Columbia University, Center for the Study of Human Rights

Columbia University, Center for the Study of Human Rights advances human rights research, teaching, and practice within Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs in New York City. The center serves graduate students, scholars, and practitioners through an interdisciplinary program that connects human rights to public policy, international affairs, and professional training. Its work centers on the Human Rights Studies master’s degree, a program that combines academic study with practical engagement and draws students preparing for careers in advocacy, international organizations, journalism, law, and related fields. The center also anchors a broader intellectual and professional community at Columbia. It sponsors events, lectures, and discussions on contemporary human rights issues, and it supports student learning through research opportunities and engagement with faculty and visiting experts. A concrete feature of its academic portfolio is the Human Rights Fellowship, which supports selected students undertaking summer internships in the human rights field. The center also administers the Institute for the Study of Human Rights, which expands activity across the university through research initiatives, convenings, and collaboration among different schools and disciplines. Within Columbia University, the Center for the Study of Human Rights occupies a distinct role as a hub for human rights education and policy-oriented inquiry. Its location within SIPA places it at the intersection of scholarship and practice, linking classroom instruction with field experience and public debate. By combining graduate education, fellowships, and university-wide programming, the center supports people seeking to understand human rights problems in global context and to work professionally on issues of justice, accountability, and social change.