Application

Requirements

  • A university degree based on at least 3.5 years of full-time studies (equivalent to 210 ECTS credits)
    •  If your university degree is based on less than 3.5 years of studies, you may be accepted on the basis of a special procedure determining additional qualifications.
  • At least one year of professional experience in the area of human rights,
    • or one year of professional experience in another field in combination with practical experience in human rights work on a volunteer basis.
  • Proof of English language skills
    • This should be in line with level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Generally, this requires the submission of a recognised language test like IELTS, TOEFL, UniCERT, Cambridge etc. Exceptions can be granted by the admissions committee to applicants who have completed a university degree with English as the sole language of instruction in an English-speaking country.

Application deadlines

The programme only starts in the winter term. Applications are accepted between mid-January and 30 June each year. Decisions will be taken in March, May and July. To have your application reviewed in March or May, it has to reach us by the last working day of the previous month.

Please note that in some cases, processing visa applications may take several months. We therefore strongly advise applicants who require a student visa to apply early, preferably by the end of February.

How to apply

Applications for the programme need to be submitted online through the university’s online application platform campo. Applications for the program is a straightforward process.  You will need electronic copies of all documents required. (see list below)

  • create an account at the university’s IdM portal. (when logging in, use the top right-hand corner, not SSO-Login)
  • Submit documents online through the university’s online application platform campo. You do not have to post anything, and documents sent by email or post will not be accepted.

You will be required to upload:

  1. Previous university degree(s),
  2. Proof of your professional and voluntary experiences,
  3. Proof of English language skills. You can also upload your English certificate at a later stage of your application.
  4. A short application essay (appr. 1–3 pages) guided by the following Questions
    1. What is the relevance of your professional and/or voluntary experience specifically to the field of human rights?
    2. Describe a specific instance of a human rights violation and explain why you think this constitutes a human rights violation.
    3. What do you think is the biggest human rights issue in your country? Why?

How to use campo

Please watch FAU’s video on how to apply using campo.  Please note, however, that the contents of the application form as such differ a little for the M.A. Human Rights, and that you are required to show proof of English language skills, not German.

Assessment of applications

Your application will be reviewed by the admissions committee using a points-based system. You can receive up to 100 points, 50 each for your academic and professional background. The academic background is assessed based on the relevance of the subjects you studied and the grades you obtained. The professional experience is assessed on the basis of its relevance in the field of human rights. Applicants who receive at least 70 points are admitted, those receiving 50–74 points are invited to an interview (in person or via video call), and those with less than 50 points are rejected. Please note that the decision on acceptance or rejection will be based only on the merits of your application vis-a-vis the objective of the programme. The regulations for the procedure can be found in section 6 and appendices 2 and 3 of the official degree regulations (published on this web page).

If your university degree(s) is/are equivalent to less than 210 ECTS credits, we need to subject your application to a special procedure in addition to the normal reviewing of the application. We will inform you about the details of this procedure after we received your application. It is therefore important that you include documentation regarding the years of officially prescribed full-time studies—these can differ from the years actually studies—or ECTS credits of your university degree.

Questions?

If you have any further questions concerning the application process or administrative matters, please send an email to our programme coordinator Ines Kalam (ines.kalam@fau.de)