The Human Rights Certificate offers students an in-depth and rigorous interdisciplinary study of human rights history, theory and practice, cultivating life-long learners and engaged citizens who have a deep and nuanced understanding of human rights. Human rights cannot be isolated into one or even a few disciplines and its study must draw on the concepts and lived experience of scholars, practitioners, journalists, and communities struggling to defend their rights. Students pursuing the certificate study human rights not as good or evil but as a constellation of approaches, histories, practices, and critiques.
The certificate promotes an intellectual approach that asks critical questions and teaches students how to read books, images, and media with a critical eye; how to write or communicate clearly and concisely; how to reach a non-academic audience; and how to do their own research and thus reach their own conclusions through reasoned argument. Through their studies, students engage not only with histories and ideas, but also the people who do human rights work or who see themselves as in need of human rights protection.
The certificate provides students with…
- An integrated and in-depth course of study, including an introduction to foundational concepts and how the concept of human rights was framed and informed by moral, ethical and political thought
- Exposure to theories of rights and rights critiques, including an examination of Western influence, power relationships and cultural histories and biases
- Examples of how human rights have been developed and applied over time and across regions and cultures
- Histories and experiences of past human rights issues both abroad and in the United States
- Studies of how people have worked to achieve social change across time and cultures, including in the United States
- Links to students’ other curricular and co-curricular rights experiences
- Development and analytical and strategic thinking, allowing students to apply knowledge to real-world problems
- Incorporation of creative approaches to human rights, including the arts, archival resources and documentary work
- Mentored research into a human rights-related theme or issue
- Preparation for a future in which students apply knowledge in their careers and lives as engaged citizens
Human Rights Certificate FAQs
Students should apply to enroll in the Human Rights Certificate program as early as possible, but no later than the fall of junior year.
You can see sample certificate pathways on our Human Rights Certificate Factsheet.
- Contact Robin Kirk (rights@duke.edu) to express interest in the program.
- Meet with Robin to discuss and fill out planning form with completed and planned courses.
- Add the Human Rights Certificate to your Majors and Minors with the registrar.
- Schedule regular advising meetings with Natalie Pickett (natalie.pickett@duke.edu) and/or Robin Kirk (rights@duke.edu).
Contact Robin Kirk, Undergraduate Certificate Director, at rights@duke.edu.