Human Rights & Humanitarian Policy Curriculum
The Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy (HRHP) concentration within the MIA and MPA programs at SIPA prepares students for impactful careers addressing human rights issues across both the public and private sectors. The concentration features two focus areas within a common core curriculum. The Human Rights Policy focus area equips students with the knowledge necessary for careers in corporate social responsibility, genocide prevention, gender and globalization, and rights-based development policy. Conversely, the Humanitarian Policy focus area is tailored for careers in managing complex emergencies, early recovery, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, aid coordination, and resource mobilization.
The program benefits from the diverse experiences that students bring, enriching the classroom dynamics and discussions. Graduates have successfully pursued careers in various government agencies, the United Nations, international organizations, NGOs, corporations, community organizations, think tanks, and service organizations. The HRHP concentration provides flexibility, allowing students to specialize in either Human Rights or Humanitarian Policy, while also enabling them to gain a broader understanding of both fields.
Contact Us
Yasmine Ergas, Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of International and Public Affairs
Concentration Co-Director
ye36@columbia.edu
IAB room 826
Laura Perez, Lecturer in the Discipline of International and Public Affairs
Concentration Director, Humanitarian Policy focus area
lp3065@columbia.edu
IAB room 901B
Sophie Holin
Concentration Coordinator, Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy
sh4526@columbia.edu
IAB room 803
Yasmine Ergas, Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of International and Public Affairs
Concentration Co-Director
ye36@columbia.edu
Laura Perez, Lecturer in Discipline of International and Public Affairs
Concentration Co-Director
lp3065@columbia.edu
Mehreen Afzal, Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs
Betsy Apple, Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs
Elazar Barkan, Professor of International and Public Affairs
Joanne Bauer, Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs
Jo Becker, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs
Rainer Braun, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs
Yasmine Ergas, Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of International and Public Affairs
Horst Fischer, Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs
Susannah Friedman, Lecturer (part-time) of International and Public Affairs
Judith Gearhart, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs
Ezequiel Heffes, Adjunct Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs
Andrew Heinrich, Adjunct Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs
Jeffrey Klenk, Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs
Ariella Lang, Lecturer (part-time) of International and Public Affairs
John Mutter, Professor of International and Public Affairs
Visit our SIPA Faculty Directory to view bios
The Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy (HRHP) concentration requires the completion of 15 points of graduate coursework, including a mandatory 3-point course in either International Human Rights Law (INAF U6751) or Humanitarian Law and Human Rights in Global Challenges (INAF U6490). Students must also complete 6 points in either the Human Rights Policy focus area or the Humanitarian Policy focus area, allowing for specialized knowledge in their chosen field. Additionally, 6 points of electives from any focus area or the approved electives list round out the curriculum, providing flexibility for students to tailor their studies to their interests.
Note: Concentration courses cannot be audited or taken pass/fail. Additionally, most courses listed below are not offered every semester, and courses listed from other schools require a cross-registration procedure or instructor permission.
Required Course
Select at least 3-points of courses from the following:
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Points |
| Points |
| INAF U6751 | International Human Rights Law | 3.00 |
| INAF U6490 | Humanitarian Law and Human Rights in Global Challenges | 3.00 |
Concentration Focus Area
Students must take two or more courses from either Category A: Human Rights Policy or Category B: Humanitarian Policy
Category A: Human Rights Policy Focus Area (6 Points)
Select at least 6-points of courses from the following:
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Points |
| Points |
| INAF U6041 | Corporations and Human Rights | 3.00 |
| INAF U6143 | Gender, Globalization, and Human Rights | 3.00 |
| INAF U6405 | Human Rights and the Politics of Inequality | 3.00 |
| INAF U6489 | Human Rights Research and Reporting | 3.00 |
| INAF U8180 | Human Rights Skills ＆ Advocacy | 3.00 |
| INAF U8166 | Rethinking Human Rights ＆ Humanitarianism | 3.00 |
| INAF U8189 | Politics of History and Reconciliation | 3.00 |
| SDEV U6235 | Climate Change, Rights, and Development | 3.00 |
| HRTS GU4880 | HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE UNITED STATES | 3.00 |
Category B: Humanitarian Policy Focus Area (6 Points)
Select at least 6-points of courses from the following:
