Summer Fellowships

Kirby Simon Summer Fellowships

The Schell Center’s Kirby Simon Summer Fellowships, supported by a generous grant from the Robina Foundation, provide funding for Yale students to undertake at least six weeks of human rights work during the summer. They honor Kirby Simon, the son of Professor John Simon, who was a foreign service officer and died in 1995 while serving in Taiwan. In recent years, as many as 20 percent of all first-year law students have received summer funding from the Schell Center for international human rights work.

Kirby Simon Fellowships cover both living expenses (a weekly stipend at the SPIF rate for up to 12 weeks) and travel costs. Law students who are eligible for financial aid are eligible for Kirby Simon Fellowships. Applications from non-graduating Yale Law School students receive priority. JSD students and graduating law students, including graduating LLM students, may be eligible if they meet certain conditions; they should consult with the Schell Center to determine if they are eligible.

Application Process

Law students: complete Part I of the SPIF application (confirming eligibility) followed by the Kirby Simon application. Kirby Simon applicants do not need to apply to SPIF Part II.

LLMs who will be returning to Yale in the fall for a JSD may also be eligible. If you are interested, please contact Dina Francesca Haynes.

Placements

Kirby Simon Fellows have worked on a wide variety of issues at non-governmental organizations, international organizations and agencies, and international and foreign courts throughout the world.

Summer human rights fellowship placements since 1999
Summer fellows’ reports, 2010-present (accessible by YLS students)
Email schell.law@yale.edu for electronic files of fellows’ reports

Timeline

Generally, students have secured positions with international organizations and non-governmental organizations, particularly in the Global South, in the spring term.

These institutions have early deadlines:

International courts such as:
- The Inter-American Court of Human Rights
- The European Court of Human Rights*
Criminal tribunals such as:
- The International Criminal Court
- The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals
Certain large NGOs

If any of the above are of interest, please contact Dina Francesca Haynes or Jim Silk as soon as possible.

*Note that applicants to the European Court of Human Rights must send a letter of interest (expressing how an ECHR internship would further their skills and career goals) and a CV to schell.law@yale.edu by November 15th, 2024.

To consult with Jim Silk or Dina Francesca Haynes about summer possibilities, consider making an appointment this fall. Their schedules get busy closer to the Summer Fellowship application deadline.

Summer Fellows

Danielle Harris '21 spent a summer advocating for asylum seekers in South Africa at the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town.

Kayla Crowell spent summer 2020 interning remotely from New Haven for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland. She worked on various projects for the #IBelong campaign to end statelessness by 2024.

Laith Aqel (left) and Mark Stevens (right) were in San Francisco in summer 2019 working at the Center for Justice & Accountability, which represents victims of human rights abuses in litigation against perpetrators to advance global justice.

Elaina Foley spent Summer 2020 interning remotely with the Lowenstein Clinic, working on issues relating to incarceration.

Camila Bustos ’21 interned during summer 2019 with the Climate Litigation Network, a project of Urgenda in Amsterdam & London. The network supports strategic litigation around the world to demand greater government action on climate change.

Sarah Bernardo, Caleb Yong, and Matthew Linsley were in Strasbourg, France in 2019 working with the Research Division of the European Court of Human Rights, an international tribunal that rules on alleged breaches of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Evelin Caro Gutierrez spent her summer 2020 working with Chambers of the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals – The Hague Branch. She worked remotely from Houston, Texas.

Brenda Cachay was in DC in summer 2019 with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, an entity whose goal is to promote and protect human rights in the American hemisphere through an individual petition system, monitoring, and training.

Ify Chikezie interned remotely in Summer 2020 at both The Sentry and Minority Rights Group International, focusing on investigating corruption and protecting rights of ethnic minorities in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In summer 2020, rising 2L Alexandria Miskho worked remotely from Washington State with the International Law Commission, engaging on topics of Protection of the Atmosphere and Sea-Level Rise.

Alaa Hajyahia '22 spent a summer clerking at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.

Applying for the Kirby Simon Summer Fellowship

Applications for the Kirby Simon Fellowship are accepted on a rolling basis with a final deadline of March 25, 2025. Please read the application instructions carefully and meet with Dina Francesca Haynes or Jim Silk prior to submitting your application to humanrightsfellowships@yale.edu. Please note that if your proposal involves research on human subjects, including interviews for academic purposes, you will need to seek IRB approval.

Application Instructions: Students must read the application instructions, which contain detailed information on eligibility, before applying.

Application: Download the 2025 Kirby Simon application. You should submit your application via email to humanrightsfellowships@yale.edu.

Before applying, students must meet with Dina Francesca Haynes or Jim Silk. Please use the Office Hours tool or email dina.haynes@yale.edu or jim.silk@yale.edu to schedule appointments.

The Schell Center sponsors several panels, workshops, and meetings during the school year to assist students in finding summer projects and to explain the application process.