The Midwest Coalition for Human Rights have as members numerous university-based human rights centers who offer a diverse curriculum of courses for students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. For more information on academic programs and admissions, please visit the websites of our academic members listed below.

ILLINOIS

Center for International Human Rights – Northwestern University
Faculty members supervise students in several areas of clinical work (including advocacy before and preparation of legal memoranda for international criminal tribunals and human rights bodies), teach core and elective courses for JD students and the LLM concentration in International Human Rights, and assist in placing students in internships and staff positions with international courts and organizations. JD students can earn academic credit for international externships with designated courts and international organizations overseas under the supervision of the center.

Human Rights Program – University of Chicago
The Human Rights curriculum includes a core sequence of disciplinary, thematic, and regional perspectives. The Human Rights internship program provides fellowships to students for practical experiences at host organizations in the U.S. and around the world. The Program also offers conferences, workshops, lectures, and film series.

International Human Rights Law Institute – DePaul University
IHRLI specializes in the following program areas: International Criminal Justice Program, International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law Education in the Arab World, International Weapons Control Center, Memory and Conscience, Middle East Peace and Security Program, Rule of Law, Projects in Iraq, Jeanne and Joseph Sullivan Program for Human Rights in the Americas, and Trafficking in Women an Children for Sexual Exploitation.

INDIANA

Center for Civil and Human Rights – University of Notre Dame School of Law
The CCHR sponsors two degree programs to respond to the worldwide need for advanced human rights education: a one-year Master of Laws (LL.M.) program and a multiyear Doctorate of Juridical Sciences (J.S.D.) program. These programs offer lawyers with a proven commitment to human rights the opportunity to engage in specialized study and supervised research in international human rights and comparative law.

Program in International Human Rights Law – Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis
The Program in International Human Rights Law was established to further the teaching and study of Human Rights law, to promote scholarship in International Human Rights, to assist human rights governmental, inter-governmental, and non-governmental organizations on international human rights projects, and to facilitate the placement of students as law interns at international human rights organization domestically and overseas.

IOWA

University of Iowa Center for Human Rights
The UICHR serves to provide University of Iowa students with opportunities to further their understanding and exposure to the field of human rights. The UICHR engages in a variety of educational programming, service learning projects and competitive contests to encourage student involvement in human rights.  As of the 2010-2011 school year, UICHR will offer a Certificate in Human Rights, a program that seeks to broaden understanding of human rights issues and to identify solutions to them on an interdisciplinary basis.    

MINNESOTA

Center for Holocaust Studies – University of Minnesota
The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies is a resource for information and teaching about the Holocaust and contemporary aspects of genocide as defined by the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide (1948) as well as varying definitions by university scholars and researchers. CHGS is an independent center at the University of Minnesota, established in 1997 with a mixture of private endowment and College of Liberal Arts support.

Human Rights Center – University of Minnesota School of Law
The Human Rights Center assists human rights advocates, monitors, students, educators, and volunteers access effective tools, practices, and networks to promote a culture of human rights and responsibilities in our local, national, and international communities.

Human Rights Program – University of Minnesota
The Human Rights Program provides opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to take classes and to conduct research in the field of human rights. Students have an opportunity to study with many widely-recognized human rights scholars who also serve as members of the Human Rights Program’s Advisory Board. Additionally, the HRP created a Human Rights Minor for graduate students that provides an interdisciplinary foundation in human rights studies and practical experience in human rights advocacy.

OHIO

International Studies and Human Rights Program – University of Dayton
The International Studies Program is a multidisciplinary major designed to meet the needs of students interested in acquiring a broad-based, international perspective for eventual careers in areas such as government service, international business, education and social service. The curriculum for students of international studies and human rights includes a core of courses in economics, history and political science required of all majors, foreign language study, and a choice among thematic, human rights or global development concentrations.

The interdisciplinary minor in human rights provides students an opportunity to address issues related to human rights from various disciplinary approaches. The universal nature of human rights issues may directly relate to a major, while in other cases will provide an opportunity for broadening one's exposure to these important topics.

The Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights – University of Cincinnati
For over 25 years, the Urban Morgan Institute has educated and trained human rights lawyers, promoting and protecting human rights in the international arena. Established in 1979, the UMI serves as a model for many human rights programs. The UMI emphasizes three areas: teaching, research and service. Students have the opportunity to participate in externships that can take them around the world-standing with human rights groups around the world fighting injustice; serving as election observers in South Africa; and, working to strengthen women's rights in foreign countries.

WISCONSIN

Institute for Human Rights Leadership – Marquette University
MIHRL is a new initiative that is still under construction. They intend to offer an interdisciplinary curriculum in human rights leadership, which will eventually include undergraduate and graduate degrees. Internships and community service work will be an important part of the curriculum. MIHRL also intends to become a center of significant research on human.