Internship Scholarships

Our Internship Scholarships support Members of the Inn who are undertaking professional opportunities to improve their prospects of a career at the Bar of England & Wales.

Scholarships are available to support work experience, internships, conference attendance, competition entry, research opportunities and in some cases further study.

There are two separate application processes each year

• Michael Mustill, for opportunities in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution

• Internship, for opportunities in all other fields

• Eligibility

  Eligibility 

  Candidates must meet the following conditions to be eligible to apply for an Internship Scholarship 

  • be a Member of the Inn  
  • intend to practice at the Bar of England & Wales 
  • have not received an offer of pupillage at the Bar of England & Wales.

   

  Candidates are expected to have identified a relevant opportunity before applying, which must commence in the same calendar year. 

  Applications to fund master’s or doctoral degrees will not be considered. 

• Application

  Application

  All applications must be submitted through an online webform, which will display in this section when an application window is open.

  Status (Internship): Open

  Login to Scholarship Applications

  Status (Mustill): Closed

  Applications open (Mustill)	22 September 2025
  Application deadline (Mustill)	3 November 2025
  Interviews (Mustill)	3 December 2025
  Applications open (Internship)	2 April 2026
  Application deadline (Internship)	8 May 2026
  Interviews (Internship)	9 June 2026

• Assessment

  To be awarded a scholarship, a candidate must pass a written and oral assessment.

  For each assessment, evidence is considered against the published assessment criteria.

  Candidates are strongly advised to read our guide to application assessment, selection for interview and scoring (PDF).

  Opportunity

  Has identified a relevant opportunity that will clearly benefit future pupillage applications.

  Advocacy

  Can develop a well-structured, succinct, grammatically correct, and persuasive argument. As a public speaker can communicate clearly, concisely, convincingly and persuasively.

  Motivation to succeed

  Demonstrates a clear interest in the Bar and has got the conviction and ambition to become a barrister. Has taken well considered steps to gain an understanding of the profession.

• Internship Scholarships

  Internship Scholarships

  These scholarships supports Members who are looking to enter any field of practice. 

  In previous years, scholars have received funding for opportunities with Amicus, the ICC in The Hague, the ECHR and the United Nations, to name a few.  

  All scholarships have named awards. Examples include 

  The Sandra Day O’Connor Scholarship

  Awarded for internship opportunities in the United States. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan and served from 1981 until 2006. She was the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States and was an Honorary Bencher of Gray’s Inn.

  The Churchill Scholarship 

  Awarded for opportunities that typically take place outside of the UK and incorporate some aspect of foreign or Commonwealth Law. 

  The David Karmel European Scholarship 

  Awarded for opportunities that incorporate some aspect of the law of Member countries of the European Community. 

  The Graham Challis European Scholarship 

  Awarded for opportunities that incorporate some aspect of the law of Member countries of the European Community. 

• Michael Mustill Scholarships

  Michael Mustill Scholarships

  These scholarships supports Members who are looking to enter the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), with a particular focus on arbitration. 

  This scholarship award is funded in partnership with the International Dispute Resolution Centre (IDRC) to commemorate the life and work of Michael Mustill. The IDRC is one of the world’s leading global facilities at which to conduct arbitrations and other forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution.  

• Policies

  Policies

  Rules applicable to Internship and Michael Mustill Scholarship candidates, including eligibility requirements.

  Application and awarding policy (PDF)

  Reasonable adjustments (PDF)

  Rules applicable to all Members, information about how the Inn is run and access to further details on our policies and guidelines.