01

A Unique Learning Experience

The Arab master's programme includes research-oriented courses and practical trainings in the field of human rights and democratisation. It attracts students, researchers and experts from the region and beyond, because of its comparative approach and its multidisciplinary character. While based in Lebanon, it offers cross-regional mobility, with the possibility to spend one semester in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine or Tunisia. You will acquire theoretical, practical and critical knowledge and insights into the region and the master’s main thematics. The programme allows you to develop research and practical skills. It includes a week-long field trip and offers the possibility of doing internships in leading national and international organisations across the region.

02

An Accelerated &
A Comprehensive Track

The programme offers two tracks designed to meet the needs of different categories of students:

  • A comprehensive two-year track for students who hold a bachelor’s degree. This full post-graduate programme provides students with a solid theoretical basis, multidisciplinary knowledge and skills, and an informed and critical understanding of the field of human rights and democratic governance. It includes all the programme's features such as field visits, a field research, two human rights laboratories, regional mobility, and an internship programme geared at developing the student’s practical and professional skills. The first year courses are scheduled in the afternoon, starting at 17:00 from Monday to Friday. During the second year, the first semester courses are scheduled in the morning. 
  • An accelerated one-year track for students who already hold a master's degree in social sciences or the equivalent of 60 European postgraduate credits in these disciplines. This track gives direct access to the second year of the master’s programme with additional foundational and specialisation courses from the first year of the programme. Students following this track take between 75 and 90 European credits, depending on their academic background, with classes in the morning and in the late afternoon. Acceptance to this track is subject to the recognition of the credits obtained in the previous post-graduate degree as meeting the learning objectives of the programme.

02

An Accelerated &
A Comprehensive Track

The programme offers two tracks designed to meet the needs of different categories of students:

  • A comprehensive two-year track for students who hold a bachelor’s degree. This full post-graduate programme provides students with a solid theoretical basis, multidisciplinary knowledge and skills, and an informed and critical understanding of the field of human rights and democratic governance. It includes all the programme's features such as field visits, a field research, two human rights laboratories, regional mobility, and an internship programme geared at developing the student’s practical and professional skills. The first year courses are scheduled in the afternoon, starting at 17:00 from Monday to Friday. During the second year, the first semester courses are scheduled in the morning. 
  • An accelerated one-year track for students who already hold a master's degree in social sciences or the equivalent of 60 European postgraduate credits in these disciplines. This track gives direct access to the second year of the master’s programme with additional foundational and specialisation courses from the first year of the programme. Students following this track take between 75 and 90 European credits, depending on their academic background, with classes in the morning and in the late afternoon. Acceptance to this track is subject to the recognition of the credits obtained in the previous post-graduate degree as meeting the learning objectives of the programme.

03

An International
Environment

  • Our faculty brings together professors, experts and practitioners coming from over 12 countries and sharing their knowledge, perspective, professional experience and expertise.
  • Our programme attracts students from across the Arab region, the Mediterranean and well beyond who are interested in understanding regional dynamics and country-specific socio-political trends within the Middle East and North Africa. It is also geared to professionals working in the Arab region who want to back their experience in development, democratisation and human rights with solid scholarship.

 

04
Multidisciplinarity

Human Rights and Democratic Governance are complex issues that need to be understood through the lens of several disciplines. For this reason, our curriculum includes courses grounded in sociology, law, political thought, history, geopolitics, international relations and philosophy.

The programme is designed in the tradition of the Institute of Political Science at Saint Joseph University of Beirut to provide insights from multiple disciplines and allow students to strengthen their skills within each of these disciplines.
 

05

Regional Mobility!

  • From February to August during their year of graduation, students carry out their personal research and complete their thesis on a topic relevant to democracy and human rights in one of the partner universities across the region. They can also follow classes at Birzeit University, Cairo University, the International University of Rabat, and Carthage University.
  • The programme also receives exchange students for one semester from partner programmes in Human Rights across the Arab World in order to strengthen a regional network of researchers and practitioners in Human Rights and Democratic Governance

06

In A Nutshell

The Arab master’s programme in Democracy and Human Rights is:

An advanced programme in the field of democracy and human rights.
 

A master’s degree from the Institute of Political Science at Saint Joseph University of Beirut.

A regional programme coordinated by Saint Joseph University of Beirut in partnership with leading universities across the region: Birzeit University, Carthage University and the International University of Rabat.

An exchange programme through which students get to spend one semester in another Arab country: Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine or Tunisia.

The foundation for a successful career on national, international, and non-governmental levels.