Funding

Partial / Stipend

Fellowship•Global

Harvard Law School HRP Summer Fellowships

Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School

Application Deadline

Closed · February 3, 2026

Reopens ~Feb 2027

Official Page

The HRP Summer Fellowships support Harvard Law School students who spend a summer working on human rights with a host organization they arrange themselves. The Human Rights Program, based at the law school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, runs the award and expects each fellow to work at least eight weeks with a nongovernmental or intergovernmental organization advancing human rights and social justice. The program encourages placements with organizations that monitor and respond to human rights violations or work on grassroots mobilization.

Placements are normally outside the United States, and a US-based placement is considered only case by case. Four fellows were named for summer 2026, hosted by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, Partners in Justice International, Corporate Accountability Lab and Minority Rights Group; cohorts since 1999 have been placed across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and international tribunals.

Benefits & funding

  • Summer money reaches the fellow through Harvard Law School’s Summer Public Interest Funding (SPIF), which every fellow must apply for.
  • A student counted as on financial aid receives $6,000 for 280–314 hours over eight weeks, rising in steps to $9,000 for 420 or more hours over twelve weeks.
  • A student not on financial aid receives a flat $4,200, with no extra funding beyond eight weeks.
  • All summer compensation, including outside fellowship money, wages, housing and travel support, counts against a $9,500 cap before the SPIF amount is calculated.
  • Fellows work with a Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising (OPIA) adviser on the placement search and join a required pre-departure training run by the Human Rights Program.
  • The program page publishes no separate HRP stipend figure beyond the SPIF award.

Eligibility

  • Open to returning JD students and SJD students at Harvard Law School only.
  • An application for HLS Summer Public Interest Funding is a necessary condition for taking part.
  • SPIF itself covers JD candidates in their first or second year, JD students in an approved joint degree program, and SJD students in residence in the semesters surrounding the summer; LL.M. students are not eligible for SPIF.
  • The placement must run at least eight weeks with a nongovernmental or intergovernmental human rights organization, and the funding requires at least 280 hours of work over those eight weeks.
  • An international placement is expected; a domestic US placement is considered case by case.
  • The published rules set no nationality, residency, age or gender requirement.

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  • Education required

    Master Enrolled · PhD Enrolled

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Application process

  1. 1
    During the fall, identify possible host organizations and work through logistics such as visas, language, housing and safety.
  2. 2
    Between December and January, apply to the host organizations and book an advising appointment with OPIA.
  3. 3
    Send the Human Rights Program Summer Fellowships application form and a PDF resume to the Human Rights Program by the published deadline; the most recent round closed on 3 February 2026.
  4. 4
    In February and March, complete the SPIF application and its review.
  5. 5
    In March, receive the award decision, then attend the required pre-departure training in the spring.

Program timeline

  1. Fall

    identify host organizations and settle logistics

  2. apply to host organizations and meet an OPIA adviser

    December–January

  3. application form and resume due to the Human Rights Program (most recent published round)

    Feb 3, 2026

  4. SPIF application and review

    February–March

  5. award notifications; required pre-departure training follows in the spring

    March

  6. four fellows announced for summer 2026

    May 12, 2026

  7. Summer

    placement runs at least eight weeks, and up to twelve weeks for full funding

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