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2024-2025 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog

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Human Rights Minor

Human rights have become the moral language of today in fields as disparate as philosophy, international politics, and health care, as well as other service professions. This program provides students with both intellectual and practical opportunities to engage with human rights in preparation for encountering a wide variety of 21st century political issues, social problems, and employment opportunities.

The human rights curriculum is distinctively interdisciplinary, mirroring the world of human rights today. Completing the minor will equip students with key concepts and opportunities within this world, such as:

  • The political, philosophical, and legal development of human rights concepts within academic scholarship and political practice
  • The role of human rights in international relations and law
  • The growth of human rights institutions, courts, tribunals, and the emergence of human rights law as a profession
  • The explosive growth of humanitarian organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) dedicated to human rights activism and practice.
  • The incorporation of human rights concerns in the corporate world regarding job relocation, human resources, and international investment.

Admission

Anyone admitted to GVSU as a degree-seeking student can declare the human rights minor.

Minor Requirements

Students must complete 19 credits, including the introductory and Capstone courses, two courses from the core courses, and three additional elective courses. A maximum of three of the core and elective courses may be from the same prefix.

Required Courses

There are four credits required.

Core Courses

Take two courses (three credits each) from the core; each course must have a different prefix.

Elective Courses

There are nine credits required. Take three courses (three credits each) from the electives list that follows, with no more than two courses from a single major/designator. Courses from the core courses list may also be counted as electives, but a single course may not count both as a core course and an elective.


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