The Certificate in Human Rights and Political Transitions introduces degree-seeking students to human rights as a concept of justice in a globalized, increasingly complex world. Students will learn about manifold forms of human rights violations, including crimes against humanity, legal and diplomatic developments of human rights protection, and political transitions as challenging processes of democratic institution building. The certificate is designed as an interdisciplinary learning experience and draws on courses taught in Criminal Justice, Political Science, International Relations, History, Sociology, Anthropology, Philosophy, Literature, Women and Gender Studies, Religious Studies, Economics and African and African Diaspora Studies. It also envisions that students partake in a hands-on learning experience related to human rights promotion and/or political transitions.

Certificate Requirements

The program requires 18 credit hours with a grade of C or higher. Students take two core courses (6 credits) and three elective courses (9 credits). The electives are selected from three of four themes (Law and Diplomacy, Discrimination and Inequalities, Crimes against Humanity/Large Scale Human Rights Violations, and Political Transitions). Students may not take more than 9 credits of core and elective classes from any one department in order to ensure the interdisciplinary character of the certificate. Students will undertake a human rights or political transitions related internship OR engage in a similar activity in the context of a study abroad program (3 credits).

Core Courses (6 credits):

  • CPO 4737 Politics of Transition and Human Rights (3)

And one of the following four:

  • EUH 4382 Waves of Democratization: From the Mediterranean of the World (3)
  • CPO 4735 Democratic Transitions (3)
  • INR 4075 International Protection of Human Rights – GL (3)
  • CPO 4053 Political Repression and Human Rights (3)

Electives (9 credits)

Take three courses from three of the four themes (Law and Diplomacy, Discrimination and Inequalities, Crimes against Humanity/Large Scale Human Rights Violations, and Political Transitions). A core course cannot be double counted as an elective course.

Law and Diplomacy

  • CCJ 4361 Death Penalty (3)
  • CCJ 4662 Minorities, Crime, and Justice (3)
  • CCJ 4663 Women, Crime and the Criminal Justice System (3)
  • CJE 4174 Comparative Criminal Justice Systems – GL (3)
  • INR 3030 Diplomacy (3)
  • INR 3403 International Law (3)
  • INR 3502 International Organizations (3)
  • INR 4075 International Protection of Human Rights (3)
  • INR 4436 International Negotiation (3)
  • PHM 3400 Philosophy of Law (3)
  • PHM 4362 Global Justice – GL (3)
  • POS 4684 Politics of Voting Rights (3)

Discrimination and Inequality

  • AFS 3331 Women and Human Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa – GL (3)
  • AMH 4571 African American History from the 17th to the late 19th Centuries (3)
  • AMH 4573 African American History from the Late 19th Century to the Present (3)
  • AMH 4671 Race, Gender, Science in the Atlantic World – GL (3)
  • ANT 3304 Voices of Third World Women (3)
  • CPO 4034 The Politics of Development and Underdevelopment (3)
  • CPO 4053 Political Repression and Human Rights (3)
  • CPO 4726 Ethnicity and Nationalism (3)
  • ECP 3254 Women, Men, and Work in the USA (3)
  • LIT 4536 Multi-cultural Working Class Women's Literature (3)
  • SYD 3804 Sociology of Gender (3)
  • SYO 4530 Social Inequality (3)
  • SYD 4700 Sociology of Minorities/Race and Ethnic Relations (3)
  • WST 3641 Introduction to LGBTQ+ Studies – GL (3)
  • WST 3114 Sex Trafficking Solutions (3) (effective Fall 2022)
  • WST 4115 Gender Violence and the Law (3) (effective Fall 2022)

Crimes against Humanity/Large Scale Human Rights Violations

  • CCJ 4694 Human Trafficking – GL (3)
  • CPO 4725 Comparative Genocide (3)
  • EUH 4033 Nazism and the Holocaust (3)
  • INR 3045 The Global Challenge of Refugees and Migrants (3)
  • REL 3194 The Holocaust (3)
  • WHO 4230 The African Diaspora and the Atlantic Slave Trade (3)
  • WST 4617 Gender and Genocide (3) (effective Fall 2022)

Political Transitions

  • AMH 4130 The American Revolution (3)
  • CPO 4057 Political Violence and Revolution – GL (3)
  • CPO 4461 Politics of Eastern Europe (3)
  • CPO 4735 Democratic Transitions (3)
  • EUH 3245 European History, 1914-1945 (3)
  • EUH 3576 The Russian Revolution and the Soviet Union (3)
  • HIS 4xxx Waves of Democratization: From the Mediterranean of the World (3)
  • LIT 4364 Post-Totalitarian Literature – GL (3)
  • LIT 4382 Women in Post-Communist Eastern Europe (3)

Internship or Study Abroad Component

Students will undertake a human rights or political transitions related internship OR engage in a similar activity in the context of a study abroad program (3 credits). The internship or activity will be supervised by the student’s home department’s internship advisor or one Certificate Committee member. Students should consult with the Certificate Director in advance of pursuing this requirement. Assignments for this requirement may vary but essentially students will be required to draft periodic reflections of their semester experience. Should a student not have the resources to complete the internship credits, he or she can request to take another elective course instead.

Certificate Application

Students interested in pursuing the certificate should consult with their academic advisors. They should also contact the Certificate Director, Dr. Ofelia Riquezes (oriqueze@fiu.edu), in order to schedule an introductory meeting and initiate the plan change request.

Please note that this Certificate is currently unavailable for fully-online students.