IABA issues one or more scholarships each year to law students in good standing enrolled in an accredited law school in the United States. The scholarships take the form of bursaries paid out of our annual operating budget. We consider the scholarship program to be one of our organization's most valuable contributions to law students who embrace the mission of IABA and can demonstrate their commitment its mission and ideals. Statistics show that increasing numbers of Iranian Americans are enrolling in law schools, graduating with law degrees and embarking on accomplished careers in a variety of fields. IABA consider today's law students as future leaders of our community and is committed to developing its rapport with the Iranian American law student body nationwide, soliciting their input and encouraging their contribution to the organization's initiatives. The scholarship is one part of this larger strategy.

The deadline for this year's scholarship is September 1, 2009

IABA typically invites applications for its scholarship in the spring of each year and announces the award(s) during the ensuing summer. The grantees are selected by the Scholarship Committee. The award amount varies depending on the organization's financial resources, but IABA has for several years now always set aside funds in an amount at least $2,000 annually to fund the scholarship program. The scholarships are designed to recognize the commitment of law students to the advancement of the Iranian American community. The awards are aimed at helping those students who have no access to other external funding sources; accordingly, students who are receiving full funding for education from another organization are not eligible. In order to qualify for consideration as an applicant, scholarship candidates are required to be:
of Iranian Heritage or committed to the advancement of the Iranian American community and IABA's mission;

enrolled in an accredited law school in the United States;

in the position to accept the scholarship in the school year for which it is being awarded; and

a full-time student.

The Application must include:
A duly completed National Scholarship Application Form which is available here;

A detailed Resume outlining the applicant's education, and work and community experience;

Applicant Statement - A statement or essay written by the applicant (no more than two single-sided 1.5 spaced typewritten page) articulating:

how the applicant believes he/she will make a difference as an attorney on issues of concern and interest to the Iranian American community and in advancing IABA's mission, and/or

what influenced the applicant to study law, and why the applicant would like to be an attorney; and
Official Law School and College Transcripts.
In past years the scholarship program has allowed us to learn about the many impressive achievements of Iranian American law students, and their plans and capabilities to further contribute to the advancement of their communities. Please visit this page for information on the announcement of the scholarship for this year and subsequent years, and the invitation to submit an application. Finally, we do our best to disseminate the existence of this scholarship to as many accredited law schools in the US. If your law school does not have information about this scholarship on record, please let us know and we will be happy to pass the information along to the financial aid or equivalent office at your school.

Please electronically send the completed application form, together with the other items required with your application, to IABA's Scholarship Coordinator, Panteha Abdollahi, at scholarship@iaba.us.