Visiting Scholar Application Info
1. Cornell University Law School recognizes two categories of non-faculty visitors:
- Visiting Scholar—generally those with a faculty appointment at their home institution or equivalent professional status (e.g., experienced jurists, government officials, and senior practitioners); and
- Visiting Researcher—generally Ph.D. degree candidates, younger professionals and others who are at the beginning of a promising legal career.
2. Who is eligible to apply:In general, Cornell Law School does not accept visiting scholars or researchers unless the applicant is the nominee under an exchange agreement with a partner school, or a Cornell Law School faculty member has invited them and has confirmed that he or she wishes to collaborate with them.
Each year, Cornell Law School accepts a very small number of visitors (typically no more than 2 or 3) who do not fall into the two categories listed in the previous paragraph.
3. Deadline for ApplicationsApril 1st--visits to begin the following August–December.
September 1st--visits to begin the following January to July.
4. Application ProcedureAll prospective visiting scholars and researchers who fall within one of the above categories are requested to supply all of the following information:
- a completed application form (request from Contact, below);
- a current curriculum vitae;
- a one-page description of intended research project;
- two letters of recommendation; and
- a TOEFL score or other documentation of English-language proficiency, if not a native English speaker. For TOEFL exams, applicants generally are expected to have scores of 600+ for paper-based tests, 250+ for computer-based tests, or 100+ for the Internet-Based Test.
5. General Conditions of Visiting at Cornell Law SchoolCornell Law School ordinarily does not have funds to support travel to and from Ithaca, or to support living expenses while scholars are in residence. Every accepted scholar must have sufficient financial support for the visit and must certify this as a part of the application for a U.S. visa.
There is very limited working space for visiting scholars at this time. Every effort will be made to provide scholars with either shared office space, or if that is not available, a dedicated carrel in the law school library.
Scholars have full use of the law school library, as well as the electronic databases to which Cornell Law School subscribes. Scholars who wish to use the resources of Cornell University that are outside of the law school must inquire concerning the conditions of such use.
Scholars may audit law school classes, with the approval of the professor.
Scholars are primarily responsible for locating suitable housing, but the law school’s International Programs office and the Cornell University International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) can provide some information in that regard. Please see the ISSO website.
Contact:All persons interested in being a visiting scholar, and who have not already received an official invitation, should contact:
Larry S. Bush
Executive Director
Clarke Center for International and Comparative Legal Studies
Cornell Law School
107 Myron Taylor Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853-4901, U.S.A.
(Tel) +1-607-255-3014
(Fax) +1-607-255-7193
E-mail: lsb13@cornell.edu