One of the Human Rights Program’s core requirements is the human rights internship course, HR 250, which is offered every semester. Undergraduate student internships are available at a wide variety of organizations in NYC, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Human Rights Watch, the Urban Justice Center, and the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, to name just a few.
Hunter student Maira Nolasco did an internship with the Maysles Cinema during her senior year. While there, she co-curated a series on photography called Beyond the Image. The series included documentary film screenings and panel discussions with director Albert Maysles, photographer Bruce Davidson, and journalist and human rights activist Jimmie Briggs.
“There is a great sense of communal effort among the people who work at the cinema,” she recalled. The curators, all interns, were encouraged to collaborate together “while incorporating our personal interests.”
Waleed Alhariri, a Hunter junior, undertook an internship with Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North African Division, focusing on Yemen. “The internship was an amazing opportunity,” he said. “I helped investigate disappearances, illegal detentions, and the mistreatment of protesters.”
To assist students in finding a meaningful internship, the Human Rights Program has put together an internship guide that lists a broad range of nongovernmental organizations in NYC, including organizations working on such issues as: children’s rights, economic and social rights, the rights of immigrants and refugees, international justice, LGBT rights, national security, press freedom. prison conditions and women’s rights.
The human rights internship course, HR 250, is offered during Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer semesters on a credit/no credit basis. It is limited to students who are pursuing the minor or certificate in Human Rights, or the CUNY Baccalaureate in Human Rights.
To apply for an internship, students are generally required to submit a resume and cover letter, and sometimes a writing sample and list of references. If you are a student who is interested in undertaking a human rights internship, it is best to contact the director of the Human Rights Program the semester prior to the planned internship to get advice about where, when, and how to apply.