Master of Arts in Governance and Human Rights

At a Glance

• Degree: Mas­ter of Arts (M.A.)
• Credit Points: 90
• Length of Study: 4 terms ex­tra-oc­cupa­tio­nal
• Language: Eng­lish
• Study Places: 25
• Start Date: September
• Application Deadline: May 31st

The Mas­ters Pro­gram­ in Go­ver­nan­ce and Hu­man Rights con­nects the theo­ry of sci­ence with its practical application. In se­ven mo­du­les, the stu­dents will learn to ana­ly­ze and un­der­stand le­gal and po­li­ti­cal theo­ries of governance and in­ter­na­tio­nal and re­gio­nal human rights regimes and how they are in­ter­re­la­ted. The stu­dents and scho­lars of the Mas­ter of Go­ver­nan­ce and Hu­man Rights will de­sign, plan, or­ga­ni­ze, and rea­li­ze their own project ad­dres­sing a prac­tical chal­len­ge re­la­ted to the field of go­ver­nan­ce and hu­man rights.

Project-based learning is of cen­tral im­port­an­ce for the pro­gram­. The stu­dents will learn to con­cep­tua­li­ze and cont­ri­bu­te to so­ci­al chan­ge and ac­qui­re the de­sign and com­mu­ni­ca­ti­on skills to ad­apt theo­re­ti­cal ap­proa­ches to go­ver­nan­ce and hu­man rights to their pro­fes­sio­nal working en­vi­ron­ment, e.g. as part of cor­po­ra­te so­ci­al re­s­pon­si­bi­li­ty (CSR) or sustainable de­ve­lop­ment po­li­cies. They will be taught and su­per­vi­sed by out­stan­ding and re­now­ned in­ter­na­tio­nal hu­man rights aca­de­mics, prac­ti­tio­ners and ex­pe­ri­en­ced pro­ject coa­ches.

Earn a Master of Governance and Human Rights

Clas­ses are sche­du­led on ten days in a se­mes­ter. You can com­ple­te the cour­se as­si­gn­ments by working with stu­dy ma­te­ri­als (books, lec­tu­re no­tes, dis­tan­ce-learning) be­fo­re and af­ter class. This enables an op­ti­mum com­bi­na­ti­on of stu­dy-time and pro­fes­sio­nal life.

Why Governance and Human Rights?

The pro­gram­’s fo­cus is ba­sed on the pre­mi­se that go­ver­nan­ce and hu­man rights re­cipro­cal­ly rein­force one-ano­ther . Yet, the translation and integration of concepts and theories into practical strategies is lar­ge­ly mis­sing in most ap­p­lied pro­jects or po­li­cies. Go­ver­nan­ce prin­ci­ples such as ac­coun­ta­bi­li­ty, trans­pa­ren­cy, and par­ti­ci­pa­ti­on have to be lin­ked to hu­man rights norms and stan­dards.

Con­ver­se­ly, the rea­liza­t­i­on, and im­ple­men­ta­ti­on of hu­man rights de­pends on the ad­he­rence to go­ver­nan­ce prin­ci­ples. The pro­gram­ fur­ther in­clu­des and re­flects on the role of new go­ver­nan­ce ac­tors in the fiel­ds in­flu­en­cing the rea­liza­t­i­on of hu­man rights, such as mul­ti­na­tio­nal com­pa­nies, ci­vil so­cie­ty, and in­ter­na­tio­nal or­ga­niza­t­i­ons.

In the course of its reorganization in 2006, Leuphana introduced a university model unique to the German academic landscape. By spring 2009, the following new academic schools had been established:

College: Award-winning bachelor's programme provides a variety of perspectives

The college is where students can obtain their first academic degree. Since 2007, the Leuphana Bachelor’s programme has been offering a homogeneously structured and interdisciplinary oriented programme of study. It is targeted toward students who are interested in more than specialised knowledge and who enjoy working independently and responsibly.

Graduate School: Combining interdisciplinary master’s degrees with doctoral studies

Since 2008, the Graduate School offers master’s programmes with a specialisation in the following three thematic fields: Governance & Law, Humanities & Social Sciences, Management & Entrepreneurship, and Education. The study model of the Graduate School offers graduate students the opportunity to intertwine their master’s studies with doctoral studies. Furthermore, we offer doctoral candidates from all over the world the opportunity to work and research in a vibrant, interdisciplinary environment.

Professional School: Continuing education and business outreach for professionals and corporations

The school offers programmes for continuing education and optimal conditions for lifelong learning (since 2009). The Professional School is geared toward working with adults who are interested in furthering their educational goals – ranging from those who have just joined the job market to senior managers.