Master of Arts - Social Justice and Human Rights

From labor and migration to education and the environment, the MA program in Social Justice and Human Rights allows students to explore key topics and the legal, political, historical and cultural frameworks that contextualize them.

Students may focus on specific issues in international or domestic contexts, including refugee resettlement, immigration and citizenship, human trafficking, racialized violence, and international human rights law and organizations. In theoretically and methodologically rigorous courses taught by experienced faculty from various disciplines, students develop understanding of how social justice and human rights issues are defined by multiple and intersecting forms of inequality and social identity, including gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality and nationality. The program is well-suited to those aiming to channel their interests and passions towards ethical responses to social injustice and human rights abuses.

Many students complete internships domestically or internationally, with interns typically working alongside other researchers and advocates for social justice to grasp the complexities of the issues and to hone their abilities to work effectively in both research and advocacy contexts. Internships may also inform the basis of the culminating experience: a traditional Master of Arts thesis, an applied project or a capstone course.

Students in this program gain deeper insight into the theory and practice of social justice, human rights and humanitarian efforts, and they develop practical skills in research and grant writing.