Global Climate Justice Fellows Program
The program aims to create a community of next-generation leaders focused on the intersection of social and economic disparities, justice as a community value, and climate change and sustainability. Each fellow will be offered a specially designed experiential learning opportunity working alongside climate and sustainability leaders from the private sector, environmentally-oriented non-profits, multilateral agencies, philanthropic and educational organizations, and government sectors in the United States and internationally.
Through their Global Climate Justice Fellows’ experiences, students will be able to broaden their knowledge of sustainability practice, build leadership skills, and gain valuable work experience in the field of sustainability and climate action. During and following their experiential learning project, the Global Climate Justice Fellows will be able to exchange learnings and experiences with the broader NYU community in a read-out seminar organized to showcase learnings from experiential projects. The Global Climate Justice Fellows program is aimed to broaden SPS’s sustainability practice across a wider spectrum of students and professional networks.
2025 PROGRAM
During the 8-week program, students will be expected to work a standard 35-hour work week and will receive a $8,000 stipend for the fellowship. Prior to the program, students will engage in an orientation, review assigned readings, and engage in related skills modules as preparation. Global Climate Justice Fellows will create a written report and two presentations - one for the host organization and the other to be presented at an NYU event with the general public.
The 8-week Fellowship will take place between June and mid-August 2025 with exact dates determined by Fellows and Project Hosts. During the duration of the project, Fellows will have alternating weekly check-ins with ECJS Lab.
Program Highlights
- A stipend to support a climate-sustainability-oriented summer research project or experiential learning activity.
- Program orientation for participating fellows to network and prepare for their experiential learning activity, internship, or research project.
- Post-activity read-out public event at the CGA to share learnings and experiences.
Selection Process
The Global Climate Justice Fellows program is open to all enrolled NYU graduate students who qualify for summer engagements.
Applications must be received by 11:59 PM, Sunday, March 2nd, 2025.
Eligibility Requirements
- Both part-time and full-time, domestic and international, graduate students are eligible (must be in good academic standing)
- Completion of at least one Spring/Fall semester at NYU is required by the START of Spring 2025
- Students attending NYU with F-1 or J-1 status are eligible to apply as long as they fulfill all other requirements for the stipend and maintain their immigration status. Please contact OGS to learn more about authorization for unpaid internships and volunteer work, and for more information regarding taxes that may be assessed for the stipend.
Finalists will be required to interview via Zoom with the Selection Committee in March 2025.
PROGRAM TIMELINE
February 2025
- Applications Open
March 2025
- Applications Due by 11:59 PM on Sunday, March 2, 2025
- Virtual Interviews with Finalist Candidates (week of March 10-14)
- Global Climate Justice Fellows will be notified by the end of the month
April 2025
- April 19th (tentative), 11:30 - 1:00 pm - Program Orientation and Overview; Review of Required Readings and Skills Modules
May 2025
- May 19th (tentative), 5:00 - 6:30 pm - Reception with Hosts
June 2025
- Projects Begin
- Alternating weekly check-ins with ECJS Lab
July 2025
- Alternating weekly check-ins with ECJS Lab
August 2025
- Projects conclude
- By the end of the month - project delivery/presentation to hosts
September 2025
- NYU Public Event with Project Presentations
APPLICATION
The application for the 2025 program can be found here.
A selection committee comprising NYU Faculty and Administration will consider applications. No applications will be considered after the application deadline.
The short answer portion is one of the most important portions of the review process, so make sure to be detailed and informed in your responses. Each answer should be no more than 500 words.
Application Components:
- Complete Application Form
- One Statement of Interest (500 words max)
- Unofficial Academic Transcript
- Current Resume
- Two professional references
- Video Introduction (3-5 minutes)
If you have any questions about this form or need another accessible format, please email ECJSLab@nyu.edu and we would be happy to assist you
2024 PILOT PROGRAM
The ECJS Global Climate Justice Fellows program launched a pilot in Summer 2024 with five exemplary NYU graduate students.
An additional Fellowships was awarded to a graduate student to engage in a student-initiated project through a joint venture between ECJS Lab and the NYU Office of Sustainability Internship Grant program.
- East New York Farms! Project
East New York Farms! Project (a Project of United Community Centers, Inc.) is a collaborative project whose mission is to organize youth and adult residents to address food issues in the community by promoting local and regional sustainable agriculture and community-based economic development. Their community-facing programs include weekly Farmers’ Markets, community gardener workshops, youth internship programs, and free food distribution programs, among others. The overall goal is to create a sustainable food system that will increase food security in East NY.
During the six-week fellowship, the Fellows supported ENYF! in designing and creating program assessments, tracking and gathering input data, and conducting community research to support urban agriculture educational efforts and maintain a sustainable food system.
Through their work collecting data and community research, they were able to draft sample documents to enhance outreach, such as printed menus and recipe cards, to the people attending their cooking demos and workshops and identify gaps in community knowledge about available programs and areas for more effective capacity building.
- Solar One
Over a six-week period, Fellows collaborated with Solar One for New York State's Clean Energy Communities Program (CECP) to run a community campaign promoting the Community Solar program. This initiative allows New York City renters and homeowners to benefit from solar panel energy without the need for rooftop installations, leading to savings on their Con Edison energy bills. Their efforts included developing and implementing outreach methods such as digital campaigns, brochures, and flyers to effectively reach potential subscribers. Additionally, they conducted surveys to gather feedback from the current subscribers.
- National Grid
Buildings currently make up about one-third of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in New York State; in order to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions and advance the state’s ambitious climate justice goals, the removal of fossil fuels from buildings’ energy systems is crucial. The electrification of heating systems has proven to be a critical decarbonization strategy for New York, however, transitioning entire energy grids to meet electrification goals poses significant financial, practical, and equitable challenges to state and city municipalities.
The Fellow engaged in a study to focus on these challenges, with a particular focus on the affordability of the energy transition, including the upfront and ongoing costs of electrification, through heat pump installations. Through finding solutions for these issues, New York can help find an affordable pathway for its low-income households—a key climate justice target through the energy transition.
- Sustainability Internship Grant -
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs
As an intern with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the Fellow was primarily responsible for assisting with preparations for the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. In this role, they helped to coordinate the presentations of the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) and the thematic VNR labs as well as facilitate the Ministerial Declaration negotiations. Additionally, they co-authored the biennial Secretary-General Report on Human Resource Development. From these experiences, I gained invaluable insight into thdynamics of the UN system and regional approaches to sustainable development.
