Funding Resources
ISHR provides various types of funding support to our students, including research, internship, and conference stipends, as well as academic prizes and awards.
Additionally, Columbia offers a number of fellowships that are relevant to human rights majors and minors, including public service, research, and travel grants. Prizes are also awarded each year for outstanding academic achievements and leadership in extracurricular activities. Information about fellowships can be found on the Columbia College and General Studies fellowship pages.
Research Stipend
The research stipend is intended to offset the costs associated with human rights research undertaken by Columbia College and General Studies human rights majors, minors, or concentrators. Students must be in good academic standing and must comply with all university academic integrity and responsible conduct of research policies, including Institutional Review Board approval (if applicable). To apply, please submit this application form and supporting materials to [email protected] with the subject line “UHRP research stipend.” Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
In addition to the UHRP research stipend, Columbia College and the School of General Studies offer research funding to students, working on their senior thesis. For more information on how to apply and relevant deadlines, please visit the Columbia College and General Studies thesis funding pages.
Human Rights Research Award
The ISHR Human Rights Research Award provides ISHR students with an opportunity to gain valuable research experience, while supporting the work of Columbia faculty engaged in human rights-related research. Students who receive the award are expected to complete approximately 80-120 hours of research assistance during the academic year. The research opportunities selected for each academic year are circulated to students in the Fall semester. ISHR will award one stipend per research opportunity in the amount of $1,750.
Internship Stipend
The undergraduate internship stipend provides support to select undergraduate students to undertake an unpaid internship that is related to the field of human rights. All active CC and GS human rights majors and minors in the semester of their internship (and in the case of summer internships, students returning in the fall after the internship) are eligible to apply. To apply, students should submit the Undergraduate Internship application. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, contingent on the availability of funding, with a priority deadline one month prior to the semester the internship will take place.
Student Volunteer Program
Through the Student Volunteer Program (SVP), human rights students can apply for eight-week funded summer internships with alumni of the Human Rights Advocates Program (HRAP). These internships provide students the opportunity to gain field experience and engage in the work of grassroots human rights advocacy efforts while enabling HRAP to support its alumni's advocacy work around the globe.
Myra Kraft Prize for Exceptional Practical Experience in Human Rights Advocacy
The Myra Kraft Awards honor the memory of Myra Kraft, beloved wife of Columbia College trustee Robert Kraft. Myra Kraft devoted her professional career to philanthropic pursuits, touching lives across the world, from Boston to small towns in northern Russia to Israel to South America and beyond. Two prizes are given annually for Academic Achievement and Exceptional Practical Experience in Human Rights Advocacy. Click here to see past winners and learn how to apply. The $3,500 Prize for Exceptional Practical Experience is awarded to the rising Columbia College senior majoring in human rights who submits the best proposal for a summer or term-time human rights internship, and is intended to be used to help defray the expenses of the internship. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year, with priority deadlines of early December for Spring term submissions, and early April for Summer submissions.
Miller Human Rights Award
The Miller Human Rights Award supports graduate and undergraduate human rights students who seek to deepen their experience through study abroad or volunteer work. The placement should provide substantive and thoughtful engagement, through a human rights lens, with communities experiencing socio-economic inequities, forms of discrimination, or other types of institutional or societal marginalization. Applicants with placements in the Global South are especially encouraged to apply, although the nature of the work and its potential for addressing a significant need in a marginalized community is prioritized over a specific location/country. The Miller Award will support up to two undergraduate students per academic year. Click here to see past winners and learn how to apply.
The Maurice J. and Fay B. Karpf Peace Prize Award
The Karpf Peace Prize Award was established through a bequest from the estate of Fay Karpf. It recognizes an ISHR student for their work “involving original contributions to the subject of the promotion of universal peace, goodwill, tolerance, and understanding among the peoples of the earth.” M.A. and undergraduate students currently enrolled in an ISHR degree program are eligible to apply. The selection committee will consider projects undertaken during an internship/volunteer or study abroad placement. Selected students produce a substantive piece of writing during the course of their placement and commit to sharing their work with the ISHR community upon completion of the project. Only returning students are eligible to apply. Click here to view submission requirements and learn how to apply. Award recipients will receive a stipend in the amount of $5,000.
