MA Human Rights

Choose Kingston’s Human Rights MA

This human rights course takes a broad conception of human rights as its basis – what HG Wells once said was the belief that everyone is entitled to the "nourishment… care and attention needed to realise [their] full possibilities of physical and mental health from birth to death".

It looks at how far human rights are enshrined in definitions of citizenship and to what extent they form the basis of national and international law. In addition, it explores the extent to which human rights are enshrined in and supported by a deeper politics and culture, by institutions, structures, movements and values.

If you would like to develop a career as a practitioner or researcher in the field of human rights and are interested in the connections between theory and practice, this course is ideal.

What will you study?

The scope of this course is extensive and challenging. It deals with political developments in the UK, in Europe and internationally. You will look at nation-states, international and transnational organisations, but also at campaigning movements and pressure groups, recognising how much the development and securing of human rights owe to them.

This will involve both the study of the current international situation and of relations between states and non-state actors where conflicts have resulted in considerable violations of human rights.

You will also look at the challenges and demands that have resulted from the continual and growing movements of people, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants fleeing conflicts and seeking better lives. This course is underpinned by a grounding in case law in human rights.