Funded Externships
This part of the website refers to “externships” because all of the opportunities described below are consistent with that categorization at MSU Law. However, some of the institutions and organizations refer to these same opportunities as “internships.”
These are diverse institutions and organizations devoted to international human rights law and humanitarian law protections.
The nature of these externships vary a great deal. The best way to ascertain the responsibilities, benefits, and experiences that a particular externship will entail is to go to the website address, given below, for each institution and organization.
- Institutions and Organizations Approved for Externships
The Talsky Center funds externships for eligible MSU Law students at the following institutions and organizations:
- Free the Slaves
Type of externship that will be funded: only policy externships
Location of externships: Washington, D.C.
Organization’s website: http://www.freetheslaves.net/about-us/careers-internships/
- International Service for Human Rights
Type of externship that will be funded: only Programme or Human Rights Defenders team externships
Location of externships: Geneva, Switzerland, and New York City
Organization’s website: http://www.ishr.ch/internships
- International Human Rights Law Group
Type of externship that will be funded: any
Location of externships: Mostly Washington, D.C.
Organization’s website: http://www.hrlawgroup.org/employment/internships.asp
- Amnesty International USA
Type of externship that will be funded: only in Amnesty’s Washington, D.C. and New York City offices
Organization’s website: https://careers.aiusa.org/
- Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Type of externship that will be funded: any
Location of externships: Washington, D.C., and in various OAS member nations
Institution’s website: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/employment/internships.asp
- Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Type of externship that will be funded: any
Location of externships: San José, Costa Rica
Institution’s website: http://www.corteidh.or.cr/corte/pasantias.cfm?lang=en
Special prerequisite: Fluency (oral and written) in English and Spanish.
- United Nations Office of Legal Affairs
Type of externship that will be funded: any
Location of externships: New York City
Institution’s website: legal.un.org/ola/employ.aspx
- Center for Justice and International Law
Type of externship that will be funded: only legal externships
Locations of externships: Washington, D.C.; San José, Costa Rica; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Organization’s website: https://viejaweb.cejil.org/en/internships-cejil
Special prerequisites: Fluency in oral and written Spanish (fluency in oral and written Portuguese for externships in the Brazil office is also required.)
- UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)
Type of externship that will be funded: any
Locations of externships: New York City or Regional Offices in other countries
Organization’s website: http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/internship-programme
- International Bar Association Human Rights Institute
Type of externship that will be funded: only legal externships
Location of externships: London, England (The Talsky Center will pay BUNAC fees.)
Organization’s website: https://www.ibanet.org/Education_and_Internships/Legal_Internship_Programme.aspx
- International Criminal Court
Type of externship that will be funded: any
Location of externships: The Hague, The Netherlands
Institution’s website: https://www.icc-cpi.int/jobs
- Human Rights Watch
Type of externship that will be funded: externships only for graduate students and only in HRW’s Legal & Policy Office
Locations of externships: various countries
Organizations’s website: https://recruiting.ultipro.com/HUM1004HRW/JobBoard/1f3f0ff9-99fb-4df2-8d3b-d832e12107eb/?q=&o=postedDateDesc&f5=QNQQslAC_ka_jCGSBvLkhQ
- UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Type of externship that will be funded: any
Location of externships: Geneva, Switzerland
Institution’s website: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/Pages/InternshipProgramme.aspx
- International Bar Association’s International Criminal Court (ICC) Programme
Type of externship that will be funded: any
Location of externships: The Hague, The Netherlands
Institution’s website: https://www.ibanet.org/Education_and_Internships/Legal_Internship_Programme.aspx#1CC
- UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals
Type of externship that will be funded: any
Location of externships: The Hague, The Netherlands, and Arusha, Tanzania
Institution’s website: http://www.unmict.org/en/recruitment/internship-programme
NOTE: THE MECHANISM IS THE SUCCESSOR TRIBUNAL TO THE INTER-NATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA; THE MECHANISM IS ALREADY IN OPERATION AND ACCEPTING EXTERNS.