Conference Stipend
Human rights majors and minors in Columbia College and the School of General Studies who are invited to present a paper at a conference related to their academic work in human rights may be eligible to receive a reimbursement of up to $500 for conference expenses - such as registration fees, transportation, or accommodation. To apply, students should send this application form and supporting documentation to [email protected] with the subject line “UHRP conference stipend.” Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Academic and Professional Development Funding
The Academic and Professional Development Stipend is intended to support active participation in activities aimed at advancing undergraduate students' research, academic and intellectual development, or professional skills-building in the human rights field. Eligible opportunities could include, among others, training programs, university-NGO partnerships, civil society engagements, roundtables/panels/workshops, and other similar engagements where the student is actively involved or participating in a manner that develops their research, learning, and academic and professional standing. Students can learn more about the stipend and apply with this form. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Myra Kraft Awards Prize for Superior Academic Achievement
This prize is awarded annually to the Columbia College student majoring in human rights who has the highest grade point average and a superior record of academic achievement in Human Rights.
Essay Contest
The annual Human Rights Essay contest aims to encourage and acknowledge students who have written exceptional academic papers that address issues related to human rights. Papers may be written in any discipline or be interdisciplinary. All submissions are reviewed by our Student and Faculty Review Committees. Students currently enrolled in a Columbia University degree program are eligible to apply. Winners receive a cash prize. Click here to read more about the Essay Contest.
Thesis Competition
Human rights students who are currently writing their thesis – or have recently completed their thesis – are invited to participate in a virtual thesis competition. Selected students deliver compelling, 5-minute presentations about their thesis topics. A panel of faculty judges select one graduate and undergraduate winner. In addition, the audience will vote for their favorite presentation. Winners receive a cash prize.
Get Involved
Students looking to develop leadership skills and experience, to build connections with peers outside the classroom, and to spearhead events and initiatives around campus, are encouraged to take advantages of the many extracurricular opportunities offered by the Institute. Learn more below.
The Student Review Committee (SRC) consists of Columbia students pursuing studies in human rights and relevant academic fields, and evaluates paper submissions to ISHR's annual Essay Contest. The SRC ranks and nominates the top student submissions to a Faculty Review Committee, tasked with selecting the contest winners. The committee is an excellent opportunity to learn from other students’ work and expand your human rights network. Learn more here.
RightsViews is a human rights blog published by ISHR with readers and contributors from around the world. Contributing to RightsViews provides students with the opportunity to develop their critical thinking and writing skills, get published, and engage with a greater international human rights community.
The Student Journal for the Study of Human Rights (SJSHR) is a student-run, open-access peer-reviewed journal that showcases students’ research and academic studies in the field of human rights. An interdisciplinary journal, SJSHR is a publishing platform for Columbia undergraduate and graduate students that creates more space and visibility for student work and serves as an educational tool that deepens critical thinking in the field of human rights studies. For more information, please visit their LinkedIn profile.
Professional Developement
ISHR coordinates with alumni, and partners across Columbia and the broader human rights community to offer mentorship support, trainings, and professional development opportunities that complement students' learning in the classroom and prepare them to engage in the field.
The UHRP Alumni Mentorship Initiative (U-HAMI) is a mentoring program that pairs current undergraduate human rights students with recent graduates. Our mentors are alumni with illustrious careers at US-based and international organizations. Through this initiative, students and alumni build relationships that are mutually beneficial and long lasting. Mentees receive career guidance and develop their networks, and mentors share their professional experience and career insight to help pave the way for future human rights advocates and scholars. If you are interested in being paired with a mentor, please fill out this form or send an email to [email protected].
ISHR offers workshops to provide training and professional development to human rights and social justice professionals and students. Workshops address both practical skills and thematic issues and are intended to enhance the work of those engaged in human rights and social justice work. More information about past workshops can be found here.
Topics vary based on the needs and goals expressed by interested participants. We welcome suggestions regarding workshops that would enhance your work. Please email [email protected] if you would like to recommend a workshop.
The internship database includes organizations where ISHR students have completed human rights-related internships over the course of their studies at Columbia University. Both paid and unpaid opportunities are included. The database aims to help students identify internship opportunities and learn from the experiences of fellow students and alumni.
ISHR sends out a weekly newsletter informing students of upcoming professional development opportunities, including job and internship postings, calls for papers, upcoming conferences, and funding opportunities. To receive the newsletter, students can sign up for our listserves.
ISHR also has a database of human rights organizations that maintain active mailing lists, which is an excellent way to learn about professional development opportunities offered by various human rights organizations.