International Human Rights Law
Human rights are universal, yet are not recognized everywhere, nor interpreted the same in all countries. In some cases, this can leave victims and their lawyers in a situation where they must choose which forum to go to or which human rights legislative system to navigate in order to find their justice. In this one year International Human Rights Law LLM programme, you will be trained in human rights at the international level, but also in international humanitarian law and other related fields. You will learn about different human rights systems and how they are interpreted within these systems and within different countries. Our mission in teaching not only focuses on conveying specialised knowledge, but also on enhancing students’ academic research skills as well as oral and written presentation skills. This should prepare students for any type of future career in an international legal environment related to international human rights, such as in the United Nations and other international and non-governmental organisations. Further, students will study in a truly international environment, in a very lively town which is extremely popular among students.
To learn more about this LLM programme, please have a look at the sections below.
Schedule of courses
The International Human Rights Law programme is a one year long, full-time programme. The language of instruction and examination in the programme is English. The academic year in Groningen runs from the first week of September to the end of August and is divided into two semesters of two blocks each. Each lecture block is followed by periods of examinations.
Programme structure
Below you will find the exact build-up of our LLM programme International Human Rights Law. You can find full course descriptions in Ocasys.
*Course names and schedules are occasionally subject to change.
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Block 1
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Block 2
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Block 3
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Block 4
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6 ECTS
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6 ECTS
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Choose 1 of 2: |
6 ECTS
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Choose 1 of 2: |
6 ECTS
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6 ECTS
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6 ECTS
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6 ECTS
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6 ECTS
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12 ECTS
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If you'd like to know more about the International Human Rights Law LLM programme, you are welcome to join one of our Masters Week presentations for the programme. You can also watch a recording of our most recent (online) masters week presentation here.
Special features of the programme
This International Human Rights LLM programme offers a broad approach to human rights and is therefore a specialization in the broadest sense, covering all aspects in and surrounding human rights. Participating in an LLM programme in any field of international law in the Netherlands, in particular, ensures that students will indeed be studying in a truly international, law-oriented environment; some of the most important international legal institutions in the world reside in the Netherlands. This includes the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Court, and the Iran-US Claims Tribunal. Furthermore, the Netherlands has some of the best international law libraries in the world, including the library of the Peace Palace, as well as internationally renowned international law research institutions, like the TMC Asser Institute for International Law. Access to these various institutions is available to our LLM students and the International Office within the Faculty of Law organises excursions to some of these institutions each year.
Further, we are proud to mention that Groningen was rated as the top-spot in the Netherlands to study international law for 4 years in a row. This ranking is a testament to the expertise and teaching approach of the various lecturers in the programme.
If you'd like to know more about the International Human Rights Law LLM programme, you are welcome to join one of our Masters Week presentations for the programme. You can also watch an overview video about the LLM below.
Career prospects
The LLM programme in International Human Rights Law will ultimately help prepare graduates for a (legal) career in performing human rights related assignments in governmental or EU institutions and ministries, the UN or other international organizations, non-governmental organizations (such as Amnesty International or Greenpeace), in the international commercial sector, internationally operating enterprises, and academic institutions.
Below you will see a distribution of the different arenas where past students are currently working. And here you can read about the career paths of our Faculty international graduates, for example a graduate who pursued a PhD.
Further, all students have access to the university Career Services which can help them in finding and preparing for internships and employment.
For students interested publishing articles or blog posts about their research, there are sometimes opportunities to publish in Faculty affiliated mediums, such as Human Rights Here.
If you'd like to know more about the International Human Rights Law LLM programme, you are welcome to join one of our Masters Week presentations for the programme. You can also watch a recording of our most recent (online) masters week presentation here.
Testimonials
You can read about the experiences of previous students below:
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Cristina Bucur, Romania
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Claire Adionyi, Kenya
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Eva Papageorgiou, Greece
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Fay Emvoliadou, Greece
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Georgia Milka, Greece
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Kosovare Duraku, Kosovo/Netherlands
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Marília Monteiro Silva, Brazil
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Nikee van der Gouw, Netherlands
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Yohannes Eneyew Ayalew, Ethiopia
How to apply
You will find information about applying to our LLM programmes, including admissions requirements and application deadlines, here.
Questions?
Prospective students
Prospective students interested in pursuing an LLB, pre-LLM or LLM at the Faculty of Law can fill out our information request form.
Applicants
If you have started an application to a degree programme and are applying with a non-Dutch educational qualification, please contact the Admissions Office if you have questions about your application. If you have applied to a degree programme with a Dutch educational qualification, please contact the International Office if you have questions about your application.
Current students
Current Faculty of Law students should contact the International Office if questions about their current studies or admissibility to other Faculty of Law degree programmes.
The LLM International Human Rights Law is a track registered under the LLM CROHO label Public International Law (60856). The Academic Director of this LLM is Asst. Prof. Antenor Hallo de Wolf.
Although care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of all information, there may be unintended errors and changes or deletions without notice. The matters covered by these webpages are subject to change from time to time both before and after a candidate’s admission.
| Last modified: | 12 September 2025 10.41 a.m. |