UCSD - IICAS - Human Rights Fellowship

2009 IICAS Human Rights Fellowship
Application Procedures

University of California Human Rights Fellowship
Institute for International, Comparative, and Area Studies, UC San Diego

The Institute for International, Comparative, and Area Studies is pleased to announce the annual competition for student fellowships with human rights organizations. Fellows will receive $3,500 each. The fellowship is available to students from several U.C. campuses. Registered students at U.C. Berkeley, Hastings College of the Law, U.C. Santa Cruz, U.C. Irvine, and U.C. San Diego are eligible. Two fellowships in Social Documentary are available for registered students at U.C. Santa Cruz.

These awards will enable students to carry out clearly defined fieldwork, domestically or internationally, with human rights organizations related to a student's area of study. The purpose of the fellowship is to provide students with an opportunity to contribute to the work of human rights organizations while also gaining practical experience that may influence the students' areas of research or academic focus. The fellowship program welcomes multi-disciplinary approaches to human rights fieldwork. Students are encouraged to publish the results of their fieldwork. Preference will be given to graduate students and returning students. Prior recipients of Human Rights Center fellowships are not eligible.

The Fellowships

The human rights fellowships are student-initiated, i.e., students must identify the governmental or non-governmental organizations with whom they will work, the human rights issue to be addressed, and the parameters, objectives, goals, and expected outcomes of their proposed fieldwork.

The fellowship includes:
  • an orientation to prepare fellows for their summer fieldwork (early May)
  • a stipend to support their fieldwork
  • an informal get together upon the fellows' return from the field (late September)
  • a formal conference held during the fall semester (early November)
  • a formal report due at the end of the year

All events will take place at the Human Rights Center, U.C. Berkeley. Travel stipends will be available for fellows traveling to Berkeley to attend these events. Please speak with IICAS Director Gershon Shafir.

The Application Procedure

A complete application includes:

  1. A completed application cover sheet.
  2. A curriculum vitae/resume, indicating all experience (academic studies, fieldwork, volunteer/paid work) relevant to the fellowship
  3. Statement of Purpose (2-5 pages maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font), describing your interest in the award. This section of the application should address the following questions:
    • What human rights issues will be addressed?
    • Why is this a critical issue?
    • How do you propose to address this issue (methodology)?
    • Why are you interested in addressing this issue? Do you have a particular interest/expertise/experience?
    • What are the objectives/goals/expected outcomes of your proposed fieldwork?
    • How will these outcomes be measured or evaluated?
    • How will the fellowship build on your current academic interests?
    • What role will the fellowship play in your long-term career plans?
    • How will your fieldwork contribute to the sponsoring organization's ongoing mission/goals in the local area?
  4. Two letters of recommendation from faculty members who are in a position to affirm the value of the fellowship in the context of your academic work and interests. Letters may be sent under separate cover to the address below or via e-mail to mssalinas@ucsd.edu.
  5. Letter of support from the sponsoring governmental or non-governmental organization detailing the mission/goals of the organization and how your proposed fieldwork will contribute to its ongoing work.

Items 1-3 (the completed cover sheet, CV, and personal statements) must be submitted in hard copy. Items 4 and 5 (letters) can be submitted electronically.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Information on previous years' recipients may be found at http://www.hrcberkeley.org/

For more application information see the FAQ on the IICAS website or contact:

Dr. Gershon Shafir
Director, Institute for International, Comparative, and Area Studies (IICAS)
University of California, San Diego
Eleanor Roosevelt College Administrative Building #112
La Jolla, CA 92093-0539
(858) 822-5295
gshafir@ucsd.edu

Human Research Protections Program

If you intend to use the fellowship grant to conduct research that you will include in your thesis or dissertation, you should consider whether approval from the Human Research Protections Program (HRPP) is necessary. For more information, please speak with your faculty advisor or visit HRPP's website at http://irb.ucsd.edu/.

Deadline for Applications and All Supporting Documents: Monday, March 9, 2009 at 4:00 PM. Submit your application to:

 

Martha S. Salinas
IICAS, UCSD MC 0539
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0539
mssalinas@ucsd.edu

For personal deliveries, please bring your application to IICAS at Eleanor Roosevelt College Administrative Building, Suite 100.

Applicants will be notified by the first week in April.

 

 

  Institute for International, Comparative, and Area Studies (IICAS), Mail Code 0539, 9500 Gilman Drive 
  La Jolla, CA 92093-0539 Tel 858.822.5297 / Fax 858.822.5296 © 2006 UC San Diego

 

 

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