University Network for Human Rights Launching Postgraduate Program in Human Rights Advocacy with NOVA School of Law

(Middletown, CT, May 31, 2023) – The University Network for Human Rights and the NOVA School of Law in Lisbon, Portugal, have signed an agreement to partner in the creation of an interdisciplinary Master of Laws (LLM) postgraduate degree in Human Rights Advocacy primarily directed primarily at practitioners from the Global South.

To begin in Fall 2024, the intensive, full-year program and will consist of three semesters at the Lisbon, Portugal campus of the NOVA School of Law. Students will study human rights law and mechanisms with NOVA faculty in the fall semester. The following semester (January – April) will involve intensive, modules with experts in human rights from leading universities and practice organizations around the world. Finally, over the summer (June – August) following the academic component, students will engage in a full-time, supervised clinic directed by the supervisors of the University Network for Human Rights.

In the clinic, students will participate in immersive training in social justice advocacy through supervised work on projects developed by University Network with community partners.

The program seeks to develop the skills and capacity of practitioners to address situations of injustice through the application of human rights standards and access to oversight mechanisms. This initiative is in line with our organizational commitment to centering and building capacity for those facing actual or threatened rights abuse.

Funding and scholarship opportunities for this program will be made public in the coming months.

The program will begin in the 2024—2025 academic year.