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Points |
| Points |
| INAF U6486 | Humanitarian Engagement-Armed Actors | 3.00 |
| INAF U6487 | The Tenets and Dilemmas of Humanitarian Action | 3.00 |
| INAF U8166 | Rethinking Human Rights ＆ Humanitarianism | 3.00 |
| INAF U8690 | Managing Humanitarian Emergencies | 3.00 |
| INAF U8882 | Education in Humanitarian Emergencies | 3.00 |
| INAF U6573 | Humanitarian, Development, and Peace Nexus | 3.00 |
| HRTS GU4930 | INT'L HUMANITARIAN LAW/HUM RGTS | 4.00 |
Electives
Select at least 6-points of courses from the following:
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Points |
| Points |
| INAF U4090 | Accountability in Humanitarian Action | 1.00 |
| INAF U6141 | Humanitarian Crisis Simulation | 1.00 |
| INAF U6151 | Children ＆ Armed Conflict | 3.00 |
| INAF U6486 | Humanitarian Engagement-Armed Actors | 3.00 |
| INAF U6493 | Giving Away Power: Young People ＆ Humanitarian Practice | 3.00 |
| INAF U6494 | Managing People in the Humanitarian Enterprise | 3.00 |
| INAF U6499 | Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy Practicum | 1.50 |
| INAF U6765 | The European Union and Human Rights | 1.50 |
| INAF U6768 | Forced Displacement: Refugees, IDPs, and Others in a changing normative and political world | 3.00 |
| INAF U6802 | International Law | 3.00 |
| INAF U6144 | Campaigning for Change through Media, Mobilization ＆ the Power of Persuasion | 3.00 |
| INAF U6202 | Internet Governance and Human Rights | 3.00 |
| INAF U6173 | Migration and Human Development | 3.00 |
| INAF U6348 | Engaging Non-State Armed Groups: Lessons from the UN and Beyond | 1.50 |
| INAF U6374 | Mainstreaming Gender in Global Affairs | 3.00 |
| INAF U6375 | Gender and Livelihoods | 1.50 |
| INAF U6376 | Transnational LGBTI Rights | 1.50 |
| INAF U6391 | Conflict Resolution | 3.00 |
| INAF U6576 | Data and Conflict | 3.00 |
| INAF U6776 | Mediation in a World in Flux | 1.50 |
| INAF U6909 | Emerging Technologies and Policy Impacts | 3.00 |
| INAF U8370 | Promoting Decent Work and Labor Rights in a Globalized Economy | 3.00 |
| INAF U6892 | Monitoring and Evaluation: Driving Evidence-Based Development and Humanitarian Aid | 3.00 |
| INAF U8785 | Gender, Politics and Development: Theory, Policy ＆ Practice | 3.00 |
| INAF U8886 | Conflict Assessment | 1.00 |
| HRTS S4025Q | History of Human Rights | 3.00 |
| HRTS GU4185 | HUMAN RIGHTS AND GLOBAL ECONOMIC JUSTICE | 3.00 |
| HRTS GU4215 | NGOs ＆ THE HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT | 3.00 |
| HRTS GU4270 | SOCIAL MEDIA AND HUMAN RIGHTS | 3.00 |
| HRTS GU4460 | Climate Justice | 3.00 |
| HRTS GU4940 | Human Rights and Education | 3.00 |
| HRTS GU4975 | Borders, Surveillance, Rights | 3.00 |
| HRTS GU4230 | REFUGEES, FORCED MIGR ＆ DISPLACEMENT | 3.00 |
| HRTS GU4270 | SOCIAL MEDIA AND HUMAN RIGHTS | 3.00 |
| HRTS S4400Q | Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Human Rights | 3.00 |
| HRTS GU4500 | SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS | 3.00 |
| HRTS GU4600 | HUMAN RIGHTS IN ANTHROPOCENE | 3.00 |
| HRTS GU4650 | CHILDREN'S RIGHTS ADVOCACY | 3.00 |
| HRTS GU4880 | HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE UNITED STATES | 3.00 |
| HRTS GU4900 | UN HUMAN RIGHTS BODIES:IMPACT-REFORM-ADV | 4.00 |
| HRTS GU4930 | INT'L HUMANITARIAN LAW/HUM RGTS | 4.00 |
| HRTS GU4950 | HUMAN RIGHTS ＆ HUMAN WRONGS | 3.00 |
| HRTS GU4965 | Gender-Based Violence ＆ Human Rights | 3.00 |
| HRTS G5300 | Economic and Social Rights in Policy and Practice | 3.00 |
| HRTS GR6990 | HUMAN RIGHTS RESEARCH SEM | 3.00 |
| | 3.00 |
| POPF P8620 | Protection of Children in Disaster & War | 1.50 |
| POPF P8625 | Communicable Disease in Complex Emergencies | 1.50 |
| | 1.50 |
| POPF P8639 | Gender-based Violence in Complex Emergencies | 1.50 |
| POPF P8648 | Food and Nutrition in Complex Emergencies | 1.50 |
| POPF P8651 | Water and Sanitation in Complex Emergencies | 1.50 |
| | 1.50 |
| POPF P8679 | Investigative Methods in Complex Emergencies | 3.00 |
| POPF P8683 | Psychosocial and Mental Health Issues in Forced Migration | 1.50 |
| POPF P8687 | Public Health and Humanitarian Action | 3.00 |
| | 1.50 |
| LAW L6250 | Immigration Law | -- |
| LAW L6276 | Human Rights | -- |
| | -- |
| LAW L6459 | The Law of Genocide | -- |
| | -- |
| | -- |
| | -- |
| | -- |
| | -- |
| | -- |
| LAW L8816 | Transnational Business & Human Rights | -- |
| | -- |
| | -- |
| LAW L9165 | Transitional Justice. | -- |
| LAW L9183 | Nuremberg Trials & War Crimes Law | -- |
| LAW L9383 | International Humanitarian Law | -- |
| LAW L9410 | Law and Policy of Homelessness | -- |
| LAW L9832 | Seminar: Human Rights Reparations under Domestic & International Law | -- |
| | -- |
| CLEN GU4550 | NARRATIVE AND HUMAN RIGHTS | 3.00 |
| EMPA U6036 | Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility | 3.00 |
| POLS GU4474 | Politics, Justice and Human Rights in Southeast Asia | 4.00 |
| REGN U6149 | Energy, Corporate Responsibility ＆ Human Rights | 3.00 |
| REGN U6545 | Human Rights in the Western Balkans | 1.50 |
| REGN U6546 | Human Rights & Civil Society in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia | 3.00 |
| REGN U6880 | China in International Human Rights Regime | 3.00 |
| | 3.00 |
Degree Audit Report
Matriculated students in this program can view their degree audit report on Stellic.