IMPORTANT NOTE:
Some opportunities listed below have been, or may be, restructured or cancelled due to COVID. For the most recent update, please consult with the contact listed for each entry.
Some Internationally Oriented Opportunities for Columbia Law School Students
Externships at the UN, NGOs and other organizations (under review for 2021)
The United Nations Externship provides students with a credit-bearing opportunity to learn more about the law and practice of the UN, and the processes of making and implementing international law at the world organization. The program consists of two parts: Fieldwork (typically two-three days per week) dealing with legal matters at a UN or UN-related office, and a weekly seminar at the Law School. Students may also, in conjunction with faculty, structure individual externships at major NGOs and other organizations.
Contact: Cassandre Theano, Assistant Director of Human Rights, [email protected]; Susan Kraham, Director of Externships and Field-Based Learning, [email protected].
Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program
Columbia is one of a handful of schools invited to send students to participate in the Salzburg-Lloyd N. Cutler Fellows Program. During two days in Washington, DC, students engage with leading academics, judges, and practitioners in the fields of private and public international law. They examine critical issues shaping today’s international law agenda, and gain insight into international practice and public service.
Contact: Prof. Matthew Waxman, [email protected].
Summer Internships and Fellowships
Human Rights Internship Program. HRIP provides funding and other support to 1Ls and 2Ls seeking to spend a summer in human rights law-related work throughout the world. Past participants include, among others, lawyers who worked at the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and Yugoslavia; advised indigenous communities in Peru; advocated for prisoners’ rights in Nigeria and Uganda; and represented refugees in Hungary, Malaysia, Mexico, Serbia and South Africa.
Contact: Cassandre Theano, Assistant Director of Human Rights, [email protected]; Iliana Ortega, Coordinator for Summer Programs, [email protected].
Postgraduate Fellowships
Leebron Human Rights Fellowship. Funding is available for graduating Columbia Law School students to spend a post-graduate year, either in the United States or abroad, in pursuit of a career in human rights law. Recipients may take up positions in academic life; in governmental, intergovernmental or nongovernmental organizations or agencies; or as legal practitioners specializing in human rights work.
Contact: Cassandre Theano, Assistant Director of Human Rights, [email protected].
Sandler Human Rights Watch Fellowship. During a year spent at either the New York or Washington, D.C. office of Human Rights Watch, Fellows monitor international human rights developments, conduct on-site investigations, draft reports on human rights conditions, and engage in public human rights advocacy.
Contact: Cassandre Theano, Assistant Director of Human Rights, [email protected]