Academic Programs
Graduate Academic Programs
Columbia University has a unique international reputation in the study of human rights, earned through decades of highly respected training of human rights professionals, output of powerful and innovative research by faculty, and a commitment to service throughout the world.
While the programs below offer the most structured opportunities for graduate human rights study at Columbia, many other programs facilitate and include varying degrees of emphasis on the study of human rights.Human Rights Studies Liberal Studies MA
The Liberal Studies Masters of Arts (LSMA) in Human Rights Studies focuses on the concepts and day-to-day operation of human rights work from the viewpoint of several disciplines. The program is designed to introduce students from diverse backgrounds and with different professional interests to the general legal and philosophical principles and the history of human rights, and to offer them particular knowledge in one area of human rights-health, women, economics and development, or communication. The program of study concludes with a substantial research paper analyzing the problems, mechanisms and philosophical underpinnings of human rights work.
SIPA Human Rights Concentration
The Human Rights Concentration is an interdisciplinary program where professionals and scholars of different expertise and perspectives come together with the purpose of integrating human rights into all aspects of their work. The concentration is comprised of three layers: academic coursework, support for students in the program as well as extracurricular and social activities. The concentration is open to Masters of International Affairs (MIA) students in the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). Through study of the diverse forces that have shaped modern institutions and the ways in which diverse forces project themselves into the international sphere, the Master of International Affairs (MIA) program equips graduates to function effectively in a world of accelerating change.
Human Rights Institute, School of Law
Columbia Law School has the oldest comprehensive human rights program in legal education in the United States, perhaps in the world, including one of the first internship programs and human rights clinics. In 1998, building on decades of human rights education, Columbia Law School founded the Human Rights Institute to help train the next generation of lawyers, teachers, and human rights professionals.
The Institute is dedicated to building bridges between theory and practice; between law and other disciplines; between national (constitutional) rights and international human rights. Through programs of symposia, conferences, and lectures, and through faculty and student exchanges, fellowships and internships, the Institute renders Columbia's participation and influence worldwide.
Program on Forced Migration and Health, Mailman School of Public Health
The Program on Forced Migration and Health is committed to professionalizing the field of humanitarian response. The Program pursues it mission through:
- Graduate-level training in public health. The Program offers a Masters in Public Health (M.P.H.) through the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The Curriculum includes the public health core and several required forced migration and health courses.
- Research, advocacy and partnerships. Program faculty lead innovate research projects and participate in global partnerships to improve the health and well-being of people affected by conflict and forced migration.
- Support to international organizations. The Program assists United Nations organizations and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) by offering technical assistance, training and capacity building to improve the quality and efficacy of humanitarian response in complex emergencies.
The Program's teaching and research components emphasize pragmatic, inter-disciplinary, and human rights-based problem-solving in the health and social sectors.
Sexuality and Health Track, Mailman School of Public Health
The primary purpose of the Sexuality and Health Track is to provide public health students with the conceptual and practical skills necessary to identify, analyze and address health issues connected to sexuality within a global context. The program is guided by the following assumptions:
- Sexuality encompasses a complex of behaviors and meanings that are shaped by individual, social and cultural factors;
- Sexual health encompasses more than the absence of disease and includes sexual well-being;
- The dynamic relationship between sexuality and gender impacts the sexual health and well-being of individuals and communities;
- Age, race/ethnicity, class, sexual orientation and historical context all have profound effects on the linkages between sexuality, gender and health;
- Sexual health can be promoted via a variety of strategies including policy development, health education programs and interventions, and advocacy.
The Track’s teaching and research components emphasize pragmatic, inter-disciplinary, and human rights-based problem-solving in the health and social sectors, and include attention to policy and health systems frameworks.
International and Transcultural Studies' Peace Education Concentration
In recognition of the unprecedented dimensions of issues of security, war and peace, human rights and global justice, and sustainable development in a world of violent conflict, the program in International Educational Development (Teacher's College Department of International and Transcultural Studies) offers a degree concentration in Peace Education. Peace Education is primarily concerned with addressing direct and structural violence through the transformation of pedagogy, curriculum, and policy related to education in both formal and non-formal contexts. Through the concentration, students are provided with a conceptual understanding of issues related to peace and human rights, as well as practical skills in curriculum development. Both Masters and doctoral students are required to take two core courses in Peace Education and, in addition, can select courses related to peace, security, conflict resolution, human rights, and global justice.
Certificate in Human Rights for PhD students
The Certificate in Human Rights is designed primarily to complement a student’s disciplinary preparation for the dissertation; it also offers a certificate upon the completion of twenty-seven points of study. Participation is appropriate for students with career objectives related to human rights teaching, research, and professional practice and who have been admitted to and meet the degree requirements of the participating departments: Philosophy, Political Science, History, Sociology, Law, Social Work, and Public Health.