- Dominic Ongwen Defense
Type of externship that will be funded: the one type being offered
Location of externships: The Hague, The Netherlands
NOTE: This externship is somewhat different than the others listed inasmuch as the extern will be working with an attorney defense team rather than in an institution or organization. That is, the Dominic Ongwen Defense is seeking a student intern to join the defense of Mr. Ongwen, a former child soldier, who is now an adult suspect before the International Criminal Court. The case will be moving to the trial phase this year. For more about the Ongwen case, see: https://www.icc-cpi.int/en_menus/icc/situations%20and%20cases/situations/situation%20icc%200204/related%20cases/ICC-02_04-01_15/Pages/default/aspx.
- Women’s Initiative for Gender Justice
Type of externship that will be funded: only legal externships
Location of externships: The Hague, The Netherlands
Organization’s website: http://4genderjustice.org/about-us/jobs-and-internships/.
- Center for Gender & Refugee Studies at UC Hastings College of the Law
Type of externship that will be funded: any
Location of externships: San Francisco, California
Institution’s website: https://cgrs.uchastings.edu/. Also see: https://cgrs.uchastings.edu/about/get-involved.
Special prerequisite: Must be a 3L at time applicant would be taking the externship.
- Center for Justice & Accountability
Type of externship that will be funded: full-time
Location of externships: San Francisco, California
Institution’s website: https://cja.org/get-involved/jobs/.
Special prerequisite: Preference that student be a 2L or 3L at time of taking externship, but "exceptional" 1Ls may be considered (for summer externship only).
- Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
Type of externship that will be funded: 3-month externships in international human rights or humanitarian law
Location of externships: Lund, Sweden
Organization’s website: http://rwi.lu.se/about/opportunities/internship/.
Special prerequisite: externships available only in fall and spring
- International Federation for Human Rights
Type of externship that will be funded: 3-month externships for graduate students and involving international human rights law (described under “Internship at FIDH’s Delegation to the UN in Geneva”)
Location of externships: The Hague, The Netherlands
Institution’s website: https://www.fidh.org/en/com/recruitment/
- Free the Slaves
- Eligibility to Apply
- Determination of Student Eligibility to Apply
Eligibility will be jointly determined by the decision of the dean of the Law College, the director of the Talsky Center, and the assistant dean for career services at the Law College. - Criteria for Determining Student Eligibility to Apply
- Only MSU Law students are eligible to apply;
- MSU Law students must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher as of the date of application;
- MSU Law students must have earned a grade of B or higher in a course in either international human rights or public international law at MSU College of Law or another accredited law school; these students may be enrolled in the course at the time of application, but must successfully complete the requirement prior to the externship; those who fail to complete the requirement will have their application withdrawn or invalidated; and
- Eligible externship participants will be selected from the list of eligible applicants based on the following factors: commitment to furthering international human rights, academic achievement, and personal qualities consistent with the student’s ability to serve as an outstanding representative of the Talsky Center and MSU College of Law.
- Effect of a Determination of Student Eligibility to Apply
If a student is determined to be eligible to apply, as described above, that does not mean that the student has been awarded an externship. Rather, such a determination of eligibility is a prerequisite to directly filing an application for an externship at the selected institution or organization.Note that the final determination as to whether an MSU Law student is awarded an externship is the decision of such institution or organization.
- Determination of Student Eligibility to Apply
- Required Procedures and Processes for Applying for an Externship
- IMPORTANT: When you think you might be interested in taking a Talsky Center externship, you must first contact Professor Susan Bitensky, Director of the Center, and Ms. Beth Wickwire in MSU Law’s Office of Career Services (OCS). (This is the only way to initiate the application process.)
- (i) OCS is in charge of all processes and procedures in relation to applying for an externship.
Please note: A student seeking a Talsky Center externship must not directly file any externship applications or related paperwork with the institution or organization offering such externships until the student’s eligibility is first determined in accordance with the provisions described above, under Eligibility to Apply.
(ii) Professor Bitensky is in charge of your answering your questions about the externships in terms of their substantive aspects. She also decides all student requests for a waiver of any of the prerequisites (detailed herein) for taking an externship, and provides guidance and information regarding any student papers contemplated in connection with taking an externship.
