Program Cost, Content and Course Listing

Students must complete three (3) required HMRT graduate courses (9 credit hours) as well as three (3) elective human rights courses (9 credit hours) from an approved list of graduate (7000), post-baccalaureate (5000) or Faculty of Law courses. The list of approved elective courses is expected to change annually, depending on the offerings in partner faculties.

For these course credits, a minimum degree grade point average (DGPA) of 3.0 with no grade below C+ must be maintained to continue in the Faculty of Graduate Studies. Students who fail to maintain the specified grades or DGPA will be Required to Withdraw unless a department/unit recommends remedial action (subject to approval by the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies).

Required Courses (9 credit hours)

HMRT 7100: Theory and Practice of Human Rights: Critical Perspectives (3 credit hours). 
This course critically analyzes, from an interdisciplinary perspective, the theory and practice of human rights as a framework for social justice. The course examines historical and current human rights struggles to better understand the potential, politics, challenges and limitations of the international human rights framework. Students who have already completed SOC 7160 prior to enrolling in the MHR program will be required, in consultation with the MHR program director or Dean of Law, to take an alternative graduate-level course to achieve the 18 required credits.

HMRT 7200: Selected Topics in Human Rights Research and Methods (3 credit hours).
This seminar course will explore multidisciplinary approaches to qualitative, quantitative, legal, and/or community-based research methods, as applicable to academic human rights research and projects overseen by governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Particular attention will be paid to the intricacies of ethically, politically and culturally sensitive research.

HMRT 7300: Human Rights Law (3 credit hours).
Critical and constructive study, at an advanced level, of a significant major subject or set of topics in Human Rights Law. Students are not required to take this course if they have already completed a JD or LLB that included a human rights law course. In that case, they will be required, in consultation with the MHR program director or Dean or Law, to take an alternative graduate-level course to achieve the 18 required credits.

Elective courses (9 credit hours)

Program-approved graduate-level elective courses are available through various faculties supporting the interdisciplinary MHR program (Arts, Education, Law, Social Work, Health Sciences, Environment and others), as well as through the Peace and Conflict Studies and Disability Studies programs. Courses such as the following may be open to MHR students with permission of the instructor/department and as space allows. Please visit the Aurora course catalogue to view full course descriptions.

Practicum Stream

GRAD 7030: Master’s Practicum (pass/fail)

The student, working with an advisor and under the supervision of a site supervisor, will accrue at least 300 hours at a practicum site, usually during the summer. Students will meet with their faculty advisor on a regular basis to discuss related topics, experiences, and to problem-solve issues that may arise at the sites. Students are responsible for maintaining a Log of Practicum Hours and Project Notes. This log is to be signed by the site supervisor and submitted at the end of the semester to the faculty advisor supervising the practicum. The Practicum Agencies that participate in the practicum course will be selected because of the potential opportunities for student learning, unique program focus, and direct application of human rights skills and knowledge. Every agency must have staff members who apply human rights analysis in their professional work. Students will be asked to make a specific positive contribution to the operation of their host organizations in the form of a report, curriculum module, work of art, documentary film, workshop, website, strategic plan, or other such project. Prior to the start of this field experience, students will spend two to three weeks orienting themselves regarding the organization. Following completion of the practicum placement, students are required to write a major research paper of between 7,500 and 10,000 words.

Thesis Stream

GRAD 7000: Master’s Thesis

The MHR thesis is an independently written research document on a topic of relevance to human rights. The thesis would normally range from 80 to 100 pages of double-spaced typescript, including notes and bibliography. The thesis should demonstrate that the student has mastery of the specific field of human rights research under investigation, and is fully conversant with the relevant literature. The thesis should also demonstrate that the candidate has made an original contribution to knowledge in the field of human rights research. The thesis may entail co-operation with other faculties at the University of Manitoba, and agencies in the local and wider global community. In general, the overall goal of the thesis is to build or apply theory through disciplined and focused independent study. Consequently, the thesis should be based on scholarly study and research that encompasses both theoretical and empirical aspects of human rights research.

Faculty of Graduate Studies Tutorials

GRAD 7500: Academic Integrity Tutorial 

All MHR students are required to register for and complete:

GRAD 7500 Academic Integrity Tutorial within their first term of initial registration.

This tutorial is made up of 7 units. To get the most from this learning experience, FGS suggests you complete one unit every three days; however, you are free to move through the course at your own pace.  You must read all of the information, watch each video, and participate in each discussion, reflection and quiz within the seven units to access and complete the final quiz. Each of the units will take approximately 45 to 60 minutes to complete.

• More information through Graduate Studies

GRAD 7300: Research Integrity Tutorial

GRAD 7300 Research Integrity Tutorial within the first year of their program or prior to applying to any ethics boards which are appropriate to their proposed research, whichever comes first.

This course consists of 8 core modules, with 7 supplementary modules. The approximate duration of the course is 5 hours. At the end of each core module is a quiz, with 80% required to pass.  Quizzes may be attempted an unlimited number of times. Note: If you have completed the TCPS 2: CORE (Course on Research Ethics) tutorial, you must still take GRAD 7300.

Failure to complete these courses will result in a registration hold and a grade of “F/NP” being assigned to the course which may lead to being “Required to Withdraw" from the graduate program.

• More information through Graduate Studies

Language Requirement

MHR students whose original language is English are required to demonstrate working knowledge of a second language by the time of graduation. Note that American Sign Language is among the languages recognized by the program.

This course will be taken in addition to the 18 required course credits.

To satisfy the language requirement, students must either:

• pass a language competency test approved by the MHR director; or 
• achieve a minimum “C” grade (or equivalent) in a language course that has been approved by the MHR director.

Students who hope to work internationally should consider selecting one of the official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) or another world language such as German.

Note: The MHR Director may waive this requirement in appropriate circumstances, including where a student provides other evidence of competence in a second language, such as a high school graduation certificate or transcript in that language, confirmation of work experience in the second language or a transcript of advanced education in the second language.

Professional seminars (non-credit).

These seminars are intended to provide grounding in the skills required to undertake human rights work and will include such topics as non-academic writing (reports, funding applications, policy briefs, legislation etc.) social media, cross-cultural communication, budgeting, negotiation, professional ethics, working with journalists, presentation skills, human rights curation, and career paths.