"As an academic and practitioner (at the UN) in human rights, I can only congratulate the course team for putting together such an attractive package of learning and practice. It strikes me as very much a ‘leading edge’ programme in its area."
Patrick Thornberry CMG, Professor of International Law, Keele University, and Member, UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Images from the Berlin Museum
"After completing my training as a commercial solicitor, I realised that I wanted to move into an area of law with a more human, personal dimension. This LLM has provided me with a way to develop my interest in human rights into a career. As well as gaining a solid grounding in the academic and technical aspects of international human rights law, I am learning to apply my existing legal skills in a new field, and am being encouraged to reflect on what is important to me in my professional life."
Marina Sinclair-Chin, LLM Student 2010/11
Berlin Wall
"After working in a law firm in Milan, I went into the development sector. In my last post, I was programme manager for a project on gender violence in Northern Uganda, which received some of its funding from the International Criminal Court’s Trust Fund for Victims.
After four years of being in the field, I felt it was time to do postgraduate study so I could develop my legal background and development experience into a professional career in human rights. This LLM was very much the right choice."
Laura Canali, LLM Student 2010/11
Red Cross Museum
LLM IN INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW & PRACTICE
WHAT MAKES OUR LLM DISTINCTIVE
Our LLM is distinctive because students:
- Work on real human rights issues, which gives practical skills, hands-on experience and improved job prospects
- Get the opportunity to work alongside human rights defenders during a two-week field visit to Malaysia or externship in York
LLM OVERVIEW
The key paradox of international human rights law is that the recent proliferation of treaties and adjudicative bodies has not significantly diminished serious human rights abuses.
The LLM in International Human Rights Law and Practice engages students in a critical and nuanced examination of this paradox, while providing them with the practical skills necessary to apply global norms at the local level.
The LLM has a diverse student body. The 2010-11 class included a Chevening Scholar from Pakistan and a Ford Foundation Scholar from Gaza, while other students hailed from Canada, China, Egypt, Italy, South Korea, Rwanda, the UK and the US. Many had some prior human rights experience.
Autumn term |
Spring term |
Summer term |
Summer vacation |
Core modules Defending Human Rights Human Rights Lawyering Law, Public Policy & Human Rights Applying International Human Rights Law |
Core modules Defending Human Rights Human Rights Lawyering Inner ring of options (students must select at least one): Asylum, Migration & Trafficking Development & Human Rights Health & Human Rights Truth, Justice & Reparations Cultures of Human Rights Outer ring of options (students may select one): Contemporary Issues in Toleration Contemporary Philosophy Social and Political Issues in Development Teaching and Learning Citizenship and Global Education Women, Citizenship and Conflict |
Core modules Dissertation |
Core modules Dissertation |
The LLM is taught in weekly lectures and seminars covering specific case studies and including skills training on oral presentations, advocacy, report writing, legal memos, and press releases.
PART TIME STUDY
The course may be taken on a part time basis. In year one, part time students will complete two compulsory modules in the Autumn term (“Law, Public Policy and Human Rights” and “Applying International Human Rights Law”) and one “inner ring” optional module in the Spring term. In year two, part time students will complete the “Defending Human Rights” and “Human Rights Lawyering” compulsory modules (including the Malaysia field visit or an externship in the UK), their second optional module, and the dissertation.
LLM CAREER PATHS
Our LLM provides career advice, networking opportunities, hands-on experience, and personalised reference letters to help our graduates find good jobs with human rights NGOs, humanitarian organisations, charities, policy think-tanks, national governments, and UN agencies.