Postgraduate Study

Our human rights programme is the longest-running interdisciplinary, practice-oriented human rights Master's programme in the UK. The MA was originally founded with staff from Amnesty International in 1995. Our priority is to equip students with practical skills, such as advocacy, research, and fundraising, essential to working in the field of human rights to enable them to build a human rights career. This Master's degree is therefore particularly suitable for individuals who are, or seek to become, human rights practitioners in the NGO, business, governmental and inter-governmental sectors. Our degree is praised by employers for providing the necessary practical skills human rights professionals need, making our graduates highly employable. 

The HRC, alongside the School of Advanced Study and the University of London, currently offers the following programmes:

• MA Human Rights by distance learning
• Postgraduate Diploma in Human Rights by distance learning 
• Postgraduate Certificate in Human Rights by distance learning
• MPhil/PhD in Human Rights
• Online Short Courses

The programme has more than 850 graduates located across the globe. Alumni have gone on to work for an impressive range of key positions in government departments, intergovernmental organisations, policy agencies, academic institutions and non-governmental organisations. Learn more here.

Please note that we are not recruiting for the MA in Understanding and Securing Human Rights campus programme for the 2025/2026 academic year.