Columbia Law School Human Rights LL.M. Fellowship 2023/2024 for International Students

Columbia Law School is pleased to announce its 2023/2024 Human Rights LL.M. Fellowship for individuals with extraordinary potential in the field of international human rights. 

Application Deadline: 18th December 2022

To be taken at (country): USA

About the Award: The Columbia Law School Fellowship is designed to support students pursuing an LL.M. degree at Columbia who show exceptional commitment and potential to use their education to become innovators and leaders in human rights practice and/or academia.

Type: Masters, Fellowship (Academic)

Eligibility:

• To be eligible for the Columbia Law School Human Rights LL.M. Fellowship, applicants must first meet the admission criteria and be admitted to the LL.M. Program at Columbia Law School.
• Applicants must demonstrate experience in international human rights and a commitment to a career in the field, whether in academia and/or human rights practice.
• Candidates from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and candidates who face impediments to education and leadership because of their race, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic background, gender, or sexual orientation are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Applicants from law schools in other jurisdictions must hold a first degree in law to be eligible for admission. A degree in a field other than law, even if followed by a master’s degree in law, generally does not suffice for admission. Applicants who have earned a law degree by correspondence course work or distance learning are not eligible for admission.

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award:

• LL.M. Human Rights Fellows will receive tailored skills and career mentoring in both practice and academic scholarship from Human Rights Institute faculty, staff, and advisers; be invited to special events with leading human rights advocates and scholars; and be afforded the opportunity to participate in the Human Rights Institute’s cutting-edge research projects.
• Fellows will also be given special consideration for admission to Columbia’s Human Rights Clinic, an innovative course where students learn to be strategic, creative, and critical human rights advocates while pursuing social justice in partnership with civil society and communities, and while advancing human rights methodologies and scholarship.
• Fellows are expected to devote a significant part of their studies while at Columbia to human rights, and to take an active part in the Law School’s vibrant human rights community.

Duration of Programme: 2 years

How to Apply: A complete Columbia Law School Human Rights LL.M. Fellowship Application consists of:

1. A completed application for admission to the LL.M. program through LSAC;
2. A separate, short essay of one to two pages, describing the applicant’s qualifications for the fellowship. Applicants should discuss their current and previous human rights work, interest in and commitment to the field, career goals, and human rights vision. The essay should be uploaded to the Human Rights LL.M. Fellowship section of the LSAC online application;
3. Letters of Recommendation that speak to the applicant’s prior work and future potential as a human rights advocate, scholar, and/or practitioner. The two letters of recommendation submitted for the LL.M. application may also be used for the Fellowship if they comment on the applicant’s human rights work and commitment. In the case that one or both of the letters of recommendation for the LL.M. Program application do not speak to the human rights aspects of the applicant’s background and future interests, the applicant may submit a third letter of recommendation through the LSAC online application from a professor or human rights practitioner who can comment knowledgeably about her or his human rights commitment, experience, and future plans; and
4. A completed Application for Financial Assistance as part of the LSAC online application. In providing a candid picture of your financial resources, you are enabling the selection committee to determine the appropriate level of assistance to provide to each Fellow and to maximize the number of Fellowships it can award each year.

Visit Programme Webpage for Details