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1. Admissions/ Management Information
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Title of the new programme – including any lower awards
Please provide the titles used for all awards relating to this programme. Note: all programmes are required to have at least a Postgraduate Certificate exit award.

See guidance on programme titles in:
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Masters LLM in International Human Rights Law and Practice
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Postgraduate Diploma Postgraduate Diploma in International Human Rights Law and PracticePlease indicate if the Postgraduate Diploma is available as an entry point, ie. is a programme on which a student can register or as an exit award, ie. that are only available to students exiting the masters programme early, or both.Exit
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Postgraduate Certificate Postgraduate Certificate in International Human Rights Law and PracticePlease indicate if the Postgraduate Certificate is available as an entry points, ie. is a programme on which a student can register, or as an exit award, ie. that are only available to students exiting the masters programme early, or both.Exit
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Level of qualificationLevel 7
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This document applies to students who commenced the programme(s) in:Jul 2019
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Awarding institutionTeaching institution
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University of York University of York
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Department(s):
Where more than one department is involved, indicate the lead department		Board of Studies
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Lead Department York Law SchoolLaw School
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Other contributing Departments: Politics (and other departments for optional modules, including SPSW)
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Route code
(existing programmes only)		PMLAWSIHR1
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Admissions criteria
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2:1 or equivalent. We will also consider a 2:2 with at least three years' relevant work experience. Some academic study or practical experience of law is desirable, but not required. For applicants whose first language is not English, IELTS 7.0 with a minimum of 7.0 in Writing and no less than 6.5 in all other components (or equivalent) is normally required.
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Length and status of the programme(s) and mode(s) of study
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ProgrammeLength (years/ months) Status (full-time/ part-time)
Please select		Start dates/months
(if applicable – for programmes that have multiple intakes or start dates that differ from the usual academic year)		Mode
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Face-to-face, campus-basedDistance learningOther
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LLM in International Human Rights Law and Practice1 yearFull-timeSeptember intake onlyPlease select Y/NYesPlease select Y/NYesMix of face to face and online learning, as outlined in programme modification document.
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LLM in International Human Rights Law and Practice2 yearsPart-timeSeptember intake onlyPlease select Y/NYesPlease select Y/NYesMix of face to face and online learning, as outlined in programme modification document.
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Please select Y/NPlease select Y/N
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Language(s) of study
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English
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Language(s) of assessment
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English
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2. Programme accreditation by Professional, Statutory or Regulatory Bodies (PSRB)
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2.a. Is the programme recognised or accredited by a PSRB
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Please Select Y/N: Noif No move to section 3
if Yes complete the following questions
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3. Additional Professional or Vocational Standards
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Are there any additional requirements of accrediting bodies or PSRB or pre-requisite professional experience needed to study this programme?
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Please Select Y/N: Noif Yes, provide details
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4. Programme leadership and programme team
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4.a. Please name the programme leader for the year to which the programme design applies and any key members of staff responsible for designing, maintaining and overseeing the programme.
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Martin Jones & Ioana Cismas
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4.b. How are wider stakeholders such as students/ alumni, professional bodies and employers involved in the design of the programme and in ongoing reflection on its effectiveness?
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The Graduate School Board of YLS and the other staff (including staff teaching on the MA in Applied Human Rights) have been consulted about the PDD of the LLM. Other stakeholders that have been consulted include the external examiners (one practitioner and one academic), current and past students, and external stakeholders. A presentation of the PDD process has been made to the external examiner in November 2017 and his positive, constructive feedback has been utilised to further refine the document. A consultation with current students about the proposed changes to the LLM has been organized in November 2017. A workshop was held in 2012 with a range of external stakeholders to discuss, inter alia, programme design and, in particular, employability of graduates; the findings from this workshop have informed subsequent programme developments, including the current proposals. Since 2012, more informal consultations have taken place with practitioners, past students, and other academics.
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5. Purpose and learning outcomes of the programme
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5.a. Statement of purpose for applicants to the masters programme
Please express succinctly the overall aims of the programme as an applicant facing statement for a prospectus or website. This should clarify to a prospective student why they should choose this programme, what it will provide to them and what benefits they will gain from completing it.
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Human rights practice has changed in recent years. Activists and scholars are focusing today on human rights standard setting and implementation, international treaties and domestic law, states and non-state actors. Human rights defenders (HRDs) – those who promote and protect civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights – are central to this shift in practice. At the same time, HRDs themselves face many challenges and are in need of protection in today’s shrinking civil society space and the growing global struggle between oppression and self-determination.

