Human Rights and Global Ethics MA

University of Leicester

Course description

In today's world, human rights continue to go unprotected and disrespected, with situations of protracted conflict and displacement only the most visible example of a gap between the promise and reality of universal human rights. Even the idea of universal human rights continues to be hotly contested. This degree addresses challenges at both the practical and conceptual level. It also encourages you to appraise all aspects of international politics from the perspective of global ethics, which means considering the rights and wrongs of issues related to institutions, foreign policy and trade.

By taking this course you will gain a thorough grounding in key concepts and theories of human rights and global ethics. You will develop your knowledge of the different theoretical and policy perspective on a range of ethical issues. You will also study in depth the global political context of pressing ethical issues, which includes considerations of state behaviour and relations between states and non-state actors. You also have the option of taking specialist modules in International Human Rights Law as part of this course.

You will develop their research skills and pursue in-depth dissertation length studies in human rights and global ethics, benefiting from academic expertise in areas including intelligence, slavery, citizenship, refugees, animal rights, security, and war.

The degree will equip you with the competencies and skills to understand and participate in contemporary debates in human rights and global ethics and to analyse politics and international relations using a mixture of normative, theoretical and empirical tools.

You will gain knowledge and skills relevant to employment and career development in government, media, business, non-governmental organisations and any professional context in which cross-cultural sensitivity and ethical awareness are requirements.

Teaching and learning

You will be assessed through a combination of essays, seminar papers and (if you are completing the MA) your dissertation of 12,000 to 15,000 words.

Careers and employability

Our postgraduate degrees are an excellent way to enhance your expertise and career prospects and provide a foundation for a wide range of career options. You may seek to use your knowledge to work in government service, international organisations or areas of political research and journalism. Or you may opt to look for employment in fields such as banking, business or teaching where your MA will be respected as a postgraduate qualification.

You may also want to consider further research after you graduate. Political Research graduates specialising in politics research find that the research skills the degree fosters are invaluable. They now occupy posts as lecturers, as research associates and as research assistants.

Students taking postgraduate degrees offered by Politics and International Relations at Leicester have gone into careers in the civil service, business, the law, the police, banking, journalism, management consultancy, librarianship and teaching. Others have gone on to doctoral research.