“This is a very famous university which has been involved in the fight for human rights in all parts of the world” -- President Nelson Mandela, University of Essex, 10 July 1997 

Welcome to the Human Rights Centre

Welcome to the Human Rights Centre. We are one of the oldest, most prestigious and highly regarded academic human rights centres in the world. Our contribution to the promotion of human rights was recognised by the award of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize in February 2010. The University of Essex established the first human rights postgraduate degree in 1983 and it has continually and rapidly developed since then. We now have over 2000 Alumni who form a major part in the Essex Human Rights community and help to continually re-create our global reputation.

  • We are the 1st University to develop a multi-disciplinary MA in human rights study – MA in the Theory and Practice of Human Rights which has been running for 20 years.

  • We offer an excellent multi-disciplinary Postgraduate Research degree scheme in Human Rights. An exciting opportunity for research students to be able to conduct their research under the supervision of academics, many of which have global reputations for their area of expertise in the human rights field.

  • We were the 1st to offer Undergraduate human right courses which were established 10 years ago. We offer a varied selection of human rights courses with other disciplines such as Law, Sociology, Philosophy, Politics and Latin American Studies

  • We offer a huge range of extra-curricular opportunities for all students including student tours to various European human rights institutions, Kosovo, Brussels and London NGOs; as well as speaker series, internship, vocational and career development events and opportunities.

  • Studying human rights at Essex enables you to become a member of one of the largest, most culturally diverse and professionally successful communities of human rights students, practitioners and academics in the world.

  • We have developed partnerships with professional organisations such as the International Centre for Prison Studies and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations

  • Essex alumni can be found working across the world in varied professional human rights employment from grass roots organisations, NGOs, government departments, inter-governmental organisations, academia and global human rights organisations.

  • Over the last three decades, we have developed an extensive record in the field of academic and policy research. The Human Rights Centre is especially well-known for its work internationally on civil and political rights, including the prohibition against torture, as well as international humanitarian law and the protection of human rights in situations of armed conflict.



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