The LLM in International Human Rights Law and Practice trains you to use the law more effectively to promote human rights and to protect HRDs. It engages you in a critical, nuanced and interdisciplinary examination of the various human rights legal frameworks, while providing you with the socio-legal skills necessary to apply norms at local, national, regional and global levels. You will learn to analyse the political and legal context in which human rights issues exist, examine the complexity of policy making processes, and apply these to a variety of real life situations inside and outside the classroom.

The LLM is outward-looking and practice-oriented. It maintains strong links with human rights defenders based at the Centre for Applied Human Rights, UN mechanisms, and NGOs both locally and overseas, as well as York Human Rights City. The compulsory work placement with a partner organisation in Malaysia or in York is a key component of the LLM which will give you direct experience of fieldwork.

The holistic knowledge and versatile skills that will enable you to pursue a wide range of careers in NGOs and charities, policy think-tanks, national governments and various specialised agencies, UN bodies and other intergovernmental organizations at global and regional levels. The programme will deepen and broaden your substantive knowledge and sharpen your skills thus increasing the career prospects of professionals and the employability of recent graduates. The LLM also builds the academic foundation for progression to PhD-level study in the area of human rights.
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5.a.ii Statement of purpose for applicants registering for the postgraduate certificate programme
Please express succinctly the overall aims of the programme as an applicant facing statement for a prospectus or website. This should clarify to a prospective student why they should choose this programme, what it will provide to them and what benefits they will gain from completing it.
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n/a
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5.b.i. Programme Learning Outcomes - Masters
Please provide six to eight statements of what a graduate of the Masters programme can be expected to do.
If the document only covers a Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma please specify four to six PLO statements in the sections 5.b.ii and 5.b.iii as appropriate.
Taken together, these outcomes should capture the distinctive features of the programme. They should also be outcomes for which progressive achievement through the course of the programme can be articulated, and which will therefore be reflected in the design of the whole programme.
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PLOOn successful completion of the programme, graduates will be able to:
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1Apply a comprehensive understanding of the diverse ways in which social, political, economic and institutional interests shape human rights problems and responses, through the critical evaluation of human rights law;
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2Retrieve and critically assess legal instruments, texts and socio-legal data using appropriate research methods and analytical techniques to investigate complex contemporary human rights issues;
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3Design specialised legal advocacy to enhance the implementation of human rights by applying an advanced knowledge of UN, regional and domestic law and policy-making processes;
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4Engage with debates at global, regional, national, and local levels, communicating ideas effectively and in different formats to peers, policy actors, scholars, lawyers and human rights defenders across a range of professional settings;
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5Apply collaborative, participatory and culturally sensitive approaches to problem-solving in complex and unpredictable circumstances and to the shaping of human rights interventions;
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6Critically reflect on theoretical approaches to complex challenges in diverse contexts, evaluating their value and effectiveness for human rights promotion and protection.
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5.c. Explanation of the choice of Programme Learning Outcomes
Please explain your rationale for choosing these PLOs in a statement that can be used for students (such as in a student handbook). Please include brief reference to:
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i) Why the PLOs are considered ambitious or stretching?
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The LLM in International Human Rights Law and Practice provides a holistic approach to human rights. It is interdisciplinary and integrates comprehensive knowledge of human rights, development, conflict, humanitarianism, and activism; it develops students' research skills and exposes them to the experience of human rights fieldwork. Our focus is on how best to apply these frameworks to enhance human rights practice at local, national, regional, and global levels. You will learn to critically analyse the political and legal context in which human rights issues exist, examine the complexity of policy-making processes, critically assess the role of state and non-state actors and apply these to a variety of real-life situations. Over the course of the programme you will both expand and deepen your understanding of human rights issues, including through the development of areas of specialised knowledge and practice. You are encouraged to take ownership of your studies and have the opportunity to work on specific themes and issues that can be applied to their chosen career paths. Our programme is outward-looking and incorporates strong links with NGOs, United Nations bodies and government offices adding an international perspective to studying human rights.
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ii) The ways in which these outcomes are distinctive or particularly advantageous to the student:
