Our courses

• You're curious as to how individuals, communities and governments approach human rights differently across the globe.

• You have an analytical nose and are hungry to investigate the abuse of rights around the globe.

• You want to fight for the human rights of the vulnerable, or those affected by discrimination, social divisions and inequality.

• You're fascinated by the history of human rights and how it's developed throughout time.

• You feel passionately that all beings should have freedom of thought and expression.
• You're interested in the study of human rights in Latin America.

• You're intrigued by how globalisation affects international relations and human rights.

• You want to address the impact of politics and political events on domestic and international affairs.

• You want to understand human rights from a political, sociological, philosophical, economic or historical perspective.

If you answered yes to one or more of the above, then your ideal course is waiting for you at Essex. The question is, are you ready to begin your journey in becoming one of the generations next human rights defenders?

• LLB Law with Human Rights if you're interested in a career which combines both legal studies and human rights.
• BA Global Studies with Human Rights if you're intrigued by how individuals, communities and governments approach human rights differently across the globe.
• BA History with Human Rights if you're interested in exploring ideas of how human rights have developed throughout history.
• BA Journalism with Human Rights if you'd like to develop your journalistic skills whilst exploring topics of human rights from war to immigration, on an international scale.
• BA Philosophy with Human Rights for those who want to explore powerful practical ideas intertwined with ethics, religion, justice, freedom of thought and expression.
• BA Politics with Human Rights if you have an interest in political events, forms of democracy, international and domestic political affairs and their effect on human rights.
• BA Sociology with Human Rights if you're curious as to what have been the major achievements, setbacks, and challenges to the global human rights movement.

We know that university should be more than just attending lectures (as important as they are). It's about the experience outside the classroom too. At Essex, we want to give you incredible opportunities that will challenge you, push you outside of your comfort zone, give you real-life experiences, and shape you into a world-class human rights graduate.

By taking advantage of these incredible opportunities, you can feel confident, and ready to embark on your next steps, whether that's going into further education, or starting an exhilarating career in human rights.

Here are some of these exciting opportunities we're talking about:

• working on key human rights projects housed within our Human Rights Centre Clinic
• networking at our student-run Law Society, Human Rights society, and Bar society, which provides legal advice to the Commonwealth Students’ Association (CSA)
• volunteering at the Essex Law Clinic where you can work alongside practising solicitors to offer legal advice to real clients in the community
• gaining commercial awareness at our Business and Legal Advice Clinic
• being involved in mooting competitions to get a taste of the real experience, and develop your debating and communication skills
• testing your mediation and negotiation skills in our Client Interviewing Competition
• joining our Model United Nations society, Amnesty International society, Digital Libre society, and Liberty League which can improve your skills of argumentation, public speaking, negotiation and research. (There are lots of other societies you can get involved with too)
• experiencing the benefits of having a peer mentor to guide you through your first year
• taking advantage of networking opportunities throughout the year with visiting law firms
• meet like-minded women with an interest in pursuing a legal career in our Women in Law society
• join our South Asian Law Students Association and enjoy numerous social, cultural, and educational events throughout the year

There's a lot to decide when choosing where to study, but if you want to learn more about studying at Essex, we recommend chatting to some of our friendly students and staff who are keen to talk with you about all things Essex.

Applying to Essex couldn't be easier or more straight forward. All the information you need to know about how to apply for your degree, entry requirements, what to include in your application, information for EU and international students and more can all be found on our dedicated webpage amongst a wealth of further resources to help get you started.

Our LLM courses are appropriate if you have a specific interest in the legal protection of human rights or humanitarian law principles.

LLM International Human Rights Law if you want to develop an understanding of the promotion and protection of international law in a historical and philosophical context, and how it applies in situations including states of emergency or acute crises.

LLM Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for those interested in public policy making, and in achieving economic, social and cultural rights both domestically and internationally.

LLM International Humanitarian Law if you are passionate about addressing situations such as armed conflict and acute crises, and how these affect the lives of millions of people around the world.

LLM International Human Rights and Economic Law students will address businesses' responsibility for human rights, and the relationship between human rights and international trade and investment law. Students will also have an opportunity to work with our Essex Business and Human Rights Project (EBHR) or a relevant project in the Essex Human Rights Centre Clinic. 

LLM International Criminal Law provides students with an opportunity to study all facets of issues pertaining to achieving international justice and preventing impunity, across a wide range of specialist modules covering substantive and procedural aspects of international criminal law, and transnational criminal law.

Our MA courses provide a first-class education in both the intellectual foundations of human rights and the application of human rights within a complex global environment.  

Our flag-ship MA course, MA Theory and Practice of Human Rights has been significantly refreshed so you now have the opportunity to complete the MA by opting for one of our four distinct pathways. These are generic pathways where you can choose from a list of optional modules spanning many academic disciplines. If you have a more specific interest in specialising in a distinct area of human rights, you can choose from the following pathways: human rights, global diversity and global challenges; human rights, social justice, and social change; and finally, human rights, gender, race, and identity.

We've made the process of applying for your Masters degree at Essex straightforward. You can apply for a course via our online portal. We'd also recommend you take a look at our dedicated webpage to find out everything you need to know before you apply, including entry requirements, information for international and EU students, our alumni loyalty discount scheme, advice on writing your personal statement, all necessary documents and a whole lot more.

Our Doctoral Affiliates Network is a community of PhD students at the University of Essex, who are engaged in some related aspect of human rights research, and who wish to benefit from sharing ideas and research within a more multi and inter-disciplinary environment than would typically be possible within a single department or discipline.

Membership of the Network is open to any student studying a PhD at Essex. We welcome all postgraduate research students from any academic department or discipline. The Network meets regularly throughout the year. Events include the presentation and discussion of on-going research, career development seminars and workshops, as well as occasional social events.

Each year we host a Postgraduate Research Students’ conference aimed at students working within the broad interdisciplinary field of human rights and social justice. The conference aims to stimulate research on contemporary human rights issues, problems, challenges and policies, and to facilitate the dissemination of such research.

Our University’s Proficio scheme develops your skills and knowledge, and increases your employability potential for careers in academia and industry by providing funding for specialist training across a range of areas, including researching and managing your PhD, presenting your work and getting published. For example, each year we run the Essex Summer School in Human Rights Research Methods, and you can use your Proficio credit to participate in this course at a reduced cost.