- There are several steps you must take with the Registrar’s Office in order to get academic credits for an externship. Those steps are set forth at : http://www.law.msu.edu/careers/externships-current-students-apply.html. You will need to adhere to and complete each of the steps, with the following exceptions:
- Step #4 – DO NOT SEND AN EXTERNSHIP SITE INFORMATION PACKET TO YOUR SUPERVISOR; you can skip this step
- Step #7 – Complete the Externship Checklist that is specific to Talsky Center externs (the Talsky Center Checklist may be picked up in hard copy from the OCS or may be obtained electronically as an attachment at the above-cited link) INSTEAD of the Externship Checklist linked on the website
- Step #8 – DO NOT SEND THE EXTERNSHIP AGREEMENT FORM TO YOUR SUPERVISOR; because of the unique nature of Talsky Center externships, Professor Bitensky has already approved your externship placement
Please remember to advise Ms. Wickwire when you have finished this part of the process.
- Please note: A student seeking a Talsky Center externship must not directly file any externship applications or related paperwork with the institution or organization offering such externships until the student’s eligibility is first determined in accordance with the provisions described above, under Eligibility to Apply.
- IMPORTANT: When you think you might be interested in taking a Talsky Center externship, you must first contact Professor Susan Bitensky, Director of the Center, and Ms. Beth Wickwire in MSU Law’s Office of Career Services (OCS). (This is the only way to initiate the application process.)
- Benefits and Responsibilities of Externships
Externships for eligible MSU Law students involve the following benefits and responsibilities:- Externships held by MSU Law students will be funded by the Talsky Center as follows:
- A student awarded an externship that takes place outside North America will be granted up to $5,000 if the externship is at least as long in duration as a full spring or fall semester at MSU Law; if said externship is of substantially less duration, a student awarded such externship will be granted up to $4,000.
- A student awarded an externship that takes place within North America will be granted up to $4,000 if the externship is at least as long in duration as a full spring or fall semester at MSU Law; if said externship is of substantially less duration, a student awarded such externship will be granted up to $3,000.
- Academic credit will be available to MSU Law students receiving Talsky Center externships in accordance with the following standards:
- Each externship will be held to the same requirements as MSU College of Law currently imposes on all other externships, except as otherwise provided below.
- Each externship requires the externing student to work at least 40 hours per week at the site.
- Each externship requires that the student and a supervising professor communicate regularly for the duration of the externship. The frequency, duration, mode, and content of said communication to be determined by the supervising professor in accordance with relevant ABA regulations. (The supervising professor must be knowledgeable about the areas of law that the student is pursuing in the externship.)
- The 9-credit option:
- A student will earn 9 credits by successfully completing a Talsky Center externship during a fall, spring or summer semester.
- A student who earns 9 credits in accordance with the paragraph III.2.d.1. above, may also enroll in a 3-credit externship (not at the same institution or organization) during a summer or regular semester, and count the total of 12 credits toward graduation.
- The 12-credit option:
- A student may earn 12 credits both by successfully completing a Talsky Center fall or spring semester externship (worth 9 credits) and by, during that semester, writing an academic paper (worth 2 to 3 more credits) that conforms to the requirements set forth in paragraph III.2.e.2. below.
- The subject matter of the paper must be related to the legal work that the student is doing as a Talsky Center extern, and the paper must be deemed acceptable by the supervising professor.
- The 3- or 6-credit option: A student may earn 3 or 6 credits for an externship taken during the fall or spring semester, but this option is available only if special circumstances warrant.
- Each student who takes a Talsky Center externship is required to simultaneously take an on-line seminar run by Law College faculty members under the auspices of the MSU Law Externship Program. (This is the same seminar required of students who take externships unrelated to the Talsky Center.)
- Externships held by MSU Law students will be funded by the Talsky Center as follows:
- Information Regarding Interrelationship of Student Financial Aid and Funding of Talsky Center Externships
The funding amounts for Talsky Center externships, as spelled out in paragraph III above, cannot be reduced. A student who both receives financial aid and takes a Talsky Center externship may have his or her federal aid reduced. However, the recipient should work closely with the Office of Financial Aid to determine how Talsky funding may impact his or her federal loans.This notice is being provided because, generally speaking, grants or awards to students do result in a commensurate reduction (called “an offset”) to the student’s financial aid under the financial aid guidelines governing the Law College. Many Talsky students have additional and/or higher education expenses which may be considered by the Office of Financial Aid to offset any potential reduction in federal loans.
Nevertheless, in each case, a student receiving financial aid and who is considering a Talsky Center externship should discuss the financial details with the Director of Financial Aid, John Garcia, and thereafter advise the Director of the Talsky Center.