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a) The LLM is innovative and responsive to the dynamic human rights environment. It integrates the paradigm shift in human rights law towards implementation, domestic law, and non-state actors. You will be trained to be critical thinkers that apply sophisticated theoretical lenses when evaluating human rights legal frameworks. In turn, this will allow you to tackle complex problems and produce creative solutions. b) The LLM is markedly interdisciplinary. It integrates perspective on human rights from law, politics, conflict studies and social work. The ethical implications of fieldwork are emphasised in the programme. c) The LLM is distinctively practice-oriented. You will learn methodologies for field research and develop their fieldwork skills through online placements with human rights organisations in Malaysia or face to face placements in York. Contacts with human rights defenders at the Centre for Applied Human Rights are facilitated.
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iii) Please detail how you would support students from diverse entry routes to transition into the programme? For example, disciplinary knowledge and conventions of the discipline, language skills, academic and writing skills, lab skills, academic integrity
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Throughout the autumn term, the department runs regular Study Skills sessions for PGT students. Sessions offered are on: Academic research skills, VLE training, Referencing and Developing Academic Writing Skills. For non-native English speakers these study skills sessions are supplemented by English language classes run by the Centre for English Language Teaching. All students participate in department-run Turnitin workshops and complete the University's academic integrity tutorial. Disciplinary knowledge and the legal research skills necessary for the successful completion of the programme are taught during the autumn term in Legal Systems: Sources & Operation and the third term in Legal Research Skills & Methods. The department provides support for the work placement with human rights organisation in the Practice of Fieldwork module and through meetings with project supervisors.
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iv) Please explain how the design of the programme enables students to progress through to the end of the award? For example, in terms of the development of research skills, enabling students to complete an independent study module, developing competence and confidence in practical skills/ professional skills, [add link to QAA masters characteristics document].
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Teaching is delivered through a combination of lectures, interactive seminars, guest speakers, one-to-one supervision and independent study. Teaching will be delivered in 2020/21 both online and face to face. Students' academic and personal development is supported and monitored closely through continual supervision and feedback. They are guided on how to think, act, engage, reflect and communicate as a practitioner of human rights. Students develop academic writing, critical thinking and substantive legal skills through written assignments on various modules, build their reflexive practitioner skills through the Practice of Fieldwork and Human Rights Placement modules, and learn how to conduct independent academic research through their dissertation. Communication and collaborative skills are developed on several modules. For example, in their Human Rights Placements module, students learn the importance of collaborative and participatory approaches through readings, teaching and interactive exercises and fieldwork. Students on the LLM graduate with a versatility of knowledge and skills that will enable them to pursue a wide range of careers.
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v) How the programme learning outcomes develop students’ digital literacy and use technology-enhanced learning to achieve the discipline and pedagogic goals which support active student learning through peer/tutor interaction, collaboration and formative (self) assessment opportunities (reference could be made to such as blogging, flipped classrooms, response 'clickers' in lectures, simulations, etc).
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The LLM aims to enable students to become confident, independent researchers in the dynamic field of international human rights law. Enhancing students’ digital literacy is a key component in this process. The Library and IT Services provide a number of tutorials and guides to support the development of digital literacy. We work closely with the Academic Liaison Librarian for Law to ensure that students have access and learn how to use legal databases and other online materials. In addition, the module guide for Applying International Human Rights Law includes extensive guidance on how to find primary international human rights sources (treaties and soft law, case law and other material produced by international courts and quasi-judicial bodies) and relevant secondary sources. The International Human Rights Laboratory, as well as other modules, require students to retrieve and critically assess such sources.

Staff student contact and assessment are managed through the VLE site on Yorkshare. All modules are supported by VLE platforms: a module template is used to ensure a minimum standard across the department. This includes: the course announcements tool; module information; seminars; assessments (formative and summative); links to EARL software; and contacts. All summative coursework is submitted via the VLE so the departmental administration team are responsible for ensuring that generic material regarding instructions for submission, marking criteria etc are uniform and in the correct place across all VLE platforms.
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vi) How the PLOs support and enhance the students’ employability (for example, opportunities for students to apply their learning in a real world setting)?
The programme's employability objectives should be informed by the University's Employability Strategy:
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As evidenced by PLO1 and 2, the LLM has a strong focus on the development of employability skills of both mid-career professionals wanting to improve their careers and of recent graduates wishing to enter the field of human rights. Graduates will have developed their practical skills through direct work-place engagment with human rights organisations in the Human Rights Placement module (online in 2020-21). Graduates will have learnt how to think, act, engage, reflect and communicate as researchers and practitioners in a variety of human rights contexts; they will have gained the knowledge and skills to play their part in important international problems, such as the protection of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights in a shrinking civil space and be prepared for a variety of different careers in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

