Civil rights lawyers defend human rights
Civil rights law concentrations focus on legal issues relating to disability, discrimination, and other aspects that may influence the civil liberties of United States citizens or the human rights of those abroad. Civil rights law programs, often incorporated with human rights studies, offer supplementary coursework to students studying the basics of law.
The top law schools for civil rights allow students to interact with renowned scholars in the field while studying human rights issues in depth, sometimes to the point that civil rights field work is involved.
Boston College
Boston College in Massachusetts houses the Center for Human Rights and International Justice. Law school students may participate in graduate seminars or a certificate program through the Center. The interdisciplinary graduate seminars feature noted speakers across the course of a semester.
The certificate program requires that participating law students take at least three approved courses that focus on human rights and one human rights course outside the law discipline. A research paper or practicum must be completed under Center supervision. The student must also participate in the Interdisciplinary Seminar in Human Rights and International Justice.
Boston College
140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
617-552-1968
bc.edu
North Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central University offers a law degree with a concentration in Civil Rights and Constitutional Law. Students must take the courses required of the traditional law degree with the addition of 14 credit hours of coursework in the concentration. The required courses are Constitutional Law II and Criminal Procedure. The additional courses may include Civil Rights, Disability Law, or Environmental Law.
Students must complete one credit hour of pro bono work in an approved civil rights setting, write a publishable scholarly article on a civil rights matter and attend a civil rights conference.
NCCU School of Law
640 Nelson Street
Durham, North Carolina 27707
919-530-6333
nccu.edu
Harvard University
Harvard University offers a Human Rights Concentration for students studying for a Master's in Law, or LL.M., degree. The concentration coursework is supplemental to the core law studies but includes a required international law seminar that meets throughout the year. Students interact with scholars and experts in the field during the seminars.
The students also meet in groups to work on developing the required paper each student must write to complete the concentration. A 25-page scholarly paper is the minimum required, but a paper of up to 100 pages may be submitted for additional credits.
Harvard Law School
1563 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-495-9362
harvard.edu
Tags: civil rights, Boston College, Civil rights, human rights, North Carolina