Undergraduate certificate: human rights
Faculty: https://uichr.uiowa.edu/academics/faculty
Website: https://uichr.uiowa.edu/
The University of Iowa Center for Human Rights administers the Certificate in Human Rights, the only undergraduate credential awarded by the College of Law.
The Certificate in Human Rights involves an integrated, specific course of study that includes an introduction to foundational concepts in human rights as they have been informed by political, ethical, moral, legal, and historical thought. Through the curriculum, students explore diverse, pressing human rights topics from interdisciplinary perspectives, identify solutions to global challenges, learn to translate foundational human rights concepts into effective advocacy, and strengthen their ability to communicate with academic and nonacademic audiences.
Human rights purport that all people deserve to live life with dignity; that human beings are owed the protection of these rights simply because they are human. Universal human rights apply to all equally and without discrimination. They encompass civil and political rights; economic, social, and cultural rights; and apply to both individuals and groups. The rights set forth in human rights doctrines, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are interrelated, interdependent, and indivisible.
The University of Iowa Center for Human Rights prepares students to apply human rights concepts to their professional career or field of study. Students learn to appreciate the value of empathy, social responsibility, and engaged global citizenship.
Pre-law students and others considering legal careers can experience undergraduate courses taught by law faculty and explore the role of the law and legal regimes—and how they intersect with civil society—to promulgate, promote, and protect human rights.
Students enrolled in the certificate program enjoy a unique, optional opportunity to engage in a field-based supervised internship on behalf of a scholar imprisoned for their ideas. HRTS:3920 Advocacy in Action: From the Classroom to Congress (Washington, D.C.) begins with team-based development of an advocacy plan on behalf of the scholar and culminates by implementing the advocacy plan on the ground in Washington D.C. in the halls of Congress.
The center also offers merit-based funding to support summer rights-related internships, hosts an annual student academic conference and essay contest, and provides hands-on learning experiences through center internships.