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Application
Applicants have to complete the application form provided on the website. Please fill in the application form, print it out, and return it together with the following documents:
1. Letter of motivation
2. CV
3. Proof of English language proficiency (in case of non-native speakers who did not graduate from an English language programme)
4. Academic transcripts including final grades (all transcripts or translations thereof must be either in German, English or French)
5. Copy of Passport
6. Housing form if you wish to book housing through our programme.

Optional:
Letter(s) of recommendation
Applications must include the application forms and the necessary supporting documentation and can be submitted as follows:
• Electronic form: scanned by email to humanrights@univie.ac.at (the originals must be sent by post) or
• Fax to Tina Hofstaetter (Fax number: +43 1 4277-35321) (the originals must be sent by post) or
• Post to:
Tina Hofstaetter
University of Vienna - Juridicum
Vienna Master of Arts in Human Rights c/o Department of European, International and Comparative Law Schottenbastei 10-16
A-1010 Vienna, Austria

Language Proficiency
All classes will be taught in English.
All non-native speakers must demonstrate their English proficiency with:
1. A test result in the International English Testing System (IELTS, 6.5 pt minimum) OR
2. A Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), internet based test 100pt minimum, with the following minimum section requirements:
Reading: 20, Listening: 20
Speaking: 20, Writing: 20
3. Students with a first or second degree with the English language as a medium of instruction do not have to submit a TOEFL or IELTS test report, but need a statement from their university that their education language was in English.

The implementation of human rights in rich and poor countries, in peace operations, development projects, transition and post-conflict situations requires highly motivated and skilled human rights experts with empathy for human beings. With our newly designed Master of Arts in Human Rights the University of Vienna offers you the unique opportunity to study human rights in an international, trans-disciplinary and practice-oriented environment.

Aims and objectives
We aim at providing you with the scientific knowledge and the practical skills to work as a human rights expert in different professional environments.

Target group
We welcome students with at least a bachelor degree in a broad variety of academic disciplines from all world regions, with an open mind, empathy for human beings and a strong interest to experience the fascinating world of human rights.

Modules
We provide you with an innovative and interdisciplinary approach to human rights, with a strong emphasis on practice. Since we keep the number of students small, supervision is very personal so you get the most out of the programme. Your interests are taken very seriously - you have the opportunity to determine certain contents of your courses.

This interdisciplinary and practice-oriented postgraduate programme comprises of 9 obligatory modules (88 ECTS), a Master thesis (30 ECTS) and a thesis defence (2 ECTS), adding up to 120 ECTS in total. Overview of the Modules

a) Introduction to Human Rights from an Interdisciplinary Perspective (9 ECTS)
b) Human Rights Standards and Mechanisms of the United Nations and the Council of Europe (8 ECTS)
c) European Union, OSCE and Other Regional Human Rights Mechanisms (10 ECTS)
d) Selected Human Rights (16 ECTS)
e) Human Rights of Specific Groups (10 ECTS)
f) Human Rights in Context and New Challenges (8 ECTS)
g) Practical Human Rights Skills (4 ECTS)
h) Scientific Competence (7 ECTS)
i) The Use of New Media as a Means of Scientific Competence (16 ECTS)

Faculty
We offer you a broad variety of courses taught by university professors and academic lecturers from various disciplines as well as human rights practitioners working in international organisations, human rights institutes, the corporate sector, development agencies and civil society organisations.

Field trip
We provide you with an enlightening and memorable field experience in the post-conflict situation in Kosovo, where the UN, the OSCE, the EU, NATO and other international organisations are jointly operating an international administration with a strong human rights mandate. The trip will last for one week where you stay with a local family and get the opportunity to have lively discussions about Kosovo's human rights issues with international actors, national human rights institutions, NGOs, media, universities and politicians.

Job opportunities
We will train you for a career as a human rights expert to be employed by governments, international organisations, development agencies, business corporations, research institutes and civil society organisations. You might work as an election observer, officer for human rights monitoring and capacity building in the field, diplomat, trainer, mediator, consultant, researcher etc.

Visits of Institutions
Students of this programme are offered to visit international partner institutions such as the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the OSCE, UN institutions, the International Anti-Corruption Academy in order to gain insight into these organisations.

Internship/Studying Abroad
In the course of the third semester we give you the opportunity to do either in-depth research for your Master thesis at one of our partner universities in Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania or to do an internship at a Vienna-based international organisation active in the field of human rights. This internship will also be connected to the topic of your Master thesis.

Internships are possible at our partner institutions:
- the United Nations Office in Vienna (UN Office on Drugs and Crime-UNODC), Vienna
- the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Vienna
- the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Vienna
- the International Anti-Corruption Academy, Laxenburg near Vienna

List of partner universities:
University of Pretoria, American University Washington College of Law, University of Chile, Chulalongkorn University, Gadjah Mada University, Ilia State University, National Taiwan University, Notre Dame University - Louaize (NDU), Osaka University, Peking University, University of Colombo, University of Hong Kong, Yerevan State Linguistic University "Bryusov", Adam Mickiewicz University, Bielefeld University, Eötvös Loránd Universität - ELTE, London School of Economics (LSE), Lund University, Utrecht University, University of Auckland, University of Sydney.

Vienna - The Vibrant Heart of Europe
Not only is Vienna well known as the world city with the highest quality of life, but situated in the heart of Europe, it lies at the cross-roads of different cultures. People from all over the world come to Vienna to meet, to enjoy its charm and the sound of music, to study, to dance, to hold peace congresses and attend scientific conferences. Many international organizations and agencies, including the United Nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union, have chosen to be hosted in Vienna. After the end of the Cold War, the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights in 1993 laid the ground for the current human rights architecture of the United Nations. Combining tradition and modernity, arts and science, work and leisure, Vienna provides the ideal international environment to spend two unforgettable years studying the art of human rights.