Undergraduate Courses

This page provides an overview of our course offerings, to help students as they make decisions and plans for the academic year ahead. Please note that this schedule will be updated periodically and may be subject to change. Students are encouraged not only to revisit this page but also to confirm the course listings in the online Directory of Courses and Vergil, where fuller course descriptions and class meeting times will be posted.
  • Spring 2025 Courses Offered by ISHR    
  • HRTS UN3001 Introduction to Human Rights
  • HRTS UN3190 International Human Rights Law
  • HRTS UN3940 History of Human Rights
  • HRTS UN3995 Human Rights Senior Seminar
  • HRTS GU4210 Equality, Identity and Rights
  • HRTS GU4380 Advocacy for Socio-Economic Rights 
  • HRTS GU4460 Climate Justice
  • HRTS GU4880 Human Rights in the United States
  • HRTS GU4850 Beyond Human Rights Critique
  • HRTS GU4915 Human Rights and Urban Public Space
  • HRTS GU4930 Int'l Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
  • HRTS GU4940 Human Rights and Education
  • HRTS GU4975 Borders, Surveillance, Rights
  • Courses listed as "pre-approved" under "Course Type" below may also 
  • be counted for the major or the concentration. Please submit all human rights
  • courses to ISHR for approval, prior to finalizing your schedule. 
 
Each semester, the program publishes a list of pre-approved courses that fulfill major or concentration requirements as well as a list of non-pre-approved courses of potential interest. Courses that are not on the pre-approved list may also be approved for the degree if the student can demonstrate that he or she can complete substantial coursework specifically focusing on human rights in that course. We maintain this list as a courtesy to our students who seek interdisciplinary engagement.
Please note that, with the exception of certain HRTS courses, enrollment in a specific course is not guaranteed, nor is it required by ISHR to complete major/concentration requirements. It is determined solely at the discretion of the course instructor or the academic department offering the class. We advise you to identify backups, in order to ensure that you have a robust selection of courses that fulfill degree requirements. The following course list is subject to change upon receipt of additional course information. If you would like to suggest an addition or modification to this list, please email the relevant course information, including the syllabus if available, to uhrp@columbia.edu.
 

We try to keep this information as up-to-date as possible, but students should confirm course times and locations with the Directory of Classes  or the department offering the course.

Before each semester’s registration period, students should submit major, minor, or concentration worksheet to uhrp@columbia.edu in order to confirm that courses of interest will fulfill remaining degree requirements.

For additional information on requirements and course advising, please see the major and concentration requirements pages.

 

Major  - Pre-approved distributional courses

In order to fulfill the distributional requirement of the major, students must take one course in three of these four categories: Politics and History; Culture and Representation; Political Theory and Philosophy; and Social and Economic Processes. Please see the major requirements for additional information about this program.

 
The pre-approved courses below fulfill the distributional requirement of the major. Students wishing to take courses not on the pre-approved list should refer to course advising procedure mentioned above.
 

Minor or Concentration - Pre-approved courses

All pre-approved distributional courses for the major may be counted towards the minor or concentration. 

*Please note, as of Fall 2024, the University is phasing out Concentrations. Students who entered Columbia prior to the 2024-25 academic year may pursue a Concentration in Human Rights. Students who previously enrolled in the Concentration are also welcome to discuss switching to a Minor (details above). The policies outlined above regarding Grades and Double-Counting Courses also apply to students pursuing the Human Rights Concentration.

 

Non-pre-approved courses

These are other courses that may be of interest to human rights students. Other courses on the Directory of Classes may fulfill degree requirements if the student can demonstrate that they will complete substantial coursework specifically focusing on human rights. Students who would like to count one of these courses towards the degree must consult with the program in advance to seek approval, sharing a syllabus for review. Generally speaking, the department cannot make more than one special approval outside of the pre-approved list.

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Dept Course # Format Title Instructor(s) Credits
AFRS GU4100 SEM Slavery and Freedom in Latin America Walker, Tanara 4.0
AMST UN3931 SEM Topics in American Studies: Equity in Higher Education Delbanco, Andrew 4.0
ANTH BC3932 SEM Climate Change, Global Migration, and Human Rights Salyer, J. C. 4.0
ANTH UN3465 LEC Women, Gender, and Politics in Muslim World Malmstrom, Maria F 3.0
ARCH GU4310 SEM Disability and Architecture Gonzalez Galan, Ignacio 4.0
CSER GU4004 SEM Data, Race, Power and Justice Luna Lucero, Brian 4.0
CSER GU4005 SEM Abolition: Theory and Practice Sandler, Matthew 4.0
CSER GU4350 SEM Cinema of Subversion Gamalinda, Eric 4.0
CSER UN3940 SEM Comparative Study of Constitutional Challenges Affecting African, Latino, and Asian American Communities Ouyang, Elizabeth 4.0
CSER UN3942 SEM Race and Racisms Munem, Bahia 4.0
CSER GU4340 SEM Visionary Medicine: Racial Justice, Health and Speculative Fictions Dasgupta, Sayantani 4.0
HIST BC3823 SEM Race/Racism/Antiracism: Studies in Global Thought TBA 4.0
HIST GU4528 SEM Power, Place, Politics, and Health: Historical Perspectives Roberts, Samuel 4.0
HIST UN3321 SEM Solidarity in the Age of Decolonization Houman, Roxanne 4.0
HIST UN3591 SEM One Person, One Vote? Steingart, Alma 4.0
HRTS BC1025 LEC Human Rights in Theory and Practice Brown, Widney 3.0
HRTS BC3601 SEM International Law and UN in Practice Flaherty, Martin 4.0
HRTS BC3851 SEM Human Rights and Public Health: Advanced Seminar Brown, Widney 4.0
HRTS GU4210 SEM Equality, Identity and Rights Ikawa, Daniela 3.0
HRTS GU4270 SEM Social Media and Human Rights Perlmutter, Ted 3.0
HRTS GU4380 SEM Advocacy for Socio-Economic Rights Rosenthal, Mila 3.0
HRTS GU4460 SEM Climate Justice Dugard, Jackie
HRTS GU4850 SEM Beyond Human Rights Critique Wyman-McCarthy, Tim 3.0
HRTS GU4880 SEM Human Rights in the United States Chia, Joy 3.0
HRTS GU4930 SEM Int'l Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Cronin, Bruce 4.0
HRTS GU4940 SEM Human Rights and Education Mitoma, Glenn 3.0
HRTS GU4975 SEM Borders, Surveillance, Rights Molavi, Shourideh 3.0
HRTS UN3934 SEM Seeking Sanctuary in New York City Trowbridge, Jennifer 5.0
HRTS UN3936 SEM Human Rights and Social Justice in NYC Trowbridge, Jennifer 5.0
HRTS UN3940 LEC History of Human Rights Mitoma, Glenn 3.0
HRTS UN3996 SEM Human Rights Thesis Seminar Holland, Tracey 3.0
HRTS W4915 SEM Human Rights and Urban Public Space Chasin, Noah 3.0
POLS BC3254 LEC First Amendment Values Franzese, Paula 3.0
POLS UN1601 LEC International Politics Schlesinger, Jayme 4.0
POLS UN3100 LEC Justice Johnston, David 3.0
POLS UN3619 LEC Nationalism and Contemporary World Politics Snyder, Jack 3.0
POLS UN3911 SEM Seminar in Political Theory Mantena, Karuna and Choi, Yujin 4.0
POLS UN3921 SEM American Politics Seminar: The First Amendment Amdur, Robert L 4.0
PSYC GU4612 SEM Frontiers of Justice Dixon, Peter 4.0
RELI BC3671 SEM Religion and Human Rights Vasko, Timothy 4.0
SDEV UN2100 SEM Introduction to Climate Justice Aronowsky, Leah 3.0
SDEV UN3355 LEC Climate Change and Law Gerrard, Michael 3.0
SOCI BC3202 LEC Structural Determinants of Health Momplaisir, Maati 3.0
SOCI BC3248 LEC Race, Ethnicity, and Education in the US Walker, Dominic 3.0
SOCI GU4801 SEM Israel and the Palestinians Cohen, Yinon 4.0
SOCI UN2501 SEM The Politics of Mass Incarceration Knight, David 4.0
SOCI UN3217 LEC Law and Society Becher, Deborah 3.0
SOCI UN3241 LEC Transnationalism, Citizenship, and Belonging Serhan, Randa 3.0
SOCI UN3951 SEM Social Justice: Connecting Academics to Action Becher, Deborah 5.0
SUMA K5888 LEC Geographies of Environmental Justice and Sustainability Williams, John 3.0
SUMA PS4490 LEC Women in Cities Blaustein, Susan 3.0
SUMA PS5040 LEC ESG-Aligned Corporate Governance Wasser, Jessica 3.0
WMST BC1050 LEC Women and Health Lie-Spahn, Cecelia B 3.0
WMST BC2150 LEC Intersectional Feminisms Jordan-Young, Rebecca 3.0
WMST BC3514 SEM Historical Approaches to Feminist Questions Haley, Sarah 4.0
WMST GU4330 SEM SWANA Diasporas: Culture, Politics, and Identity Formation in a Time of War Moradian, Manijeh 4.0