1. What is the Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellowship?

2. Who is eligible?

3. What is the Human Rights Resource Center?

4. Where can I do my fellowship?

5. How do I find a host organization?

6. What is the application timeline?

7. Can I talk with former fellows?

8. What are the dates of the program and how flexible are they?

9. Who reviews the applications and makes the decisions?

10. How is the program funded?

11. What if I’m not a U.S. citizen?

12. How many references/letters of recommendation do I need?

13. Are there any language requirements?

14. What costs are covered by the fellowship?

15. What happens if I receive a grant?

16. What is required at the end of the program?

17. How do I get more information?

18. How do I apply?

 

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1. What is the Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellowship?

The Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellowship provides an opportunity for residents of the upper Midwest -- including students, teachers, lawyers, other professionals, community leaders, and activists -- to undertake practical experience in human rights organizations. The Fellowship Program is designed to promote human rights by providing a practical experience in at least one of the many aspects of human rights work world-wide. The fellowship placement should provide both practical experience for the individual and assistance to the organization. Individuals undertake a field-based internship of approximately 10 weeks with a local, regional, national, or international human rights organization. The fellowship is also designed to benefit the human rights movement by creating opportunities for collaboration among individuals from different social, economic, and cultural origins, and those persons with both rural and urban backgrounds.

2. Who is eligible?

Applicants are particularly encouraged from Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Due to funding constrictions, applicants from the Upper Midwest will be favorably considered.

3. What is the Human Rights Resource Center?

The University of Minnesota Human Rights Center was inaugurated in December 1988 on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The principal focus of the Human Rights Center is to help train effective human rights professionals and volunteers. The Human Rights Center assists human rights advocates, monitors, students, and educators through five primary programs: applied human rights research, educational tools, field and training opportunities, human rights on-line, and learning communities and partnerships.

4. Where can I do my fellowship?

Over the past sixteen years, the Human Rights Center has sponsored 302 interns and fellows to work with human rights organizations in more than 70 countries. Applicants are responsible for arranging their own placements in local, regional, national, or international organizations. Previous fellows have worked with a great variety of human rights organizations dealing with numerous issues including privacy rights, refugees and displaced individuals, repatriation, women’s rights, prevention of torture, indigenous peoples’ rights, the rights of children, and documentation of human rights violations.

5. How do I find a host organization?

In searching for possible fellowship sites, you may wish to consult the University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. Applicants may wish to contact organizations that have previously sponsored interns and fellows from the Human Rights Center. Available on the Human Rights Resource Center website is a list of previously completed fellowships. In addition, information about other potential placements is available from the Human Rights Center staff.

6. What is the application timeline?

Applications are due Feb. 10, 2012, 4:00 p.m. C.S.T. Decisions will be made by the end of March and letters of notification will be transmitted in April.

7. Can I talk with former fellows?

Yes. In order to communicate via email with former fellows, please contact the Human Rights Center Director of Fellowship Programs at 612-626-2226 or at [email protected].

8. What are the dates of the program and how flexible are they?

There are no required dates during which the fellowship must be completed. The fellowship is approximately 10 weeks. The majority of fellowships are completed between June and August with a few taking place during the academic year.

9. Who reviews the applications and makes the decisions?

The Robina Foundation, The Human Rights Center staff, and members of a selection committee composed of individuals from the human rights community review applications.

10. How is the program funded?

The Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellowship Program is funded through the generous support of the Otto Bremer Foundation, the Mansfield Foundation, the Medtronic Foundation, the John Merck Fund, the Laura Musser Fund, and individual donors.

11. What if I’m not a U.S. citizen?

In order to be eligible for the fellowship, applicants must be residents of the United States. Fellowships have been awarded in previous years to non-U.S. citizens living in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Non-U.S. citizens living abroad need not apply.

12. How many references/letters of recommendation do I need?

Including a reference letter with the application is optional. You must include written evidence of a commitment to the fellowship from the proposed host organization.

13. Are there any language requirements?

There are no language requirements. If the intended fellowship is to be conducted in a language other than English, or may require you to use other languages, however, you must explain your relevant experience with this language including years of study and level of fluency.

14. What costs are covered by the fellowship?

The Human Rights Center will award approximately twenty-five grants. Grants will range from $1,000 to $4,500, averaging around $3,200. The grants are intended to cover transportation, lodging and food expenses incurred during the approximately ten-week fellowship experience.

Travel expenses: Travel to country, in country, to fellowship site, airport tax or fee

Living expenses: housing (rent, boarding room, host family, other accommodations in the location of the fellowship placement); food; travel insurance for emergency medical care and evacuation.

Budget requests that have not generally been accepted in the past: Rental costs for apartment or other home not in the location of the fellowship placement, child care or partner expenses, education loan repayments, car insurance, computer fees, phone, or utilities.

15. What happens if I receive a grant?

Prior to departure, all Fellows must attend an orientation session at the University of Minnesota with the Human Rights Center staff. Participants will also foster links between communities in the Upper Midwest and human rights activists throughout the world. Participants will return with a deeper commitment to a lifetime of work in human rights and will contribute to bringing human rights concerns home to communities in the Upper Midwest.

16. What is required at the end of the program?

Upon return, each fellow must complete a report of their experience as well as a draft newspaper article detailing their fellowship experience. Fellows and their site supervisors must also complete evaluations of the internship and return all forms to the Human Rights Center in a timely manner. Fellows must attend a debriefing session in the Fall at the University of Minnesota following their fellowship. It is also expected that fellowship recipients will aid the Human Rights Center in recruitment by doing outreach work in their home communities. Fellows may be asked to attend information sessions and to share their experiences with prospective applicants. In addition, the Human Rights Center encourages Fellows to bring their experiences back to their home communities through presentations, volunteering with human rights-related organizations, or other self-directed initiatives.

17. How do I get more information?

More information is available on this website or by contacting the Director of Fellowship Programs at the Human Rights Center at 612-626-2226 or by email: [email protected].

18. How do I apply?

Guidelines and Application Form for the Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellowship Program are available online. The application process includes applicant information, emergency contact information, information on the proposed fellowship, relevant language experience, information on the site supervisor, dates of intended fellowship, an itemized budget, a 2-3 page essay describing the relationship between the proposed placement and human rights work, a resume, a transcript of most recent academic work, written evidence of a commitment to the fellowship from the proposed host organization, and an optional letter of reference.