About The Center for HIV Law and Policy

Internship and Fellowship Opportunities

Internships at CHLP

The Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP) provides substantive internships to law students with strong skills in legal analysis and writing. We occasionally provide internships to graduate students in non-legal fields related to our work, or exceptional undergraduates.

Although internships are unpaid, CHLP will support applicants' efforts to secure stipends, fellowships, or course credit. In addition, interns will have the opportunity of creating a flexible work schedule that will allow them to work remotely if preferable. Qualified applicants for both full- and part-time internships will be considered. Internship descriptions are set forth below.

CHLP is currently seeking legal interns.

Intern opportunities include work on the following initiatives:

  • The Positive Justice Project is a national coalition of organizations and individuals working to end HIV criminalization in the United States. The Positive Justice Project is a truly community-driven, multidisciplinary collaboration to end government reliance on an individual's positive HIV test result as proof of intent to harm, and the basis for irrationally severe treatment in the criminal justice system.
  • Teen SENSE is a multidisciplinary initiative that works to secure the right of youth in state custody to comprehensive, LGBTQ-inclusive sexual health care and sexual health capacity-building resources. The Youth Advocacy Corps, working in tandem with Teen SENSE, is a national youth advocacy and leadership development initiative focusing on issues related to sexual health and the law. The Youth Advocacy Corps develops and professionalizes participants’ advocacy and capacity-building skills to produce cohorts of strong, effective sexual health advocates.
  • The HIV Policy Resource Bank - the first and only of its kind - is a comprehensive database of quality memoranda, research, reports, legal guides, court and agency decisions, pleadings and briefs, policy analyses and recommendations, and other materials on topics of importance to people living with HIV and their advocates. The HIV Policy Resource Bank provides free, unlimited access to these substantive resources to support and increase the advocacy power and expertise of attorneys, community members, and service providers, as well as all people living with HIV. Women's Advocacy Resource Connection provides resources that analyze HIV as it affects women. 

Intern Requirements: The applicant must be a law student with excellent analytical skills and the ability to engage in thoughtful and thorough research independently. Moreover, the applicant must be a skilled writer with the ability to describe and analyze research findings clearly and concisely, and the ability to identify and consider additional issues these findings raise. Experience or interest in human rights – particularly the rights of young people, women, people of color, and LGBT people – is preferred but not required.

To apply for an internship, please send the following to internships@hivlawandpolicy.org with the subject heading "Internship Application":

  • Cover letter (please specify why you are interested in interning with CHLP and whether you are interested in a full-time or part-time position);
  • Resume; and
  • Writing sample demonstrating research and analytical skills.

There is no application deadline, but spots will be filled on a rolling basis with preference to early applicants.

A Fellowship with CHLP

The Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP) welcomes the opportunity to partner with a current law student, judicial clerk, or other eligible individual to develop a public interest fellowship such as an Equal Justice Works, Soros Justice, Skadden, or Liman Fellowship. A fellowship with CHLP affords an aspiring and gifted individual the opportunity to join our mission to reduce the impact of HIV on the most marginalized communities, support and increase the advocacy power and HIV expertise of attorneys, community members and service providers, and advance policy initiatives that are grounded in and uphold social justice, science and the public health.

If you are interested in developing a fellowship proposal with CHLP, send a brief statement outlining your proposed project along with a resume, transcript, writing sample, and contact information for three references to fellowships@hivlawandpolicy.org, with the subject line "Fellowship Proposal." Please indicate the fellowship for which you are seeking sponsorship as well as its application deadline in your email. To learn more about postgraduate fellowships, visit PSJD.org.