Internships & Opportunities

Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. Summer Internships and Research Grants

The Department of African and African American Studies established the A. Leon Higginbotham Summer Internship Program in memory of the distinguished jurist, scholar, and civil rights activist who embodied a most generous spirit of mentorship in his work with young lawyers and scholars.  At the time of his death in December of 1998, Judge Higginbotham was Public Service Professor of Jurisprudence at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and Harvard Law School, a member of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute Advisory Board, and he taught courses in African American Studies.

Program Description

The Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. Summer Internships and Research Grants provide internship or research funding for currently enrolled Harvard University undergraduate and graduate students in the practical and intellectual subjects to which the Judge dedicated his life's work -- public service, social justice, race and the American legal process, and African American community organization.

Students who have secured an internship with an organization that addresses any of the subjects above may apply for this grant as a source of funding.

Research proposals should examine the broad issues of social justice and equality that animated Judge Higginbotham's scholarly work.

Stipend

Recipients are awarded funding of up to $5,000.

Application Process

Interested students should submit the following:

• Cover letter describing your internship or research interests

• Résumé

• Two-page proposal outlining your goals and detailing any preliminary work in this area

• Two letters of recommendation from a faculty member or advisor who is knowledgeable about your internship plans or research (The letter of recommendation should discuss the student's aptitude and preparedness for the work, as well as its relevance, if any, to their program of study. It should also offer any information that the recommender has about the internship program for which the candidate is applying. Applications for research should be supported by letters indicating the recommender's evaluation of the scholarly merits of the project, the likelihood that it will be completed according to the student's proposed timetable, the student's degree of preparation for the project, and its relation to their current program of study. Recommenders may also provide any further information about the student's character, intellect, or motivation, or about the research or internship, that would be helpful to the selection committee, bearing in mind the aims of the Higginbotham program)

• Budget indicating how funds will be utilized; you should also identify any other funding applied for and/or received

Recipients will be responsible for submitting a 1,000-word report upon the completion of their project.

Information Contacts

Kathleen Cloutier
Graduate and Undergraduate Program Officer
Barker Center, Room 232
Phone: 617.384.7767
Fax: 617.496.2871
Email: cloutier@fas.harvard.edu

Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham
Chair, Department of African and African American Studies
Barker Center, Room 255
Phone: 617.495.7828
Fax: 617.496.0862
Emal: ebhiggin@fas.harvard.edu

Please send completed applications to

Gisele Jackson
Department Administrator
Department of African and African American Studies
Barker Center, 2nd Floor
12 Quincy Street
Cambridge, MA  02138-3879
email: jackson6@fas.harvard.edu