MSc in International Human Rights Law

About the course

This is a part-time degree offered over two academic years. It is designed in particular for lawyers and other human rights advocates who wish to pursue advanced studies in international human rights law but may need to do so alongside work responsibilities.

This course includes two periods of online distance learning as well as two summer residentials held at New College, Oxford.

A central objective of the course is to ensure that you not only know about but can also effectively and expertly apply human rights law. The curriculum places equal emphasis on the substance of human rights law, its implementation and research.

Students come from all over the world and from a variety of advocacy settings; from various international and non-governmental organisations, governments, universities, foundations, the media, the armed forces, medicine and other fields and from private and corporate practice. The faculty is also diverse and includes internationally recognised human rights scholars and advocates. The programme seeks the widest possible diversity among both students and tutors.

The first period of distance learning comprises guided online study over two terms, with each of its units including reading periods followed by tutor-guided asynchronous seminars.

Assessment

The degree is assessed by coursework (20%), examinations (50%) and a dissertation (30%).

Your first period of distance learning is assessed by way of assignments, and the second by way of a dissertation. You will sit two examinations during each of the two summer residentials.

Graduate destinations

Students have gone on to work as prosecutors and defence lawyers at the International Criminal Court, other UN criminal tribunals, and various regional human rights bodies. They work in private and multi-national corporate practice; in various ministries in their national governments and as UN officials ranging from refugee legal protection officers to country representatives. Others are judges, university professors, lawyers with their national armed forces, heads of NGOs and journalists.

Applicants are normally expected to have achieved the equivalent of the following UK qualifications or their equivalent: a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in any relevant subject. Applicants with a lower second-class (2.2) degree or a GPA lower than 3.0 are unlikely to be admitted. This is the case even if you took your degree long ago, have extensive experience or hold a senior position.