Middlesex University

Course Details

PG Dip International Minority Rights Law

Course Description

This degree aims to enable students to specialise in subjects related to international minority rights law, equipping them with comprehensive knowledge of the international and regional legal regimes governing minority and indigenous rights, through critical assessment of the efficacy of human rights and sustainable development frameworks. You will deepen and broaden your knowledge of law as an academic subject through acquiring systematic understanding of legal processes, methods and concepts of the social and political context in which legal processes take place and of appropriate theoretical conceptions of law. By maximising your academic potential potential and refining your problem-solving skills in a transnational context through the acquisition of systematic and critical understanding of complex legal, economic, cultural, ethnic, religious, ethical and political issues informing international minority rights law you will enhance your professional development and horizons. The research and writing skills you gain will be transferable to a variety of professional sectors, including the legal profession, policymaking, corporate sector, governmental bodies or academia.

Course Duration

NumberDuration
1year

Career outcomes

This course equips students with skills across several legal disciplines and opens career possibilities in public and private bodies as practitioners or advocates, working in sectors concerning public law, family law, discrimination, immigration, housing, actions against the police, employment, investment or business law. It is aimed particularly at students who are interested in human rights-related work and/or who wish to influence policies to ensure the enjoyment of human rights by members of minority groups and indigenous peoples at national, regional and international level. Many have also continued their higher education studies via a PhD. Students have access to the University's Employability Service and are offered guidance by the Programme Leader and other contributors to the programme, including guidance on how to enter and pass recruitment processes for national and international organisations. Students are invited to employability talks organised as part of the Clinical Legal Education programme by the Law and Politics Department as well as talks and events organised by the School of Law. There are placement opportunities within minority rights and indigenous rights organisations, many of which are based in London, such as Minority Rights Group International. Students will be encouraged if interested to pursue avenues such as internships or other approaches to entering international human rights bodies and building an expertise from there. Internships at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva are another route towards specialising in minority rights and related advocacy. Further opportunities within international organisations are evolving a need for strong minority rights or indigenous rights knowledge and capacity. Additionally, many global businesses require understanding of their impact on vulnerable groups, and this course is flexible in providing students with an expertise that would be useful in a variety of international commercial as well as advocacy settings.

PG Dip International Minority Rights Law Middlesex University