Minor Requirements
Regulations for human rights minors are available on the Undergraduate Requirements section of the human rights bulletins for
Columbia College and
General Studies.
The minor in human rights requires a total of 5 courses for a minimum of 15 total credits. To fulfill the requirements of the minor, students must take the following:
Introduction to Human Rights (HRTS UN3001)
International human rights is a powerful idea in our time, but also the focus of numerous controversies: it not only embodies a set of ideals but also functions as a political tool, which different forces try to bend to their own ends. The result of this struggle is a process of norm contestation and norm change that the course seeks to understand. The course looks at the laws and institutions that define human rights as an international regime, in the context of key intellectual controversies and political puzzles surrounding human rights theory and practice. It discusses how human rights norms change, and it analyzes some of the challenges of contemporary human rights advocacy.
Four additional human rights courses
Please see the
undergraduate course list for the current list of courses that fulfill the minor requirements, and any stipulations.
Guidelines for all Human Rights Minors
Students should also consult the general academic policies of their school.
Course Planning & Approval
Students should consult with the program prior to each semester's registration period in order to verify that selected courses will fulfill degree requirements. To facilitate this process, students are asked to use the
minor worksheet to plan and track degree progress. Please review this
course list for additional information.
No course with a grade of D or lower is credited towards the minor.
One course, with the exception of Introduction to Human Rights, can be taken for Pass/D/Fail. The student must receive a grade of P for the course to count toward the requirements of the minor. All other courses must be taken for a letter grade.
Transfer Credit/Study Abroad Credit
Human rights minors may transfer a maximum of one course (3 Columbia-equivalent credits) from other institutions. This includes study abroad credit and Advanced Placement courses. The application of transferred courses to the minor must be approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies or the undergraduate advisor.
Students wishing to count transfer courses toward the minor should email
uhrp@columbia.edu with their Entrance/Transfer Credit Report or transcript, the syllabi of the courses they want to count toward departmental requirements, and a statement of how they want to apply the transfer credits to the requirements.
Double-Counting
In accordance with the academic policies of their school, students pursuing another program of study (a major or a minor) may double‐count a maximum of two classes towards the Human Rights Minor, provided that the classes are approved to fulfill a requirement for each program. Students should consult the academic policies of their school for specific information regarding the double-counting of courses taken to fulfill Global Core or other school requirements.