The LLM’s modules are tailored to develop students’ substantive knowledge of human rights law and related areas, sector-related skills (critical legal analysis, advocacy and litigation skills) through hands-on problem-based workshops and assessments and a mooting exercise, and transferable employability skills (collaboration, communication, reflection). In the Practice of Fieldwork module, students will gain comprehensive understanding about how to undertake fieldwork in complex human rights contexts. An employability feature which distinguishes the York LLM is the the Human Rights Placements module: students will work in Malaysia and York on concrete projects alongside local NGOs and human rights defenders, as well as UN mechanisms – they will therefore test and refine their acquired field research skills.

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vii) Consultation with Careers
The programme proposal should be discussed with Careers (tom.banham@york.ac.uk, ext. 2686)
Please provide details of Careers' comments and your response.
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The programme has been running for almost a decade and has a good track record of employability and supporting students' subsequent career ambitions. We have discussed the programme with Chris Wilkinson, the employability teaching fellow at York Law School. He is regularly involved with workshops with our students on employability and careers. We are currently discussing the programme with Careers and can provide any additional input / our response at the meeting in December.
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viii) How is teaching informed and led by research in the department/ centre/ University?
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The Centre for Applied Human Rights hosts the Human Rights Defenders Research Hub which was launched in February 2016. It aims to become a world-leading provider of training and research on the protection of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) and to facilitate dialogue, collaboration and reflection amongst scholars, practitioners, and defenders.  The Hub has introduced a new ‘rapid research response’ service, significantly expanding the department’s current research on HRDs, and has established an international network on HRD research. Our academics are internationally recognised in their fields, and all are active researchers. Additional talks and workshops from experts and leading academics in the field of human rights are organised throughout the course.
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5.d. Progression
For masters programmes where students do not incrementally 'progress' on the completion of a discrete Postgraduate Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma, please summarise students’ progressive development towards the achievement of PLOs, in terms of the characteristics that you expect students to demonstrate at the end of the set of modules or part thereof.
This summary may be particularly helpful to students and the programme team where there is a high proportion of option modules and in circumstances where students registered on a higher award will exit early with a lower one.

