Human Rights and Multi-level Governance

The MA programme in Human Rights and Multi-level Governance is a contribution to developing a universal culture of human rights such as highlighted by Unesco and the United Nations. Accordingly, it has a strong policy- and action-oriented approach. This master's degree is in full continuity with previous post-graduate programmes in human rights, taught in Italian, that the University of Padua has been delivering since 1988.

The multi-level approach allows combining international trends analysis and an in-depth study of local policies. The programme’s research and lecturing activities reflect the transnational and transcultural dimensions of human rights studies.

Courses, in English, are in seminar form and promote the active participation of students in class. Internships in qualified agencies and supervised research are encouraged. The MA includes special modules with the participation of practitioners of European and international organisations and academic institution.

The programme encourages study experiences abroad financed under student mobility programmes and bilateral agreements. Up to five students of the Master's degree may obtain a double degree in international relations spending the second year of the course at the Polish University of Wroclaw.

The programme promotes extra-curricular education opportunities in cooperation with the Human Rights Centre “Antonio Papisca” of the Padova University and other non-academic institutions and bodies. Such initiatives include a study trip to United Nations Human Rights bodies in Geneva, the Winter School “Microfinance in Action” in Nepal, the simulation exercise on refugees and migrants with the Italian Red Cross, the “Human trafficking simulation-based” organised by the OSCE/Office of the Special Representative for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings.