All Master of Social Work students at Fordham University are required to attend an unpaid internship with a minimum of 16 hours per week each year of our two year master’s program. 

The Fordham Graduate School of Social Service aligns closely with the concepts of human rights, social justice and social change. The university states that the school’s mission is to “educate students to promote human rights and social justice”. 

Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “everyone without discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work”. 

While Fordham adheres to the current Wage Requirements for Interns in For-Profit Businesses in New York, it is morally and ethically wrong to support the free labor of students. Not only does it go against the school’s commitment to human rights, social justice and social change, but it also disregards Article 23 of the UDHR for a student’s right to equal pay for equal work.

Having to work 16 to 21 hours a week for free on top of 8 hours of classes means that a large portion of students need to make their money outside of these hours or take out larger loans. Regardless of the option that each student chooses, the unpaid internship makes our baseline livelihood increasingly difficult to meet and therefore impacts our well-being throughout the course of this program and beyond. 

Fordham has often been at the forefront of change and offering fair wages for internships could give this program a competitive advantage ahead of other programs. 

Through this petition, we wish to bring this issue to the discussion table with the Fordham Graduate School of Social Service and work together to elevate this program and improve it for future students.