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Summer Internships - Application Information

The MIT Program on Human Rights and Justice (PHRJ) is pleased to announce fully-funded summer internship opportunities for students at MIT. The awards are available to current undergraduate and graduate students who will be full-time students in 2009-10. The internships, usually between 8 and 12 weeks, can be arranged with non-governmental or inter-governmental organizations, social movements, or business organizations concerned with issues related to human rights, justice and sustainable development, broadly conceived. The organizations may range from those dealing with human rights through advocacy and policy (such as Human Rights Watch or Physicians for Human Rights) to those engaging in direct action to change human rights conditions at the grass roots level (such as the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights). The purpose of the internships is to provide MIT students the opportunity to study human rights issues first-hand at the field level or through applied research. This year the theme for the PHRJ Internships is "Human Rights, the Environment and Environmental Justice".

The PHRJ Summer Internships provide modest stipends for use towards travel and living expenses, a total not exceeding $4,000. Of this sum, one thousand dollars will be paid upon completion and presentation of a short internship report and an oral presentation about the activities, the host organization and the contribution to the intern's academic life. Oral presentations will take place in the fall.

Students are encouraged to identify organizations through their own initiative. The PHRJ staff can assist interested students in obtaining information on potential organizations for internships around the world.

To apply, the following documents must be received, along with a cover letter, by May 11th, 2009 via email to phrj (at) mit.edu:

• a title and a short description of the project and the nature of activities to be performed during the internship;
• a paragraph of how the experience will contribute to the applicant’s academic life at MIT or professional life thereafter;
• a paragraph explaining how the internship links to human rights and sustainable development;

5. a preliminary budget, including any other sources of support;
6. two letters of recommendation, at least one of which is from an MIT faculty member in support of the applicant’s intellectual and emotional suitability to perform the internship.
N.B. If the internship experience is intended to qualify as fieldwork toward a graduate thesis, students are asked to provide a letter of support from their thesis advisor. This may count towards one of the two letters of recommendation.

For further information, please contact the PHRJ at phrj@mit.edu.