This is an American degree, four years in length.
The Human Rights major offers you an in-depth overview of historical and contemporary human rights issues from an interdisciplinary perspective.
The programme explores:
- The concepts and principles underlying human rights traditions
- The laws and institutions that support and implement human rights framework
- Political repression, social marginalisation and the role of human rights in the protection of marginalised groups
You have the opportunity to attend numerous lectures and seminars at the University and across London, which offer insights into human rights regimes and activism.
You will also be required to display competence in a foreign language.
Why should I choose this programme?
We live in a rapidly changing, inter-connected world. While the processes of globalisation have a positive impact on economic development, the more challenging consequences cannot be neglected.
Increasingly the debate about respecting human rights moved from the fringes of world affairs to centre stage.
This programme is aimed at students who care deeply about human rights and are passionate about improving the state of human rights around the world, even making it their career path.
Key skills, aims and objectives
- Become familiar with the history of, and current practices in, human rights frameworks and legal norms
- Critically analyse theories, concepts, and ideas in human rights
- Understand major human rights issues, past and present
- Evaluate the potential solutions to human rights abuses, including the work of transnational operators
- Comprehend the quantitative and qualitative methods of, and the ethical issues involved in, human rights research
- Engage in human rights field experience
Future opportunities
Studying international human rights opens the door to diverse career opportunities, including within governments.
Additionally, there is enormous growth of non-governmental organisations and international non-governmental organisations that specialise in different aspects of human rights, and which employ human rights experts.
Other areas of growth are corporate social responsibility and public relations within the business community, both of which require human rights expertise.
