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Information for ILSA Journal Candidates

Journal membership is a two-step process: 1) qualification for the ILSA Journal Summer Candidacy Program, and 2) completion of the ILSA Journal Summer Candidacy Program.

Step One: Qualification - You can join ILSA Journal's Summer Candidacy Program in one of three ways:

• Grade-on - (Rising 2Ls only) - Twice each year, the Dean's office will email all students a waiver form and a GPA calculation guide. Grade-on eligibility requirements consist of the following: (1) a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or greater with a GPA of 3.1 or greater in either semester; or (2) a grade of B+ or greater in either Legal Research and Writing I or II with a cumulative GPA of 2.8 or greater. If you meet either of the eligibility requirements, you can receive an automatic invitation to ILSA Journal’s Summer Candidacy Program.

In early summer, the Dean sends to ILSA Journal a list of people who indicate they would like to receive candidacy information from ILSA Journal. You must put a signed waiver form on file at the Dean's office to receive this invitation.

• Write-on - (Rising 2Ls and rising 3Ls) - In spring or early summer, all students are invited to participate in a write-on competition. You write a closed memorandum that is evaluated by ILSA Journal's Board of Editors. If the memorandum is of ILSA Journal quality and you have a 2.5 cumulative GPA, you will receive an invitation to the ILSA Journal's summer candidacy program.
• Translation - (Rising 2Ls and rising 3Ls) - In spring or early summer, all Spanish-speakers are invited to participate in ILSA Journal's translation competition. You translate a short memorandum and your translation work is evaluated by ILSA Journal's Board of Editors. If your translation work is of ILSA Journal quality and you have a 2.5 cumulative GPA, you will receive an invitation to the ILSA Journal's summer candidacy program.

Step Two: Completion - Everyone who accepts our invitation to the ILSA Journal's Summer Candidacy Program (grade-on, write-on, or translation) will spend your summer writing a 20-25 page research paper on a topic of international law. You may select your own topic and writing guidelines are provided. A member of our Board of Editors serves as your personal editor for the summer to answer questions as you work.

At the end of the summer or in early fall, ILSA Journal's Board of Editors evaluates your project. If your paper is of C+ or better quality, you become a Junior Staff Member of the ILSA Journal.

The ILSA Journal conducts bluebook and citation training for new members in the fall when everyone returns to campus. We do not schedule classes during the summer.

The paper you write can be submitted to satisfy NSU Law's writing requirement, and at your option it will also be considered for publication in the ILSA Journal.

• Academic Credit - As an ILSA Journal Junior Staff Member, you can elect to receive NSU Law credit: 1/2 credit in Fall Semester and 1/2 credit in Winter Semester for a total of 1 ILSA Journal credit during your first membership year. If you choose to spend a second year with ILSA Journal, you will be Senior Staff Member or Board of Editors member and eligible for additional credit or tuition remission, depending on your position.
• Writing Requirement - You can submit your Summer Candidacy paper to fulfill NSU Law's writing requirement (usually this requirement is otherwise filled by taking a seminar class). ILSA Journal will help you arrange with a professor for writing requirement review.
• Time Commitment - The ILSA Journal is a significant extracurricular activity. Junior Staff Members sign an ILSA Journal contract committing to working two (2) office hours per week, to attending ILSA Journal's training/orientation meetings, to attending ILSA Journal's Final Edits (where we give articles a final review and assemble them for our books), to meeting routine deadlines for article preparation work, and to attending mandatory events that might be scheduled from time to time.
• Career Development - Some On-Campus Interview (OCI) employers require publication membership, and many prefer it. You can check with the Career Development office for a list of employers who want to see a publication membership on your resume.
• Resume Development - As a summer candidate, you will be invited to list your ILSA Journal affiliation on your resume.
• Publication Opportunity- You can ask the Board of Editors to consider your Summer Candidate paper for publication in ILSA Journal. ILSA Journal, by contract with ILSA, prepares each issue to feature 20-30% student work. In recent years we have published between 4 and 8 member articles each year.
• Travel Opportunity - As a Board of Editors member in your second year, you will be considered for travel to Washington, D.C., New York, N.Y., and other locations for ILSA conferences.
• Specialized Training - All Junior Staff Members are invited to express a preference for bluebooking, source-pulling (legal research), computer work, and/or text editing. ILSA Journal provides all materials and training to help you build skills in your work area. Legal employers may be especially interested in your ability to research international legal materials; your proficiency in word processing; or your proofreading skills.
• Other Benefits - ILSA Journal members receive access to the private ILSA Journal office for study and work; access to the ILSA Journal outline bank; information about other journals' publication opportunities; information about writing competitions; and advance information about other universities' study-abroad programs.

Feel free to call us at 954-262-6026 or email ilsa.journal.novasoutheastern@gmail.com to speak to anyone on our current staff. Don't be shy! We enjoy talking about what we do.