Tuition, Funding, & Scholarships

2019 Program Fees

Toronto CEDAW for Change 2019 program fee: $1200 USD.

Program fees only cover the cost of participation in the program.  For either program, purchasing personal travel medical insurance will be additional, plus your variable travel & visa expenses, booking your accommodations for Toronto, and covering your meals and incidental expenses.

Please allow a minimum budget of CAD$50-60/day for duration of stay in Toronto to cover your meals and incidentals.  The University of Toronto is centrally located so transportation costs will be minimal if you stay on campus. Please visit the Visa & Accommodations page for more information.

Information follows about discounts and scholarship possibilities.

Fundraising Tips

If you need some ideas on where to start seeking funds, you can download below:

1. A document created by AWID in entitled “Scholarships in Development and Human Rights”, will provide you with general information on where to start and how to go about applying for funds – AWID Funding Ideas

2. A list of potential funders whose programs are more relevant to the Women’s Human Rights Education Institute. – Additional Funding Sources

3. You can strengthen your discount/scholarship request by providing us one or two letters of reference.

Please note: Past applicants’ experience with many of these funders has been that they only fund people working within organizations, not independent individuals, and they often only give funds to their current funding recipients. Thus, we suggest you approach your own funder(s) and think creatively for fundraising—you may have success in finding local patrons to support you. We are happy to provide documentation to assist you in your fundraising.

Payment Deadlines

Once you have received an acceptance to the program of your choice, you must pay a deposit to guarantee your space in the program, as space is limited.  We recommend submitting payment immediately upon acceptance to avoid disappointment.  Payment deadlines and amounts for each program are as follows:

WHRI Intensive

TBA

CEDAW for Change Institute

By March 1:  $300 USD deposit due to guarantee space in the course.  Deposit refundable minus $150 USD administration fee and reverse wire transfer costs before April 1st.  Note that the program may fill up before March 1, you are advised to pay your deposit asap.

By May 1:  Balance of tuition due

Scholarships for WHRI Intensive  (WHRI Intensive program details for 2019 TBC)

Please note that a limited number of partial scholarships will be available for applicants from the Global South who are able to secure their own funds for travel and other related costs.  At this time, we do not have any funds to support travel or accommodations, so please only apply for a tuition discount if you are able to raise the other costs, or if your organization will support your attendance.  

Scholarships will be made available on the basis of need, region of origin and area of work.  In particular, individuals identifying as and working on issues related to indigenous women’s human rights, LBT women’s rights, women’s rights and disability, young women’s human rights, the rights of women of African descent, will be prioritized.   Please note that generally, scholarships are mostly offered to persons identifying as women.  Scholarships are only offered to individuals working as women’s human rights defenders in some capacity.

Those awarded scholarships will be required to show proof of having obtained a visa and the financial support to attend the WHRI by the deposit deadline, or the scholarship will be given to the next person on the wait-list.  Your application for scholarship can be strengthened by submitting a cover letter and letters of reference. It is imperative that you organize your fundraising and visa in a timely manner.

For local applicants in financial need, or those from countries outside of the Global South, contact us directly to discuss a limited number of discount, payment plan and work exchange options.Discounts are also available for students, please visit the WHRI intensive page for additional information on fees and deadlines.

Discounts & Scholarships

WHRI Intensive Discounted rate:  Unwaged participants, full-time students and staff of women’s organizations with an annual budget of less than USD $80,000 are automatically eligible for the discounted tuition rate.  TBA

CEDAW for Change Institute Discounted rate: Unwaged participants, full-time students and staff of women’s organizations with an annual budget of less than USD $80,000 are automatically eligible for the discounted tuition rate. For the 2019 Toronto CEDAW for Change Institute the discounted rate is $800 USD.

Other requests for partial or full scholarships will be considered on a case by case basis, but please bear in mind that fees are charged in order to help us cover expenses and support the sustainability of this program.  We do our best to make it accessible.

To request a deeper discount or full scholarship, check the requirements listed above.  You must then submit a statement of 600- 1000 words (in addition to the regular application) further outlining your interest in the program, your financial constraints, and explaining how you will impact others through your work after participating in the program, as well as 1-2 reference letters. If you identify as belonging to an under-represented community, you are welcome to articulate this.

Note:  You must be invited to apply for a scholarship.  Please let us know if you wish to apply in advance at info@learnwhr.org.

Those awarded partial scholarships will be required to show proof of having obtained a visa and the financial support to attend their chosen program by the deposit deadline, or the scholarship will be given to the next person on the wait-list.  It is imperative that you organize your fundraising and visa in a timely manner. For local applicants in financial need, or those from countries outside of the Global South, contact us directly to discuss a limited number of discount, payment plan and work exchange options.

We do our best each year to ensure that a certain number of partial tuition scholarships are available for applicants from the majority world and/or under-served populations, but the number of scholarships and discounts available seldom meets the quantity of requests.  Our experience has been that the most successful fundraising comes from applicants who approach their existing funders. We are happy to provide you with documents that will help you in your own fundraising.

Discounts are available for multiple participants from the same/affiliated organizations—inquire by email if this applies to you. Please visit the CEDAW for Change page for additional details about fees and deadlines.

Important: Please apply even if you have not yet raised funds. We urge you to include attending the WHRI in your annual funding budget for your organization, and/or to start applying for funds well in advance of the institute.  If you are able to demonstrate that you have sufficient funds to attend the institute, you are much more likely to have a successful visa application as well.

Please choose which institute you are applying for and submit your application online. You cannot save an application in process, so please submit when you have the complete information ready. If you are unable to utilize the online application system, a Word document version of the applications can be requested and submitted by email to info@learnwhr.org. If you have any questions or problems, don’t hesitate to contact us.