SOAS provides a unique environment and opportunity to engage with relevant issues taught by our expert staff who bring with them a wealth of knowledge and experience of working and teaching in the field. This includes posts such as United Nations Independent Expert on human rights in the Sudan, acting as advisors to national, regional and international bodies, and in multiple roles and affiliations with civil society organisations and actors.
The MA in Human Rights Law uses a range of teaching methods and approaches, which draw on the wider, global community of academics, legal practitioners and NGOs, to foster an engaged, critical learning environment. The International Human Rights Clinic is a particularly popular example of this approach.
The area of human rights, conflict and justice occupies an important place in the SOAS School of Law, which is home to the SOAS Centre for Human Rights Law. The Centre provides a focal point for research activities and regular events, and an opportunity for postgraduate students to become involved and engage with the SOAS research community and actors in the field.
Aims
This programme will give the student the opportunity:
- To develop broad-ranging knowledge of applications of and issues in human rights law, in a context of international and comparative law.
- To be able to engage in theoretical and empirical analysis of international and comparative law, with particular reference to human rights law.
- To be able to explain and debate events and trends in human rights law.
To facilitate the study of law, all MA students are required to attend a two-week Preliminary Law, Legal Reasoning and Legal Methods in the September before beginning the MA programme.
Students must take modules to a total value of 180, consisting of a dissertation (60 credits) and 120 credits of taught modules. Taught modules are worth either 15 or 30 credits.
Students who wish to graduate with a specialised MA are required to take at least 60 credits associated with his or her specialised MA, a further 30 credits within the School of Law, and a final 30 unit which can either be taken within the School of Law or from the Language Open Options or Non-Language Open Options pages with the MA Programme Convenor’s permission. The dissertation topic will be undertaken within the MA specialisation.
With a student population of around 4,000 from over 100 countries, our relatively small size ensures that we offer a friendly and welcoming environment while at the same time being able to take advantage of all University of London facilities.
- International class
- International faculty
- International study tours
- Issuance of foreign diploma and certifications
