About the Journal

About the Journal

Mission Statement

Student Journal for the Study of Human Rights (SJSHR) is an open-access peer-reviewed journal that showcases students’ research and academic studies in the field of human rights. An interdisciplinary journal, SJSHR is a publishing platform for Columbia undergraduate and graduate students that creates more space and visibility for student work and serves as an educational tool that deepens critical thinking in the field of human rights studies.

Aims and Scope

SJSHR accepts submissions from Columbia affiliates who are third and fourth year undergraduate students or graduate students in master’s and doctoral programs. 

SJSHR publishes two issues per year. Each issue focuses on a particular topic that reflects student interest, world politics, and current events. Topics for consideration include, but are by no means limited to:

  • Climate Justice
  • Transitional Justice
  • Diplomacy/International Affairs and Human Rights
  • Business/Economics and Human Rights
  • Gender and Sexual Orientation

SJSHR aims to highlight the depth and breadth of research being conducted in the interdisciplinary field of Human Rights Studies at Columbia University while serving as a forum for intellectual exchange, norm challenging, and collaboration. We strive to be a source of pride for students, but also as a means of academic and professional development, for Columbia students.

Open Access and Copyright

SJSHR is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or their institution. All content published is subject to a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International Public License. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.

Authors who publish with us retain copyright to their work. Authors are free to put their content into an institutional repository or personal archive, or to share or repurpose their content for other purposes.

SJSHR is a no-fee open access journal. Authors are not charged article processing fees (APCs) for the submission or publication of their articles.

Peer Review

All research manuscripts submitted to SJSHR, including submissions by faculty advisors or/and by authors, undergo a preliminary screening by an initial editor to determine whether the article meets high standards of quality and its content fits with the journal's scope and mission. Once an article is found to align with the journal’s interests, the SJSHR editors use a double-anonymous editorial review process in which the article is reviewed by a minimum of two editors. The Editorial Board determines the paper’s alignment with the objectives of the journal, and ensures a rigorous review of the article’s citations to ensure that they comply with Columbia’s academic standards. If the author contracts with SJSHR, the editing process will be carried out by journal staffers in coordination with the author. The Editor-in-Chief reviews the final version and approves it for publication.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

SJSHR values research and initiatives that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion aims to incorporate these values into our editorial policies and process.

  • We encourage norm-challenging research manuscripts that add new perspectives and depth to the field of human rights studies.
  • We work to highlight historically misrepresented and underrepresented populations.
  • We operate under a forward-thinking Editorial Board representing various specialty areas, perspectives and expertise.
  • We welcome research submissions from students across Columbia University and its affiliate institutions.
  • We encourage authors for whom English is not their first language to submit manuscripts.
  • We encourage both undergraduate and graduate students to submit research manuscripts.

Language

While submissions to SJSHR are accepted in both English or French, we encourage authors for whom English and/or French is not their first language to also submit.

Ethics

SJSHR aligns with Columbia University's Statement of Ethical Conduct, which has principles including:

  • Be honest, ethical, and truthful.
  • Obey the law.
  • Follow University policies and procedures.

SJSHR adheres to the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Science’s policy on Academic Integrity and Responsible Conduct of Research. The members of the editorial board and staff at SJSHR will ensure that:

  • The authors submissions are entirely original works; and,
  • if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, that this has been appropriately cited or quoted and permission has been obtained where necessary. Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given.

Privacy

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

Archiving

SJSHR is archived in Columbia University’s Academic Commons. Academic Commons is Columbia University’s institutional repository, offering long-term public access to research shared by the Columbia community. A program of the Columbia University Libraries, Academic Commons provides secure, replicated storage for files in multiple formats. Academic Commons assigns a DOI and accurate metadata to each work to enhance discoverability.