Each organization listed below accepts a UConn human rights student as an intern every summer. To read more about each placement, eligibility requirements, funding, and the type of student they seek, please read on.
To learn more about this program and how to apply, please visit our Summer Internship Fellow Program page.
Amnesty International USA
Amnesty International was founded on the idea that ordinary people around the world can expose and end human rights abuses by engaging in advocacy that targets human rights violators. Amnesty’s work on individuals at Risk (IAR) focuses on individuals, families, communities, and organizations around the world who have had their human rights violated or are under threat of human rights violations.
Location: Remote via Boston, MA
Web: http://www.amnestyusa.org/
Eligibility: Open to UConn human rights majors and minors; priority given to human rights majors.
Funding: A $5,000 scholarship is provided to assist with expenses related to the internship.
This eight-week learning immersion experience is a placement within the Individuals at Risk and Human Rights Education Unit.
The Individuals at Risk-Human Rights Education (IAR-HRET) Unit is centered on ethical campaigning with individuals, holding relationships with rights holders and their families, networks of members and supporters who sign up to lead in ongoing advocacy and do everything possible to highlight the abuse and bring about change. Through IAR-HRET, our goal is to cultivate and foster member engagement and demonstrate support for member-led initiatives focused on human rights impact and positive activists' experiences.
This internship will focus on building a list of potential partners and support the development of resources that will be used in our IAR Advocacy Toolbox. The position requires an individual who can work independently with flexibility and attention to detail, and a desire to be hands on and roll up your sleeves.
Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism
The ADL Center on Extremism is the foremost authority on extremism, terrorism and hate, both foreign and domestic. They provide resources, expertise and educational briefings that enable law enforcement officers, public officials and community leaders, as well as internet and technology companies to identify and counter emerging threats.
Location: Remote, with the option for the intern to go into the ADL regional office in CT
Web: https://www.adl.org/who-we-are/our-organization/advocacy-centers/center-on-extremism
Eligibility: Open to UConn human rights majors and minors.
Funding: A $5,000 scholarship is provided to assist with expenses related to the internship.
The Center on Extremism offers an eight-week learning immersion experience with a non-profit human rights organization dedicated to identifying and disrupting extremists threats.
Bellwether International
Bellwether International is a global nonprofit taking bold, inspired, and informed action to disrupt the cycle of genocide and create genocide resistant societies, empowering communities to live in peace. Through the pillars of education, gender equality, aid to displaced persons, and advocacy, they responds to pre- and post- genocide communities where religious and belief minorities are threatened and targeted across the globe.
Location: Hybrid; mostly remote opportunity with select day trips to New York
Web: https://www.bellwetherngo.com/
Eligibility: Open to UConn human rights majors and minors.
Funding: A $5,000 scholarship is provided to assist with expenses related to the internship.
Bellwether International offers a minimum eight-week learning immersion experience with a non-profit human rights organization dedicated to atrocity prevention.
Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC)
The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre works to advance human rights in business and eradicate abuse. They work to build corporate transparency, strengthen corporate accountability, and empower advocates.
Location: Remote
Web: https://www.business-humanrights.org/
Eligibility: Open to UConn human rights majors and minors.
Funding: A $5,000 scholarship is provided to assist with expenses related to the internship.
The BHRRC offers an eight-week learning immersion experience with an international non-profit human rights organization dedicated to advancing human rights in business. Students with an interest in international human rights in business, and with strong research skills should consider this internship.
This internship is sponsored by Dodd Impact.
Croatian Mediation Association and Mediation Center
The Croatian Mediation Association and Mediation Center was founded as part of an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) initiative of the Croatian Mediation Association and domestic commercial courts and business organizations to enhance access to justice through ADR.
Location: Zagreb, Croatia
Web: https://medijacija.hr/
Eligibility: Open to UConn human rights majors and Law Students
Funding: A $5,000 scholarship is provided to assist with expenses related to the internship.
Two internships will be awarded to full-time students at the University of Connecticut. Undergraduates and Law students are encouraged to apply. Students will live in the capital city of Zagreb for the 4 week summer internship in May/June 2025. Roundtrip air travel, local lodging and living expenses will be covered during the internship period for students selected. Students involved in this internship will observe first-hand the practice of alternative dispute resolution in an emerging democracy through daily involvement with the activities of the Center.
The Child Labor Coalition
The Child Labor Coalition (CLC) exists to serve as a national network for the exchange of information about child labor; provide a forum and a unified voice on protecting working minors and ending child labor exploitation; and develop informational and educational outreach to the public and private sectors to combat child labor abuses and promote progressive initiatives and legislation.
Location: In Person, Washington DC
Web: https://stopchildlabor.org/
Eligibility: Open to UConn Majors
Funding: A scholarship of, at minimum, $5,000 is provided to assist with expenses related to the internship
The Child Labor Coalition offers a minimum six-week learning immersion experience with a non-profit human rights organization dedicated to the elimination of child labor.
The Education Project
The Education Project is an entirely volunteer-run organization providing a platform that connects professionals and college students with students in grades K-12. Through different online mediums (e.g. Zoom, WebEx, Google Meets, etc.), students receive a one-on-one education coupled with an irreplaceable mentorship experience. The Education Project was founded in March 2020 amidst the pandemic with the mission to provide high-quality, remote tutoring and mentorship to K-12 students in need across the nation, completely free of cost. The volunteer tutors are primarily college students, but also include recent grads, teachers, and other professionals.
Location: Remote
Web: https://theeduproject.net/
Eligibility: Open to UConn human rights majors and minors.
Funding: A $5,000 scholarship is provided to assist with expenses related to the internship.
The Education Project is a twelve-week learning immersion experience with a volunteer-run non-profit human rights organization dedicated to advancing human rights in education.
IRIS-Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services
Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services is a non-profit agency whose mission is to help refugees and other displaced people establish new lives, strengthen hope, and contribute to the vitality of Connecticut’s communities. Welcoming persecuted people from other countries is America’s most noble tradition. IRIS helps newcomers on the road to self-sufficiency by providing a broad range of services during their transition to life in the United States.
Location, In person & remote, New Haven, CT
Web: https://irisct.org/
Eligibility: Open to UConn human rights majors and minors.
Funding: A $5,000 scholarship is provided to assist with expenses related to the internship.
This twelve week internship is a placement within either the Case Management, Community Engagement, Education, or Employment Department at IRIS, which all respectively provide robust support services for immigrant and refugee families. Must be reliable and flexible to the needs of the program. Our community is diverse. Cultural sensitivity, effective cross-cultural communication, and interpersonal skills are necessary.