 to $3,000 to help cover expenses during the first year of study.

Ann Southard Murphy and Cornelius F. Murphy Jr. Tuition Assistance Award

This award was established in 1999 by Betty Southard Murphy, a former George Mason University Trustee, and her husband, Dr. Cornelius Francis Murphy, and is given to a student who is a good citizen of the law school and who is expected to be a good alumnus or alumnae. Mrs. Murphy has also established two book awards, the Betty Southard Murphy Award in Constitutional Law and the Betty Southard Murphy Award in Labor Law.

The Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C. Scholarship

The Oblon, Spivak firm, a national intellectual property law firm located in Alexandria, Virginia, has established this scholarship to assist one or more outstanding intellectual property law students each year.

The Smolen Plevy Scholarship

Founded by 1977 graduates Jason Smolen and Alan Plevy, the law firm Smolen Plevy provides representation and counsel to businesses, families, and individuals. Smolen Plevy has endowed a scholarship that will be used to help defray the out-of-state tuition expense for one or more entering first-year students coming to George Mason from outside Virginia.

Mary Fischer Doyle Public Service Scholarship

In memory of Administrative Appeals Judge Mary Fischer Doyle, the George Mason University School of Law, with the collaboration of alumnus Administrative Appeals Judge David Phillips, JD, '84, and alumnus Robert Doyle, JD, '88, has established this scholarship fund out of which awards will be made to one or more evening students who work for state, local, or federal agencies.

The Dean Engle Memorial Scholarship

is awarded to a current student in high academic standing who also demonstrates dedication to the law school and the practice of law. This scholarship memorializes former George Mason School of Law Professor and Associate Dean Charles Engle, who served with great distinction for three decades. Dean Engle was highly regarded as an outstanding professor of civil procedure and Virginia practice. He also was instrumental in advancing the reputation of the school by imposing and supporting strict academic standards and actively promoting our young law school in the Washington, D.C., area legal community.

The Curran and Whittington Scholarship in Trial Advocacy

This scholarship is awarded to the second- or third-year law student who places first in the GMUSL Trial Advocacy Intramural competition held each fall.  

Dr. Lawrence Cranberg Scholarship Endowment in Science and the Law

Awarded to one or more students pursuing a degree at George Mason and who hold a PhD in a science such as physics, chemistry, or biology.

The Banner & Witcoff Intellectual Property Law Scholarship

Banner & Witcoff, Ltd., an intellectual property law firm with offices in Washington, Boston, Chicago, and Portland, Oregon, has established a scholarship in the amount of $5,000 to be awarded to an outstanding intellectual property law student.

Venable Foundation Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded to an incoming first-year student with superior academic credentials and an interest in public service work.

David and Carrie Jolly Scholarship for Working Professionals at Mason Law

Awarded to an incoming first-year, part-time Juris Doctor candidate who has excellent academic and professional credentials and who is engaged in a professional full-time job.

Craig Young and Shirley Keisler Scholarship 

Awarded to an incoming, first-year student with excellent academic credentials. 

Philip H. Dorsey, II Law Library Scholarship Fund

This fund provides a scholarship award to a student pursuing a degree at the law school who works, or worked during the academic year immediately prior to the scholarship award, at the Law Library.

Fellowship Programs:

Community Scholarship Programs:

A number of outside organizations, including local bar and community associations, law firms, and other groups sponsor scholarship programs for law students. Many of these scholarships are targeted at women and minorities. As we become aware of these programs, we will post the information under Community Scholarship Resources .

Questions concerning these fellowships and additional sources of scholarship funding should be directed to the Office of Admissions.