MPA students concentrating in Human Rights and Social Justice focus on rights often assumed to be universal. They are not, and remain controversial in domestic and world politics. Students study policies that support the expansion of human rights and the elimination of all forms of discrimination, such as those based on gender, race, class, religion, ethnicity, caste, sexual orientation, disability or marital status both domestically and internationally. Students work toward advancing policy that ensures equal opportunities before the law and in society-at-large. Students also analyze the political and economic constraints to the full realization of human rights and they learn to serve as advocates for alleviating political, economic, and social inequality.

Representative Coursework

• Ethics, Development, and Globalization
• The Politics of Inequality
• International Organizations and International Human Rights
• International Human Rights
• Humanitarian Affects
• Human Migration: Internal and International
• Labor Markets and Income Distribution in Developing Countries

Representative Employers (Full Time & Internships)

• ALF-CIO
• AfricAid
• Amnesty International
• China Labor Watch
• Community foundations
• Human Rights Watch
• National Organization for Women
• NY State Department of Labor
• UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and of the High Commissioner for Refugees
• US Department of Justice

Representative Occupational Titles

• Foundation Fellow
• Manager
• Project Coordinator
• Program Examiner
• Public Policy Associate
• Research Fellow