Four fellowships are offered for 2008-2009:

· Alan R. and Barbara D. Finberg Fellowship - unrestricted (open to any candidate who meets the eligibility criteria described below). Deadline Closed.

· Leonard H. Sandler Fellowship - open to recent graduates of Columbia Law School. Deadline Closed.

· The NYU School of Law Fellowship at HRW (previously Arthur Helton Fellowship) - open to recent graduates of New York University School of Law. Deadline Closed.

Please note that the Bernstein Fellowship is directly administered by Yale Law School. For information on applying for this fellowship, click here.

No. Just send all six pieces (5 in the case of the Kroll Family Fellowship) of information listed on the website and flyer (cover letter, resume, two letters of recommendation, unedited writing sample, and an official transcript -- NOT a photocopy). Please send all materials in one package.

Yes. The fellowships are open to everyone who meets the other criteria (see next query), regardless of nationality or immigration status. Human Rights Watch will assist prospective fellows in obtaining the necessary U.S. or U.K. work authorization; citizens of all nationalities are encouraged to apply.

For the Finberg, Sandler, and NYU Fellowships, Fellows must be recent law, journalism, international relations or area studies graduates (at the Master's level for the latter three categories) by no later than August 2008. Other relevant disciplines may also be considered. For the Kroll Family Fellowship only J.D. graduates are eligible. See official website for more details.

The fellowships are intended for human rights activists in the early stages of their careers. As a general rule of thumb, the committee considers those who have received their graduate degrees within the past three years to be recent graduates. For the Kroll Family Fellowship preference will be given to 2008 graduates or recent graduates who entered into a judicial clerkship upon graduation.

The Sandler fellowship at Columbia and the NYU School of Law Fellowship at HRW are restricted to J.D. graduates; LL.M.s are unfortunately not eligible. However, LL.M.s are strongly encouraged to apply for the Finberg (unrestricted) fellowship. For the Kroll Family Fellowship only J.D. graduates are eligible.

Applicants must have exceptional analytic skills, an ability to write and speak clearly in English, and a commitment to work in the human rights field in the future on a paid or volunteer basis. Proficiency in one language in addition to English is strongly preferred. Familiarity with countries or regions where serious human rights violations occur is also highly valued.

In the event that you are offered an interview, Human Rights Watch will make the necessary arrangements to interview you; this is not something you need to concern yourself with at this stage of the process. Travel to New York is not required for the Kroll Family Fellowship; travel to D.C. might be necessary in some cases.

After Fellows are chosen, the organization decides whether to place them in New York, Washington, D.C., or London. (Some of Human Rights Watch's divisions are based in New York, some in Washington, D.C., and some in London; placement depends on which department a Fellow is assigned to.) When applying for the Fellowship, an applicant should be prepared to live in either New York City, Washington, D.C., or London.

Yes. Human Rights Watch will assist with and pay for obtaining work authorization. If an employee is asked to relocate by the organization, Human Rights Watch may pay certain relocation expenses in particular cases, upon prior approval of the Human Resources Director:

* Economy travel (including meals and lodging) to the new location.
* The cost of shipping personal belongings and business files to the new location.
* Temporary, short-term living expenses at the new location.

The Fellowship Committee, whose composition changes over the years, is unable to respond to individual requests for information.

Last year, we received over 500 applications. Out of these, we were able to interview only twenty-five candidates, for four Fellowships. We expect a similar number of applicants and interviewees this year.

There are many employment opportunities opening up at HRW; Fellows are welcome to apply, and some do go on to long-term employment with HRW. However, there is no guarantee.

You can send inquiries by email for the Finberg, Sandler, and NYU Fellowships to fellowship@hrw.org. For the Kroll Family Fellowship send inquires by email to rst@law.georgetown.edu

All applications for the Finberg, Sandler, and NYU fellowships must be received by October 5, 2007. All applications for the Kroll Family Fellowship must be received by October 26, 2007.

Please see our Fellowship Application Checklist for more information on specific expectations and suggestions on the different parts of the application.

Your application should describe your areas of experience, expertise, and interest. Human Rights Watch will assign you to a regional or thematic division based on institutional needs and the strengths of your application.

No. The entire application, including recommendations and transcripts, should be submitted by mail. If there are truly extenuating circumstances, an application may be sent by email or fax, but you must discuss this with us beforehand. Without prior written approval, Human Right Watch will accept no application materials sent by email or fax.

Yes. Please send all materials in one package.

By "unpublished," we simply mean that no one other than you may have edited your writing sample. You may submit any document which has been edited only by you. If you wish to submit a document which has been published, for example in a law review or magazine, you must submit your original version, i.e. the article as it was before anyone else edited it. A master's thesis is acceptable, as long as it was not edited by your professor or anyone else.

No. You should submit a piece of writing which you feel reflects your commitment and experience in the field of human rights. Whether or not it contains citations, footnotes, etc, is up to you.

This is up to you. Your recommendations should come from any individual who can testify as to your qualifications for the Fellowships.

Yes. If the transcript is not in English, the Fellowship Committee may not be able to read it. Proficiency in English is required for the fellowships, so candidates should be able to do this translation themselves. If the transcript is translated by anyone other than the school that issued it, however, the original must be included with your application.

• Should I send in my undergraduate transcript as well as my graduate or law school transcript?

Undergraduate transcripts are not required.

Interviews will be held in early November to mid-December for the Finberg, Sandler and NYU Fellowships; decisions will be announced in early 2008. For the Kroll Family Fellowship interviews for short-listed candidates will be conducted in November and December. Hiring decisions will be made in January. Unfortunately, we cannot inform candidates whether they have been selected for an interview until November.

No. Applications received after the respective deadline, will not be considered.

Applications, including recommendations and transcripts must be sent under a single cover, and not in separate parts. Due to the large volume of applications received we are unable to check individual files. Once we have received your application, we will send you an email or a letter notifying you of the status of your application file.