Print

Human Rights Internship Program and Other Summer Fellowships

Columbia also finds summer jobs at human rights and public interest law organizations. Some Columbia students start their public interest careers through these fellowships, while others lay the foundation for pro bono work in the corporate sector. Now in its twenty-second year, Columbia's Human Rights Internship Program (HRIP) is one of the foremost internship programs for American law students.

Each summer, Columbia funds internships for its law students to work with human rights advocates in the United States and more than 55 countries abroad. Interns select their own placements in consultation with the Center for Public Interest Law or with other Law School faculty. Columbia faculty members and leading human rights advocates provide intensive training and orientation to prepare the interns for their summer placements.  The most competitive organizations around the world welcome Columbia interns because of the HRIP's long history and reputation.

In addition to guaranteed summer funding for second-year law students, Columbia also provides stipends to first-year law students through the Public Service Fellowship Program to work at public interest organizations and government agencies throughout the United States.

Ten Arts Law Fellows, sponsored by the Kernochan Center for Law, Media, and the Arts, intern in the legal departments of the leading performance and visual arts institutions in the United States. Several private firms that specialize in civil rights, environmental justice, employment discrimination, and workers' rights have created summer associate positions and split summer opportunities exclusively for Columbia students.

For a full descriptive list of summer programs and funding opportunities for public interest work at Columbia, please click here.