Note: it is not expected that a position statement is written for each masters PLO, but this can be done if preferred.
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On completion of modules sufficient to obtain a Postgraduate Certificate students will be able to:
If the PG Cert is an exit award only please provide information about how students will have progressed towards the diploma/masters PLOs. Please include detail of the module diet that students will have to have completed to gain this qualification as an exit award.
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Students who complete a PGCert will have taken and passed some of the taught module components of the programme. Students will have completed at least three of the following: (i) Applying International Human Rights Law, (ii) The Practice of Fieldwork, (iii) Human Rights Placement, (iv) an optional module, and/or (v) both Legal Systems: Sources and Operation and Research Skills and Methods. The programme and its PLOs is not structured so that PGCert (or PGDip) students have not achieved certain PLOs (eg. there is no PLO mapped exclusively to a dissertation / ISM module). However, it is expected that the depth of learning in relation to each PLO will deepen as a student progresses past the waypoints for PGCert, PGDip and degree. In successfully completing three of the foregoing modules students will have demonstrated some achievements in relation to the relevant PLOs (which vary, depending on the completed modules). However, they will not have the deeper achievement of the PLOs of a PGDip or degree student.
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On completion of modules sufficient to obtain a Postgraduate Diploma students will be able to:
If the PG Diploma is an exit award only please provide information about how students will have progressed towards the masters PLOs. Please include detail of the module diet that students will have to have completed to gain this qualification as an exit award.
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See above response (Q100). PGDip students will have completed all of the foregoing modules and, as a result, will have a deeper achievent of the PLOs in question. As a result of completing the taught module portion of the programme, they will have some understanding of all PLOs. However, they will not have the deeper achievement of the PLOs of a degree student.
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5.e. Other features of the programme
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i) Involvement of partner organisations
Are any partner organisations involved in the delivery of the programme?
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Please Select Y/N: Noif Yes, outline the nature of their involvement (such as contributions to teaching, placement provision). Where appropriate, see also the:
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University guidance on collaborative provision
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(max 200 words)
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ii) Internationalisation/ globalisation
How does the programme promote internationalisation and encourage students to develop cross-cultural capabilities?
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The very nature of the universality of human rights means that the curriculum is international, as demonstrated by the module titles and descriptions. All of the modules in the programme promote awareness of international issues, contexts and cultures and the Human Rights Placement module allows students to conduct human rights fieldwork internationally (online). The Centre runs a Protective Fellowship Scheme and since it began in 2008 has hosted 68 visiting human rights defenders from across 41 countries. Their work covers civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights in a wide variety of contexts. In 2020-21, we will work with and support alumni of the fellowship programme (and other activists) through the human rights challenges of the pandemic. Our student intake at the PGT level is very diverse with students coming from across Europe, Africa, North America, Central and South East Asia, the Middle East, and Australia. Many of these students join us with a wealth of professional experience spanning many countries, which they share with one and other in interactive seminars and through group work on projects.
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iii) Inclusivity
How will good practice in ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion be embedded in the design, content and delivery of the programme?
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This refers to the protected characteristics and duties on the University outlined in the Equality Act 2010
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The programme complies with the Equality Act of 2010. Human rights are universal. Inclusivity, diversity and equality are embedded in the content of the curriculum which covers a broad range of issues in the field of international human rights. Students are encouraged to think and act as global citizens in order to promote values of tolerance and inclusivity. Through working with others inside and outside the university, including people of different nationality, religion, culture, age, gender, gender orientation and sexual identity, and political persuasion, students will learn to respect difference while promoting tolerance and inclusivity. The Department ensures that the recommendations of all disability statements for individual students are implemented in full (eg extra time for assessments, use of computers, lecturer/seminar recording, powerpoint/Prezi presentations released ahead of the lecture etc).
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6. Reference points and programme regulations
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6.a. Relevant Quality Assurance Agency benchmark statement(s) and other relevant external reference points
Please state relevant reference points consulted (e.g. Framework for Higher Education Qualifications, National Occupational Standards, Subject Benchmark Statements or the requirements of PSRBs): See also Taught Postgraduate Modular Scheme: Framework for Programme Design:
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6.b. University award regulations
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The University’s award and assessment regulations apply to all programmes: any exceptions that relate to this programme are approved by University Teaching Committee and are recorded at the end of this document.
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7. Programme Structure
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7.a. Module Structure and Summative Assessment Map
Please complete the summary table below which shows the module structure and the pattern of summative assessment through the programme.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
If the structure of your programme does not fit the usual academic year (for instance students start at the beginning of September or in January) please contact your Academic Quality Team contact in the Academic Support Office for guidance on how to represent the structure in an alternative format.

To clearly present the overall programme structure, include the name and details of each invidual CORE module in the rows below. For OPTION modules, ‘Option module’ or 'Option from list x' should be used in place of specifically including all named options. If the programme requires students to select option modules from specific lists by term of delivery or subject theme these lists should be provided in the next section (7.b).

From the drop-down select 'S' to indicate the start of the module, 'A' to indicate the timing of each distinct summative assessment point (eg. essay submission/ exam), and 'E' to indicate the end of teaching delivery for the module (if the end of the module coincides with the summative assessment select 'EA'). It is not expected that each summative task will be listed where an overall module might be assessed cumulatively (for example weekly problem sheets).

Summative assessment by exams should normally be scheduled in the spring week 1 and summer Common Assessment period (weeks 5-7). Where the summer CAP is used, a single ‘A’ can be used within the shaded cells as it is understood that you will not know in which week of the CAP the examination will take place. (NB: An additional resit assessment week is provided in week 10 of the summer term for postgraduate students. See Guide to Assessment, 5.4.a)
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Full time structure
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CreditsModuleAutumn TermSpring Term Summer Term Summer Vacation
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CodeTitle12345678910123456789101234567891012345678910111213
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10LAW00018MLegal Systems: Sources and OperationSEA
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20LAW00007MApplying International Human Rights LawSEA
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20POL00016MThe Practice of FieldworkSEA
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20LAW00066MHuman Rights PlacementSEA