What are human rights? How has the concept of human rights evolved? How and why have human rights been violated, both in the United States and abroad? How have people struggled against human rights violations and with what success? What protections against violations of human rights exist, and how can these protections be enhanced and made more effective? These are the type of questions that human rights students are encouraged to pursue.
The Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute offers students the opportunity to major or minor in human rights at UConn. Our major must be pursued as a second program of study, so students are required to select a primary major in a different discipline. We provide interdisciplinary instruction in theoretical, comparative, and historical perspectives on human rights through classroom courses and gain valuable practical experience in the human rights field through a supervised internship.
Major
Interdisciplinarity is a defining feature of our undergraduate academic programs, which is evident through our co-major structure, and eclectic course offerings from more than 20 academic departments, spread across more than four colleges.
Our 15-credit minor is a great option for students seeking a specialization in human rights. The Human Rights minor integrates human rights theory and practice to train young scholars critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
Experiential learning opportunities are a crucial component of HRI’s pedagogical approach. Pairing the academic study of human rights with applied learning opportunities in the community is key to honoring the relationship between theory and practice, strengthening the relationship between students and practitioners, and fostering collaboration between the university, local communities, and industry.
The Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute proudly offers three programs to provide tuition scholarships and internship funding to undergraduate majors and minors.
