Refugee Fieldwork Program

Summer 2024 applications are pending: please note that applicants should send their materials by March 1 at the absolute latest.

The Refugee Fieldwork Program (RFP) is dedicated to matching Harvard undergraduates with refugee-related summer internship opportunities abroad. In collaboration with the Phillips Brooks House Association, the Office of International Education and other campus centers, RFP prepares students by securing positions at reputable organizations, developing their project, helping them acquire funding, and training them in methods and best practices for working with forced migrants in real-world settings.

Director:

Danilo Mandić, Associate Senior Lecturer, Sociology Department

Advisory Board:

Professors Jacqueline Bhabha, FXB Director of Research and Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights at Harvard Law School, and Mary C. Waters, PVK Professor of Arts and Sciences and the John L. Loeb Professor of Sociology.

Mission:

RFP is committed to the principle that students at elite institutions have a special obligation to learn about – and from – victims of violence. We strive to give undergraduates real-world interactions with constituencies who are all-too-often relegated to invisibility, powerlessness and prejudice. The Program partners with INGOs, NGOs and other organizations working to support not just Convention refugees, but internally displaced persons (IDPs), trafficked migrants, and civilians affected by war. Prioritizing well-structured, impactful work that reaches refugees directly, we seek internship positions that range from research and policy, to humanitarian and activist work in refugee camps and other sites. In addition to expanding their skills and experience, students will find deep moral fulfillment from the memorable and socially-impactful pre-career experiences.

Eligibility:

All enrolled Harvard undergraduates are welcome to apply, regardless of year, citizenship or previous experience. Priority will be given to Sociology Department concentrators and students who have taken SOCI-1186 Refugees: Forced Migration in Global Perspective. Undocumented students should reach out to the Director at mandic@fas.harvard.edu to discuss U.S.-based opportunities.

Application:

Applicants are asked to submit the following in a single PDF package to mandic@fas.harvard.edu:

CV
Academic transcript.
A single page Cover Letter explaining their interest in RFP fieldwork. Include information on any previous refugee-related work, any specialized skills that are applicable (e.g. medical first-aid training, Arabic language proficiency), and any biographical information that may make you specially-suitable for certain countries or sites. If you are interested in pursuing a research component during your position – e.g. expanding on a course paper, preparing a Thesis chapter – please indicate details.

Students will be asked to conduct a short selection interview.

Training:

Forced migrants are a sensitive, at-risk population. Thus RFP interns are carefully screened for maturity, empathy, conscientiousness, and a commitment to safety and ethical norms. Students are expected to strictly conform to the rules and parameters of their host organizations, including about travel to camps or access to vulnerable individuals. All selected applicants are required to undergo a mandatory training session prior to their internship. The one-week training workshops are typically held in late May/early June, and cover topics including methodology, situational awareness, refugee trauma, ethical rules, regional context and country-specific cultural orientation.

In addition, it is the students’ responsibility to examine and meet all Harvard College requirements and guidelines regarding international travel, funding opportunities, and – in cases of a research component to the fieldwork – IRB. RFP will help facilitate and support the students’ applications, but it remains the students’ own primary responsibility.

Internships and Hosting Organizations:

SUMMER 2024

Second Tree, a community-led, volunteer-run, grassroots NGO working with refugees in Northern Greece. *Please note that, in addition to the RFP application process, this hosting organization requires candidates to conduct an additional online interview.
Reclaim The Sea (RTS), a UK-based non-profit working with refugees and asylum-seekers to campaign against hostile sea borders and for safe passage and global maritime borders.
Red Cross & Adam Mickiewicz University volunteering and research at refugee aid distribution center, Ukraine-Polish border, and other sites in Poznań, Poland.
Northern Lights Aid, a community-based project that supports residents of Kavala refugee camp, in Northern Greece, with workshops, educational spaces and activities, as well as material support including a free clothes shop & emergency relief.
Wave Thessaloniki is a community centre that offers hot food, showers, laundry services and non-food items for undocumented people in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece.
Echo Hub, a refugee support NGO operating in the island of Leros, Greece.
BCARS network of NGOs working with refugees in Amman, Jordan.
Invisible University Program of Central European University, working with refugees in Warsaw, Poland.
Miksalište Refugee Aid Centre in Belgrade, Serbia.
InfoPark, refugee support center in Belgrade, Serbia.
Borgo Basino, an eco-farm and refugee solidarity center in Italy.
NGOs in greater Istanbul area, Turkey.

Positions range from four weeks to three months.

Previous Interns’ Testimonies


Maryam Guerrab	"The summer after my sophomore year, I had the opportunity to intern at IDEAS, an NGO working on refugee and migrant protection. I worked on refugee health and was able to use the organization's legal resources, connect with clients and community partners, and engage in site visits, in order to develop a 74 page report analyzing current health conditions in Krnjaca refugee camp. I also volunteered at a refugee support center welcoming newly-arrived refugees, conducting Gender-Based Violence Assessments, and distributing resources to travelling migrants. I would strongly recommend to everyone considering applying to the Refugee Fieldwork Program to submit an application! I don't believe there are many other opportunities that can better expose students to the realities of humanitarian work or that provides experiences that directly and tangibly make an impact to migrant and refugee populations."
Brinkley Brown	“After my freshman fall in SOCI-1186 Refugees in Global Perspective, II conducted an in-depth case study of refugee integration in my hometown. Working within the Refugees in Towns Project, I wrote a report and published my findings. Freshman-year me didn’t know it at the time, but my RIT study would become the basis of my senior thesis, the topic of an NHPR episode, and a key report cited in relevant social policy in my hometown. For me, it was a stepping stone into real and impactful social science research.”
Graham Guite	"Over the summer of 2023, I spent several weeks in Belgrade, Serbia. The experience of working abroad was fascinating and memorable, both in the academic sense and given the total immersion in a new culture. By the end, I felt that I had not only a far stronger grasp on contemporary and historical refugee issues - which I went on to explore further over the fall semester in a sociology class - but also an appreciation for a part of the world which I had never seen before. For those considering applying to the Refugee Fieldwork Program, I cannot recommend it highly enough."