HU902-7-FY-CO:
Human Rights Practical Skills Masterclass
2026/27
Human Rights Centre (Essex Law School)
Colchester Campus
Full Year
Postgraduate: Level 7
Current
Thursday 08 October 2026
Friday 02 July 2027
15
25 August 2026
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
This module is concerned with the practice of human rights advocacy and will provide students with the skillset necessary to work as human rights professionals.
The module will develop students' ability to evaluate – and effectively engage with – some of the principal strategies available to human rights practitioners. The module includes the following content:
- Evidence gathering and interviewing victims of human rights violations
- Dealing with backlash and risk in human rights work
- Negotiation and diplomacy
- Organisational dynamics and mobilisation of human rights movements
- Strategic litigation
Satisfactory attendance and participation in this Module and the Human Rights Centre Clinic will:
HU902 Taught Component
- Develop students’ ability to critically engage with issues relating to the practice of human rights advocacy.
- Develop students’ ability: to reflect on different approaches taken (what has worked, what has not, and why), to learn from and utilise existing experience (that of academic staff, other students, and their own) and to apply this understanding to future challenges.
- Provide students with the essential skillset necessary to become successful human rights professionals, including an understanding of how to effectively engage international human rights mechanisms.
HRC Clinic
- Provide students with the opportunity to develop the skillset necessary to become successful practitioners through structured engagement in the practice of human rights.
- Provide students with the experience of working in a professional human rights-based environment.
- Positively contribute to the overall practice of human rights through engagement with international human rights mechanisms, and other mechanisms as appropriate.
- Contribute to the capacity development of external partner organisations, inter alia, by means of a sustained and collaborative working relationship, and through the placement of Clinic staff.
- Demonstrate the practical application of human rights and its relevance to ‘real-world’ issues.
By the end of this module, students will be expected to:
- Have developed a critical understanding of the international human rights machinery, its strengths and weaknesses, and its relevance to the overall practice of human rights advocacy.
- Possess an awareness of the context in which human rights work takes place.
- Be able to apply theory to the practice of human rights.
- Be able to develop focused strategies with clear objectives to address identified human rights issues.
- Possess the essential skillset necessary to be a successful human rights professional, including an ability to question, research, analyse, and apply facts to a given human rights problem, and to translate this into an effective output.
- Possess an understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of human rights practice.
- Be able to critically assess and reflect upon work undertaken, and to place this within the theoretical framework developed during postgraduate study.
The module is open to all LLM and MA human rights students.
Students who have been admitted to the Essex Human Rights Centre Clinic will automatically be enrolled on the module. Information on how to apply to Clinic projects is available here: https://www.essex.ac.uk/centres-and-institutes/human-rights/human-rights-centre-clinic.
By combining this module with the Clinic, students are able both to learn about human rights protection mechanisms and to apply this knowledge through engagement with national and international stakeholders in the human rights sector, including NGOs, UN bodies, and international organisations.
This module will be delivered via:
- Two-hour weekly seminars run during the Autumn term.
- For students participating in the Human Rights Centre Clinic, this is supplemented by meetings in supervisory teams.
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Essay (HU902 Human Rights Clinic) |
|
30% |
| Coursework |
Reflective Statement (HU902 Human Rights Clinic) |
|
20% |
| Coursework |
Professionalism (HU902 Human Rights Clinic) |
|
50% |
Additional coursework information
The professionalism mark evaluates the student’s performance in their Clinic work.
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Sabina Garahan, email: sgarah@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Sabina Garahan (sgarah@essex.ac.uk)
No
No
Yes
Travel costs for UK - based unpaid, approved work placements and live projects which are an integral part of a module may be covered by your department. (NB this will usually exclude field trips and site visits). Please check with your module supervisor to ensure that the activity is eligible.
Ms Philippa Helen Bruce
University of Kent
Senior Lecturer/Clinic Solicitor
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.
* Please note: due to differing publication schedules, items marked with an asterisk (*) base their information upon the previous academic year.
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