The program provides funding, budget permitting, to support Nebraska graduate students through fellowships of up to $750 for research-related travel. These fellowships are offered to support graduate students’ research on human rights. Applicants should be pursuing the graduate specialization in human rights, and successful proposals will have a clear link to international human rights in order to receive full consideration.
Please note that due to travel reductions necessitated by COVID-19, graduate students can also apply to this fellowship to cover research-related costs that no longer involve travel. We particularly welcome applications to cover fees associated with conferences or research opportunities that have transitioned to virtual formats due to the pandemic.
The fellowships support three kinds of activities:
- Graduate student research
- Dissertation research
- Internships with research relevance
Application
Guidelines
- A cover sheet that contains contact information and a brief one paragraph summary statement of the project, dissertation, or internship;
- A project proposal (no more than two double-spaced pages) that describes the research problem and design, the internship and how it relates to the student’s research, or the dissertation. A budget might also be a helpful addition;
- One letter of recommendation. The letter must state when comprehensive exams have been or will be taken for those applying for a dissertation fellowship;
- A curriculum vitae and a transcript (an unofficial transcript is acceptable);
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All application materials should be sent to Dr. Courtney Hillebrecht in the Department of Political Science, at chillebrecht2@unl.edu
Requirements
- Applicants must be making good progress in a graduate degree program in any academic unit at UNL.
- Preference will be given to applicants who have received no previous HRHD summer fellowships. Grantees who have received summer fellowships once can still apply, however.
- Awardees must make a report as to how the fellowship was used.
Past Awards
- Political Science student travelled to Stockholm to participate in World Water Week and to conduct interviews with representatives of international organizations working on water governance issues for dissertation research on the intersection of international water security and human rights issues.
- Political Science student traveled to Bosnia to conduct interviews with women's non-governmental organizations for dissertation research on transitional justice.
- Anthropology student interviewed museums, private collectors, and Omaha tribal elders to document the ways in which sacred cultural property of the Omaha is protected and preserved.
- Political Science student traveled to a workshop in Utrecht, The Netherlands, on international law and international criminal law, related to dissertation on humanitarian intervention.
- History student traveled to archives in New York for research on trans-Atlantic race and reform movements circa 1900.
- Spanish student (Modern Languages) traveled to Columbia for identification and interpretation of various types of poetry referring to human rights, as affected by the violence in that state.
- Political Science student traveled to the United Nations in New York City, for interviews on the subject of UN Security Council management of human rights and humanitarian issues arising in African civil wars.
- French student (Modern Languages) traveled to France, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, for research on Voltaire, the rights of man, and views toward freedom of the press and particular journalists.
- Political Science student internship in Tanzania, Africa dealing with socio-economic rights.