MA Theory and Practice of Human Rights

Our Human Rights Centre is one of the world's oldest and most highly-respected environments for the multi-disciplinary study of human rights. Studying human rights at Essex will enable you to become a member of one of the world's largest, most culturally diverse and professionally successful community of human rights students, practitioners and academics.

Our interdisciplinary course, MA Theory and Practice of Human Rights, examines the history, theoretical development and implementation of human rights. Beyond the practical problems of human rights lie many unresolved theoretical and philosophical issues. These form the basis of this course, which provides you with a solid grounding in fundamental human rights matters within:

• Law
• Politics
• Philosophy
• Sociology

You do not need a Law or Human Rights based undergraduate degree to apply for this MA. We consider applicants for entry to this course with an undergraduate degree in Humanities or Social Sciences. Studying this course will enable you to undertake practical or legal work for human rights organisations.

Our students now have the opportunity to opt for one of four distinct pathways. This includes a generic pathway in which students can choose optional modules spanning across many academic disciplines.

For those students who have a more specific interest in specialising in a distinct area of human rights, we have created the following pathways:

• Human rights, global diversity and global challenges
• Human rights, social justice and social change
• Human rights, gender, race and identity.
• Human rights and the arts - we offer the only MA in the UK that combines arts and human rights, that doesn't require a Law undergraduate degree

To learn more about our pathways, visit the structure tab, or read a blog by Dr Andrew Fagan, Director of the Human Rights Centre.

Our interdisciplinary Human Rights Centre is the UK's leading centre for the study of the theory and practice of international human rights, and has a worldwide reputation for research, teaching and practice. In February 2010, we were awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize in recognition of our work in advancing human rights across the globe.

At Essex, we specialise in business law, public law, criminal justice, health law, law and technology, socio-legal studies and human rights law.

We are ranked 49th for Law in THE World University Rankings by subject 2024, which is 9th in the UK, and we are 3rd in the UK for research power in law (THE research power measure, REF2021).

This course is also available on a part-time basis.

Our expert staff

Our work has always been informed by human rights practice and our senior staff have held - and continue to occupy - key positions in the United Nations human rights and development fields. We have also conducted numerous cases in Strasbourg, establishing far-reaching precedents that have shaped the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights.

At Essex, our objective is to ensure you receive a rigorous academic education that also prepares you for working as a human rights advocate. Every member of our teaching team is a leading human rights academic, as well as a practitioner in the field.

Our team includes former UN Special Rapporteurs, members of UN treaty bodies, the UK member of the UN Human Rights Committee, a member of the Government's new Advisory Group on Human Rights. We are also advisers to a range of international organisations (like the OHCHR, UNHCR and WHO), as well as to NGOs around the world, and litigators before national courts, regional human rights commissions and courts, international courts and tribunals, and the UN treaty bodies.

Specialist facilities

• Participate in various legal competitions to hone your debating, mediation and negotiation skills
• Work on key human rights projects at our Human Rights Clinic
• Network at our student-run Law Society, Human Rights Society, and Bar Society, which provides legal advice to the Commonwealth Students' Association (CSA)
• Volunteer at the Essex Law Clinic where you can work alongside practicing solicitors to offer legal advice to clients
• Gain commercial awareness at our Business and Legal Advice Clinic
• Join our Model United Nations society, which can improve your skills of argumentation, oral presentation and research
• Take advantage of networking opportunities throughout the year with visiting law firms

We also offer a range of opportunities for working with projects associated with our Human Rights Centre:

• Essex Business and Human Rights Project
• International Centre on Human Rights and Drug Policy
• Digital Verification Unit
• Essex Autonomy Project
• Detention, Rights and Social Justice Programme
• Human Rights, Big Data and Technology Project

Your future

Graduates of the MA courses within our Human Rights Centre go on to a variety of careers in the governmental, inter-governmental and non-governmental sectors, and undertake further research.

Recent graduates of our MA Theory and Practice of Human Rights have found employment as:

• Director of investigations for Malawi Human Rights Commission
• A human rights officer for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
• An experimental learning director for CIEE
• A web writer for the British Red Cross
• Grants Manger for the American Councils for International Education
• A project officer for Relief International
• Women and housing rights programme officer for the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE)

Other graduates now work for the Council of Europe, the United Nations, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Save the Children, Shelter, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists.

We are first university in the UK to sign a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). This creates internship and research opportunities for our postgraduate students and is based on our long-established expertise in international humanitarian law.

During the year, we hold a careers session for our students in which we reflect upon our own careers and how they have been built as well as those from former students. We are always available to discuss career options and if you are interested in a particular area of human rights, we can link you up with the relevant alumni to offer advice.

