Master in Human Rights Education

Grounded in the practice of critical pedagogy, this program provides a dynamic learning community where students benefit from rigorous experience both in the classroom and in the community.

Program Features

The only opportunity in the US to receive a master’s degree in human rights education. Rich in-class learning experiences with expert faculty blended with opportunities for practical work in schools and community organizations in the Bay Area.

Pedagogy aimed at addressing inequities based on race, class, gender, sexual identity, religion, and nation.

OUR STUDENTS

Our students arrive at USF as educators, filmmakers, community organizers, after-school program directors, and more, eager to explore new ways of reading the world using a human rights framework.

CAPSTONE PROJECTS

As part of a final capstone project, students are required to create a curriculum, design a program, and produce a written project that summarizes their knowledge and experience. Want to check out past master’s projects? Human Rights Education projects are posted on USF’s scholarship repository.

Program Details Human rights education is a deliberate, participatory practice aimed at empowering individuals, groups, and communities through fostering knowledge, skills, and attitudes consistent with internationally recognized human rights principles.

Amnesty International

Designed to support teachers of early childhood through college, as well as educators working in non-formal settings such as community organizations, Human Rights Education (HRE) entails understanding the promise of rights guarantees and the gap between rights and actual realities.

Courses examine the right to education, schooling with dignity and rights, and curricular efforts towards social justice and comprehensive human rights. Students engage with issues in local and global contexts, with emphasis on globalization, migration, social movements, and transnationalism.

Transformation is an essential element of HRE and is done through a process of education that empowers people to make changes in their own lives, as well as in their families, communities, and institutions.

Program Delivery

The program follows a schedule of alternate weekend classes that convene nine times a semester (Friday evenings and all day Saturdays). See Teaching Weekend dates.

A hallmark of the Masters in Human Rights Education program is its flexibility to work with diverse students. Students can complete the coursework requirements in as few as 18 months (two academic year semesters plus the summer term) and can extend the program as long as needed (up to 5 years). Most students complete the Master's program in 2 academic years with summer coursework often included.

COURSE DETAILS

The Master of Arts in Human Rights Education (HRE) consists of 30 credits. Requirements include 15 credits of core coursework, 9 credits of elective coursework, and 6 credits of Culminating Project. All classes are 3 credits unless otherwise noted.

HRE FOUNDATIONS COURSES | 9 CREDITS

• IME 618 - International Human Rights Law for Educators (3)
• IME 620 - Human Rights Education: Pedagogy and Praxis (3)
• IME 621 - Human Rights Education: History, Philosophy and Current Debates (3)
• HRE TOPIC COURSES | 9 CREDITS (SELECT 3 OF 4 COURSES)
• IME 616 - Social Movements and Human Rights (3)
• IME 617 - Tools for Human Rights Practice (3)
• IME 619 - Gender and Globalization (3)
• IME 640 - Immigration and Forced Displacement (3)

HRE ELECTIVES | 6 CREDITS (SELECT 2 COURSES)

• IME 602 - Linguistic Rights and Bilingual Education (3)
• IME 605 - Re-conceptualizing Multicultural Education (3)
• IME 606 - Critical Analysis of Urban Schooling (3)
• IME 612 - Critical Race Theory and Praxis (3)
• IME 625 - Contemporary International Issues (3)
• IME 636 - Human Rights and Media (3)
• IME 637 - Critical Pedagogy (3)
• IME 639 - Cross-Cultural Literacy (3)

CULMINATING PROJECT | 6 CREDITS

• GEDU 603 - Methodology of Educational Research (3)
• IME 649 - MA Thesis/Field Project (3)

GRADUATES OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION PROGRAM INCLUDE:

• A youth development worker with a non-profit serving homeless youth.
• A curriculum designer and trainer for an immigrant rights organization.
• A Fulbright recipient.
• A community organizer with low-income communities.
• A faculty member at a community college teaching 'Peace and Human Rights'.
• An educator of immigrant and refugee youth.
• A study abroad coordinator for undergraduate students.

Careers

Graduates of the Human Rights Education MA program are educators and activists who work in a variety of settings.

Examples of career options include:

• Non-governmental organizations or schools in the U.S. or internationally.
• Work with immigrants or refugees in the U.S. in some capacity (teacher, youth development worker, after-school educator).
• Work in curriculum development or program design for global education programs.
• Work in policy settings such as state or national departments of education.
• Work in agencies like UNICEF, Save the Children, CARE, etc.