MA Human Rights - Law/Political Science Pathway (Standard Route)

The University holds regular open days, where you will have the opportunity to tour the campus and find out more about our facilities and courses.

On this day, you will find out more about the School of Social Sciences and our resources, and meet academic and admissions staff who will be able to answer any questions you have.

For more information, see open days and visits .

Apply here

Due to high demand for this course, we operate a staged admissions process with selection deadlines throughout the year, as follows:  

• 1 November (decision by 8 December; accept offer by 15 January);
• 7 January (decision by 14 February, accept offer by 16 March);
• 2 March (decision by 8 April, accept offer by 8 May);
• 1 May (decision by 1 June, accept offer by 1 July).

If we make you an offer, you will have approximately 4 weeks to accept (conditional and un-conditional offers). Any offers not accepted by the deadline will be withdrawn so that an offer can be made to another candidate.

All conditional offer holders will have until 1 August to satisfy the conditions of their offer.

Due to competition for places, we give preference to students with grades above our minimum entry requirements. 

You need to ensure that you submit your supporting documents with your online application as it may delay us processing your application.

Whilst we aim to give you a decision on your application by the decision date, in some instances due to the competition for places/volume of applications received, it may be necessary to roll your application forward to the next deadline date. If this is the case we will let you know after the deadline date.

Applications received after our final selection deadline will be considered at our discretion if places are still available.

We can accept your application before you complete your undergraduate studies; please submit your latest transcripts with your online application. 

Please note: 

• all places are subject to availability and if you apply for one of the later dates, some courses may already be closed, we recommend that you apply early in the cycle to secure your place;
• meeting the minimum entry requirements does not guarantee an offer;
• if you are a current undergraduate student at The University of Manchester, you may be eligible to apply via the 'Fast-Track' scheme, email pg-soss@manchester.ac.uk for further information;

for a copy of the postgraduate prospectus, email pg-soss@manchester.ac.uk .

This MA Human Rights course will appeal particularly to you if you have an interest in the political, legal and ethical issues that arise from widespread human rights violations globally. The course provides you with an advanced, critical, interdisciplinary and systematic understanding of human rights issues within a global context. It is an interdisciplinary degree which allows you exposure to developments in international politics, political theory, and law in order to better understand the complex global environment in which human rights claims are made.

The central focus of the degree addresses the pressing questions relating to human rights, through the compulsory course units and varied optional course units. This `standard route' course is designed for students for who are interested in careers in fields related to government and non-governmental organisations, as well as teaching, journalism or any career where advanced knowledge of human rights coupled with an advanced capacity to communicate effectively will be an advantage.

Part-time students complete the full-time course over two years. There are no evening or weekend course units available on the part-time route.  

You must first check the schedule of the compulsory units and then select your optional units to suit your requirements.  

Updated timetable information will be available from mid-August and you will have the opportunity to discuss your unit choices during induction week with your course director.

School of Social Sciences students are supported by the first-class resources, in addition to the networked study areas and with access to one of the best-resourced academic libraries in the country.

In recent years, our MA Human Rights graduates have progressed into careers in a variety of sectors, including:

• academia;
• the civil service;
• journalism;
• the NGO sector, and;
• a wide range of related positions in both the public and private sectors.

As a School of Social Sciences postgraduate at Manchester, you will also have access to an array of careers support tailored to your career or further study.

For more information, see careers and employability .