Programme Overview:
- Duration:
- 1 Years / 2 Years
- Attendance:
- Full Time / Part Time
- Mode of Delivery:
- Face-to-Face
- Next Intake:
- 2024/2025 September
- Contact Name:
- Spire Graduate
- Contact Number:
- Please click 'Ask a Question'
- Fees:
- Fee Information
The MSc in Human Rights is a one-year intensive course that prepares you for a career in human rights research, policy or advocacy in international organisations, governmental and non-governmental bodies, or academia. There is also a two-year part time option.
Graduates work with international private-sector employers, government agencies and NGOs as:
Human Rights Specialist
Field Officer
Human Rights Consultant
Child Protection Adviser
Public Information Officer
Journalist
Recent graduates of MSc in Human Rights now work in:
Front Line Defenders
United Nations, New York and Geneva
Amnesty International
Médecins sans Frontières
PLAN Ireland
Irish Aid
Oxfam
Curricular information is subject to change
Full Time option suitable for:
Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. Yes
Part Time option suitable for:
Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. No
The progressive realisation of human rights represents perhaps the most challenging political issue of our times. This programme aspires to develop and nurture the skills in studnets that would allow them meet that challenge and controbute constructively to both policy and practice in the field of human rights.
The MSc in Human Rights is a 90-credit programme, including 60 credits of modules taught by staff in the School of Politics and International Relations and the School of Law. Full time students must take three 10-credit modules in the autumn trimester, and three 10-credit modules in the spring trimester. Students must also submit a thesis worth 30-credits or pursue an Internship instead in the summer trimester.
Core and Option Modules for MSc Human Rights
These are the current modules for 2023/24 but are subject to change. Each of the following modules carries 10 credits unless otherwise specified.
Autumn Trimester Core
Autumn Trimester Option
Spring Trimester Core
Spring Trimester Option
Summer Trimester
POL42300 SPIRe Internship (30 credits)
or
POL42310 Thesis (30 credits)
MSc Human Rights (W035) Full Time
EU fee per year - € 10100
nonEU fee per year - € 22600
MSc Human Rights (W110) Part Time
EU fee per year - € 6420
nonEU fee per year - € 11300
***Fees are subject to change
Tuition fee information is available on the UCD Fees website. Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please see International Scholarships.
SPIRe operates a Graduate Scholarship programme, which opens on May 1st. To access details, see SPIRe Graduate Scholarship Scheme. Please note that not all programmes are eligible for this Scholarship, please check the T&C's carefully when they become available.
A primary degree with at least Second Class Honours Grade 1 (2H1) in a relevant subject such as political science, international relations, social science, sociology, history, geography, economics, global studies, public policy, development studies, EU studies, law. 2H1 is equivalent to 60 per cent, B minus or 3.08 GPA - in American system: B or 3.00 GPA.
Ellen Ince
As someone with a passion and interest in learning about different cultures, it was important that my Masters featured an international outlook. This course appealed to me because Human Rights is such a broad field and I was able make the course my own by choosing the areas I wanted to focus on - combining law, political theory, sociology and social justice studies. I had the opportunity to study a range of topics including asylum and refugee law, the origins of human rights, how human rights norms spread and what effects they have on state behaviour, the procedures of United Nations human rights bodies, as well as the functions and limitations of human rights law in achieving equality.
The course was fast-paced and interactive; consisting of class debates on challenging political issues with students from all around the world, as well as group projects and presentations. I greatly appreciated their expertise, kindness and dedication to making the learning experience as enjoyable as possible. Having the option to join classes remotely supported me hugely in balancing college work with my other commitments. Thanks to the MSc Human Rights course, I now have the confidence, skills and motivation to succeed with a strong educational foundation behind me. I would recommend this course to anyone interested in working cross-culturally and looking to pursue a global career in a diverse field.
The following entry routes are available:
* Courses will remain open until such time as all places have been filled, therefore early application is advised