MA Human Rights

Why choose this course?

This course explores how human rights are connected to politics, culture, institutions, movements and values. It can help you start or promote a career in areas such human rights advocacy, policy or communication. You will examine the history, status and scope of human rights, and gain essential practical skills required in the field, eg advanced research training, campaign design, policy analysis and impact evaluation. You will benefit from teaching from human rights practitioners and specialists. Course leader Stephen Bowen has 25 years' experience as an international human rights practitioner, including Campaigns Director of Amnesty International UK, Chief Human Rights Officer for the United Nations Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Director of the British Institute of Human Rights, and Legal Adviser to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. You will receive support to arrange a placement in a human rights or social justice organisation as part of the course, to gain valuable practical experience. Previous student placements have been undertaken at Liberty, Peace Brigades International, Amnesty International, and Refugee Action. You will have the opportunity to arrange a placement in a human rights organisation, increasing your employability in the field.

What you will study

You will look at the organisations and activities involved in the protection of human rights. You will explore social and campaigning movements, pressure groups, nation states, international and transnational organisations, and examine the scope of their contributions to the development of human rights and social justice. You will analyse current international situations and relations between states and non-state organisations where conflicts have resulted in considerable violations of human rights. You will investigate the challenges and demands that arise from the continual movements of peoples, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants who flee conflicts and disasters, seeking realisation of their fundamental rights. Key topics in the curriculum are compiled on an annual basis, so your learning is based on major contemporary issues in human rights. For example, recent case studies in the core modules have addressed the human rights implications of the use of drones in the "war on terror"; the status of UN negotiations to create a legally binding treaty on human rights and transnational corporations; the challenge of rising populism; and the question of extreme poverty and human rights in the USA.

Teaching and assessment

Assessment typically comprises practical assessments (eg presentations, performance) and coursework (eg essays, reports, self-assessment, portfolios, dissertation).