ISHR fosters undergraduate students’ academic and professional development by awarding prizes and stipends, organizing events and activities with human rights practitioners and experts, and connecting students with resources related to the human rights field. Students are also encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities and resources offered by Columbia College and the School of General Studies.
Columbia University Center for Career Education
In addition to professional skills workshops and individual advising sessions, the Center for Career Education (CEE) offers extensive internship and job search resources. Students also have access to LionShare and external career resources. Undergraduate students are encouraged to regularly review the CCE events calendar information about upcoming networking events, skills workshops, career panels, and other opportunities.
Thinking about the next step? Check out CCE's tip sheet What Can You Do with a Degree in Human Rights?
Human Rights Events
ISHR and its student body organize regular events that allow students to deepen their understanding of human rights issues, learn about human rights careers, and expand their professional networks. These include:
- Lectures and brownbags with human rights practitioners and academics
- Alumni Speaker Series
- Human Rights Students Networking Series
- Career and internship panels and discussions
- "Pizza with your Prof" Series
- Graduate Student Research Series
- Film screenings
For additional information, please visit the ISHR events page. To receive email announcements about upcoming events and opportunities, students can sign up for our listserves.
Human Rights Essay Contest
Every spring, ISHR sponsors the Human Rights Essay Contest and Colloquium. The contest aims to encourage and acknowledge students who have written exceptional academic papers that address issues related to human rights.
Cash prizes are awarded and contest winners are invited to present their papers during the human rights student colloquium.
Papers may be written in any discipline or be interdisciplinary. All students currently enrolled in a Columbia University degree program are eligible to apply.
Click here to read more about the Essay Contest.
Additional Resources
Email Announcements
ISHR sends out a weekly email informing students about upcoming professional development opportunities, including job and internship postings, calls for papers, upcoming conferences, and funding opportunities. To receive email announcements about these opportunities and our upcoming events, students can sign up for our mailing lists.
The Morningside Review
The Morningside Review is an online journal published by the Columbia University Undergraduate Writing Program. It features exemplary essays written by first year undergraduates. The journal's Human Rights page features human rights themed essays produced within the program.
Human Rights Organizations
While not required, many students elect to undertake an internship while in the program. Please visit our directory of human rights-focused organizations that maintain active mailing lists. This is just a starting point for your search and is not exhaustive.