We also work with the university's Careers Services to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities. Take a look at our dedicated careers pages for Law and Human Rights.

UK entry requirements

A 2:2 degree in Law, or a 2:2 joint honours degree that includes at least one of the following subjects:

• Criminology
• International Relations
• Law
• Politics
• Political Science
• Sociology

We will also consider applicants with any other 2:2 degree or above.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, we require IELTS 6.5 overall with a minimum component score of 6.0 in writing and 5.5 in all other components.

If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.

Additional Notes

The University uses academic selection criteria to determine an applicant’s ability to successfully complete a course at the University of Essex. Where appropriate, we may ask for specific information relating to previous modules studied or work experience.

Course structure

Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field. The following modules are based on the current course structure and may change in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.

Our students now have the opportunity to opt for one of four distinct pathways. This includes a generic pathway in which students can choose optional modules spanning across many academic disciplines. For those students who have a more specific interest in specialising in a distinct area of human rights, we have created 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.

1. Generic pathway

This pathway allows our students the opportunity to acquire a broad, generalist education in human rights without specialising on a specific set of themes and issues. The content of the generic pathway encompasses the vast range of optional modules available across all of the other MA Theory and Practice of Human Rights pathways.

2. Human Rights, Global Diversity and Global Challenges

This pathway offers students the opportunity to engage with a comprehensive set of normative and institutional challenges surrounding the complex relationship between the promotion of universal human rights and respecting regional, national and cultural differences. It also offers an opportunity to engage with principal regional approaches to international human rights law and to contextualise these within a global framework which continues to be deeply influenced by a variety of complex power relationships between, for example, the Global North and Global South. This pathway is great for students who wish to develop human rights careers in a changing global landscape, in which new challenges are emerging.

3. Human Rights, Social Justice & Social Change

Human rights are widely perceived as an integral component of wider attempts to promote social justice. To this extent, the complex relationship between normative theories of justice and key political, legal, social and economic institutions ought to be a core focal point for the study of human rights. Similarly, there are many sources of and factors within a broad array of forms of continuing injustice. It is essential that these factors are effectively understood and engaged with. Finally, all political, social legal and economic forms of life are subject to significant forms of change and alteration, which often have a profound impact upon our understanding and application of human rights. This pathway provides an opportunity for students to engage with this crucial area of academic and practical interest. This pathway is for students who are interested in political/social theory, focused upon combatting socio-economic injustices and inequalities, and those with more overtly practical motivations towards learning how to deploy human rights in the current global order.

4. Human Rights, Gender, Race & Identity

This pathway will examine the role of human rights in recognising, protecting and advocating for marginalised groups or identities – those at the social fringes who find it difficult access sites of power - the economy, politics, the enjoyment of rights & social capital on account of group membership. Linking to theories of social justice and social change, the pathway will introduce students to different paradigms from a range of disciplines to enable them to conceptualise ways (both theoretical and practical) to redress social imbalances between dominant and marginal groups (for example, how to address structural and institutional racism, how to address the economic, social, institutional and cultural effects of patriarchy, or how to address extreme income and wealth inequalities between groups), leading to fairer and more equitable societies.

5. Human Rights and the Arts

We offer the only MA in the UK that combines arts and human rights, that doesn't require a Law undergraduate degree

This pathway will provide students with an interdisciplinary introduction to and engagement with the relationship between human rights and the arts. Separate sessions will focus upon the specific contributions which a carefully selected range of artistic forms and genres have engaged with and contributed to the global defence of human rights. The pathway is taught by and will draw upon the expertise of colleagues in the areas of contemporary art, cultural studies, dance, literature, mass media and photography. It will enable students to situate key debates surrounding the significance and importance of art within wider human rights challenges. Key topics will include, photography and human rights, the art of protest movements and Holocaust and art restitution.

We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We'll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website and in line with your contract with us. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, we'll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.

Teaching

Postgraduate students in Essex Law School usually attend two-hour workshops, or a one-hour lecture and one-hour seminar for each module each week.

• You will be taught and supervised by our staff who are world leaders and experts in the field
• Your MA will include five taught modules and a dissertation
• We run activities including tours to European institutions, trips to Kosovo, Right Skills for Rights workshops, a seminar series and a celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Assessment

• All modules on our courses take the form of take-home exams and essays
• Modules from our Department of Government offer a formal sit-down examination

Dissertation

• Your dissertation is of 15,000 to 20,000 words, and you are allocated a supervisor to cover a range of human rights topics