Internships

Applications for summer internships will be live on this DavisConnects webpage on Monday, March 11, 2024. Students will submit a general application (please visit DavisConnects funding page to prep all essay questions and application materials) in addition to the following questions by Friday, March 22, 2024, at 11:59 PM EST. 

Award notifications will go out on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. 

How does your experience tie into the mission of the human rights mission of the Oak Institute?

Please send a request to a current or former employer willing to give you a reference. They will be asked to fill out a brief questionnaire. 

Please upload a copy of your unofficial transcript.

Are you applying for funding from any source other than the Oak Institute? If so, indicate the source and how much are you requesting.

When they return to campus, recipients of Oak Internships will be expected to submit a 500-1000 word report on their internship work that will be posted on our website.

Student Eligibility – JanPlan awards are open to first-years, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Summer awards are open to first-years, sophomores, and juniors. While students who have previously been awarded funds may reapply, preference will be given to new applications. 

Internship Eligibility – An internship is a carefully monitored work experience in which a student has intentional learning goals and reflects on what she/he is learning through the experience. Preference is given to unpaid internships at institutions involved in promoting and protecting human rights and social justice, broadly defined. Summer awards can be adjusted for the length of the internship, and usually require a minimum of 20 hours/week for 8 weeks.

Funding is designed to cover supplemental costs that come along with an unpaid internship – i.e., transportation, lodging, meals, etc.

Applicants do NOT need to have a confirmed internship to apply. Based on application deadlines, students are often still waiting to hear back regarding their plans for the summer. Funding applications can be submitted without a secured internship, but should be completed with information for one specific opportunity – the one that is most likely to take place. The committee will make a decision based on the initial application. If you are awarded funding, it will be provisional on receipt of a letter from the organization confirming the internship. If your plans or circumstances change, you will need to resubmit your proposal with the updated information.

If you are applying for funding from other Colby or non-Colby sources, you have an obligation to let us know and provide details.

If you are planning to do an internship outside the US, please note that Colby will not sponsor your efforts if the experience is located in a country for which the US government has issued a travel warning or recognizes as a dangerous place. Please visit the US State Department’s website here for a list of these countries.

The Oak Institute has limited funds to support internships, so your plans should not be contingent upon winning this competitive award. Please make alternative plans in case you are not selected. 

Please, email the Director, Tiffany Creegan Miller ([email protected]) for help finding internships.

A program brought to you by the Oak Institute, DavisConnects and Omprakash EdGE

The Oak Human Rights Internship Program seeks to foster critical reflection, dialogue, and action related to the broad theme of human rights across contexts. If you are looking for an internship, the platform will guide you to global and US-based internships, opportunities for funding, and cohort-based learning via Omprakash EdGE for Summer Internships. For more information, see the Omprakash EdGE program website.

For those interested in interning with an Omprakash Partner, you’ll benefit from their expansive network of Partner organizations, which includes over 220 grassroots organizations working in fields related to human rights in over 50 countries around the world. You will also receive support and guidance from Omprakash staff throughout the process of browsing and applying for internship positions.

To learn more about the Oak Human Rights Internship Program (in collaboration with Omprakash EdGE) and access the preliminary registration to browse for internship opportunities, you may visit the Omprakash EdGE Oak Human Rights Internship Program website.