About the Michigan Faculty Fellows Program
The University of Michigan Law School has a long tradition of excellence in educating future law professors. The two-year, in-residence Michigan Faculty Fellows Program is specifically designed for highly promising junior scholars with an outstanding academic record to prepare for the academic job market. Fellows are treated like assistant professors of law (akin to a visiting assistant professor or VAP), as they focus principally on developing their scholarship and research agenda, while also participating in the intellectual life of the Law School and engaging in select teaching opportunities exclusively calibrated to enhance each Fellow’s job market candidacy and future career as law professor.
The Michigan Faculty Fellows program is dedicated to fostering the professional development of each Fellow with respect to each of the three main elements of being a law professor.
Scholarship
The primary and overriding focus of the program is the production of scholarship to enter the job market successfully in the fall of the second fellowship year. To this end, two Michigan faculty members are appointed as dedicated scholarly mentors for each Fellow, who will produce at least one significant piece of original scholarshi pand develop their broader research agenda under such guidance. Fellows will have the opportunity to workshop their paper with faculty in preparation for their job talk presentation.
Teaching
Faculty Fellows have the opportunity to teach a seminar related to their research or teaching interests during the first year, and a lecture course during their the second year—each chosen in consultation with their faculty mentors and the Associate Dean for Academic Programming. These teaching opportunities are not intended to fill any Law School teaching need and can be adapted after appropriate consultation to suit each Fellow’s individual situation.
Intellectual Life
Faculty Fellows are designated “Assistant Professor of Law” and participate fully in the intellectual life of the Law School, attending workshops, presenting their work in a faculty forum, and submitting scholarship to the Law School’s annual “Junior Scholars’ Conference.”
-
Compensation
Fellows receive an annual stipend and benefits, an annual research allowance, a one-time relocation allowance, and a separate travel allowance for the AALS job market. The fellowship is open to anyone holding a US law degree (or, in highly exceptional circumstances, the international equivalent).
-
Placement
The mentors of each faculty fellow, along with the Law School’s Academic Careers Committee, coach Fellows throughout the job market. Beginning with our first “graduate” of the Michigan Faculty Fellowship program in 2021, all of our Fellows have placed successfully in tenure track Assistant Professor positions, accepting offers at the following schools:
- American University Washington College of Law
- University of Georgia School of Law
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Law
- University of Iowa College of Law
- University of Michigan Law School (2)
- University of South Carolina School of Law (with courtesy appt. in Dept. of Pol. Science)
- University of Texas at Austin School of Law
-
How to Apply
To apply, submit:
- An outline of your proposed research (up to 1,000 words)
- Resume
- Transcript
- Two letters of recommendation
- Up to two publications or writing samples (preferably solo-authored), and
- Your proposed seminar and preferred course(s)
The Law School will consider applications for academic year 2027-2028 on a rolling basis beginning in September 2026. We encourage the submission of applications (and reference letters) from September 1 through October 15, 2026, but will consider applications until the positions are filled. Please submit your materials (and letters of recommendation directly) to Jenny Rickard, Director of Administrative Operations.
The Law School will announce decisions by March 1 for positions beginning in the fall.
The Michigan Faculty Fellows Program gave me the opportunity to build confidence as a scholar, develop my broader research agenda, and discover valuable scholarship outside my field that enriched my own work and added to my passion for this career.
