U-HMNRGT-C - Human Rights Certificate

The goal of the undergraduate certificate in human rights is to provide students with an opportunity to pursue a rigorous interdisciplinary study of human rights. We will help cultivate life-long learners and engaged citizens who have a deep and nuanced understanding of human rights. This course of study requires foundational study in human rights history, theory, and policy issues, with particular attention to how the intellectual debates around rights translate into action in an increasingly globalized, interconnected world. Human rights cannot be isolated into one or even a few disciplines and its study must draw on the concepts and lived experience of scholars, practitioners, journalists and communities struggling to defend their rights. 

Including a Gateway, Introduction to Human Rights, and a final Capstone in Human Rights, students will take a total of six undergraduate courses. Students will be encouraged to seek rights-related DukeEngage placements, internship and volunteer experiences, and to include study abroad courses as part of their certificate plan, so long as these courses have received prior approval from Duke and the Certificate Director. These elements will enrich a student’s experience in the Capstone. 

The certificate includes 1) a structured and interdisciplinary set of courses; 2) analytical, empirical, and applied elements; 3) education in the history and current practice of human rights in the United States and abroad; 4) exposure to key thinkers and debates about and within human rights, including the critique of human rights; 5) skills development in research and writing; 6) the application of knowledge toward real-world solutions; and 7) in-depth mentored research with faculty working in human rights.

Sequencing is a critical element in the study of human rights. Students are encouraged to enroll as soon as possible but no later than the end of Drop/Add in the fall of their junior year. Enrollment takes place after a student prepares a declaration of interest submitted to the Certificate Director.

Website: https://humanrights.fhi.duke.edu/human-rights-certificate/