Hi all, I have been lurking on the boards for a couple of years but now I need specific advice for myself, hopefully some of you can help me.

I am law student from India and would be graduating in 2012. I am really interested in International Law and Human Rights and would like to carve out a career for my self in those fields. I want to know about the good LLM International Law and Human Rights programmes and what sort of chance would I have of getting into them.
I know about the International Legal Studies programme at NYU and LLM at Fletcher's and they are sort of at the top of my list but so are Georgetown, LSE and Graduate Institute at Geneva. But I am a bit circumspect because I am not really topper in class but I am in the top 15%. Also, I think I can make up for that with my extra curriculars which are strong.

How difficult is it to get into these schools that I have mentioned? If anybody with previous experience of applying to them can shed some light that would be great. Would a programme over at these universities really enhance my career prospects?

Also, I have looked at Leiden and their advanced programme at Hague, has anybody heard anything about that? Finally, are there other good International Law programmes in Continental Europe that I look at?

I know I am asking a lot of questions but I would be highly thankful for any bit of advice regarding my questions.

Thanks.

hard to say about how difficult LSE is to get in, but I imagine you at least have a chance. i am reading for an LLM in the LSE focusing on international law and human rights, and i would strongly recommend the programme. some of the professors (conor gearty, for example) are outstanding in the field and the programme really is brilliant. good luck if you decide to apply!

Give a look to Northwestern Law too. Prof. Scheffer is the best professor in the field. Notre Dame also has a great program

Look at Essex for human rights in the UK. As for getting into these programmes, depending on the size of your school and its reputation, I think you have a fine chance at Geneva and Leiden. I'm less certain about Fletcher and NYU, but that shouldn't discourage you from applying there.

I hope it's not coopting the thread but i was wondering if you have any advice about the program at the Graduate Institute in Geneva as opposed to the program in Lund University?

I've been accepted into both and I have no idea which one is a better program? Has a better reputation?

Hey everyone,

For those of you starting a postgraduate human rights course in October, the Essex Human Rights Alumni Association has created a Facebook group. Ffeel free to join it! http://www.facebook.com/groups/134672879958859.

And if you have any question about the course, feel free to contact me. I can only recommend Essex, it's an incredible place for human rights (and I can speak from experience...)

Cheers!
Sylvain (President of the Essex Human Rights Alumni Association www.ehraa.org)

Hi everyone,

I want to apply to the Human Rights Law Masters at the University of Essex for 2012-2013.

Their website says that they strongly favour people with human rights experience - am I screwed?

Basically, I got a first in Law from Edinburgh University, and I concentrated in human rights there and on exchange in Copenhagen.

However, that was two years ago, and since then...well, I've just been travelling, and travel writing. I've no formal human rights experience to speak of, though I've been living in countries with very real human rights problems - Albania, Israel, Palestine, Egypt...now in Seoul, I'm as close to some of the worst human rights atrocities in the world, happening over the border in North Korea. Will this be enough? I've been incorporating politics and human rights into the most recent travel articles I've published. Should I just big up that and hope for the best? Because I want to be a human right researcher, I feel like writing is the best thing I could have done these past 2 years. I'm scared that Essex won't see it that way!

So, Essex alumni, how were your cover letters? Do I really need 5 years at Amnesty Interational under my belt, in order to get onto their course? Please say no, please.

Thanks

Hi AilsaR,

There would not be any problem, but people with a good degree could also enter. What matters is real motivation and genuine interest in human rights, a will to learn about complex issues and make a difference inthe wolrd. The LLM gathers many different people, and I do not see any reason why you would not have your chance. Experience is just one of the criteria. When I got in the Masters, I only had 4 years study and no experience at all, so you seem to alreadby better situated than me! I guess at the the end of teh day they hope to find a good balance between experienced people and young graduates... and it's worked pretty well until now!

Hope this helps. You should not hesistate to contact directly the Director of the Masters if you have any question, they're very friendly.

Cheers!
Sylvain

Thanks for the quick reply Sylvain,

You've made me hopeful, which is great, because the Essex course is the only one I'm interested in. All I can do now is apply with the best cover letter I can, and look for a suitable human rights internship before the course starts...

Thanks again,

Ailsa

I was also wandering about languages. A lot of the Human Rights NGOs seem to want people with more than one language, which I can understand. Right now, I only have English, intermediate German and the barest smattering of Greek and Arabic. How did students, who only spoke English, do after they finished their Masters? Is the a particular language you would strongly recommend getting to grips with?

Thanks again,

Ailsa

I would say definitely French, but I'm biased ;) I would say French is the most second language required after English in the human rights world, both because of its status in international relations and its use in key developping countries (Africa). Spanish is very useful too for its obvious use in Latin America.

Having a rare language (notably Russian and Arabaic) can be a huge advantage too.

I would say that languages can help a lot to find a job, but they're not always necessay, and I would say that there are many human rights jobs open to people who only speak English.

Thanks for the reply - oh well, I've got time to learn! Oui, oui, merci : )