Deadline:
May 09, 2025
Location(s)
Lebanon
Saint Joseph University of Beirut
Overview
Details
Overview
The Arab Master's Programme in Democracy and Human Rights (ArMA - GC Arab World)
is a comparative, action and research-oriented programme organised into two tracks, depending on the student’s academic background. Both tracks include cross-regional mobility with one semester in a partner university in Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia, or Egypt. ArMA also offers a week-long field trip and the possibility of doing internships in leading national and international organisations across the region.
Programme Structure
The programme offers two tracks:
- A two-year track (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 with a focus on the Arab region.
- An accelerated one-year track that gives direct access to the second year of the programme with additional foundational and specialisation courses from the first year.
The programme is taught by a diverse faculty of academics and practitioners from over 12 countries and is organised in four streams that provide theoretical grounding, practical insights and a critical perspective:
- Human Rights: Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural
- Democratic Governance and the Rule of Law
- Contemporary Dynamics in the Arab World
- Applied Human Rights: Research and Professional Skills
Courses belong to three categories: core, foundational and specialised.
Year 1
– Autumn Semester: September to December | Saint Joseph University of Beirut
Students take foundational courses (e.g. Geopolitics of the Middle East and North Africa) and the Human Rights Lab on War Memory. This semester also includes short field visits to research centres and NGOs working on population and issues that are crucial for ArMA (e.g. women, children, LGBTIs, detainees, refugees; conflict, memory and reconciliation, education, electoral reform)
– Winter Period: January | Saint Joseph University of Beirut
Within the course ‘Applied Research in Democracy and Human Rights’, students engage in field research on a collectively chosen topic. During the first week, they refine their research question and develop research tools; in the second week, they conduct field work outside of Beirut; in the third week, they return to Beirut to process, analyse and interpret the data they have collected and present it to the public.
– Spring Semester: February to May | Saint Joseph University of Beirut
Students take specialisation courses (e.g. Gender Policies and Women’s Rights, Refugees, Migration and Mobility Rights, Peace and Conflict, Peace and Conflict), or practical courses such as the Human Rights Laboratory or the Human Rights Clinic.
– Summer Period: June to July | Hosting organisations across the region
This period is devoted to internships: short (4 credits), medium (6 credits) or long (10 credits)
Year 2
– Autumn Semester: September to December | Saint Joseph University of Beirut
Students take core courses (e.g. Political Parties and Pressure Groups in MENA)
– Spring Semester: February to May | Partner Universities Across the Arab World
Students carry out their personal research and complete their thesis in one of the partner universities across the region. They can also take classes at Birzeit University, Cairo University, the International University of Rabat, and Carthage University.
– Summer period | Saint Joseph University of Beirut
Students return to Beirut for the summer courses offered within the Beirut Academy for Human Right and to take the Human Rights Project course in which they design and implement a project related to Human Rights or Democratic Governance.
Opportunity is About
Eligibility
Candidates should be from:
Description of Ideal Candidate
Entry Requirements and Selection Criteria
- Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, law, or related fields from an accredited university. A post-graduate degree in these fields is necessary to access the 1-year track
- Credits recognition: acceptance to the 1-year track is subject to the recognition of a previously earned master’s degree in social sciences (or the equivalent of 60 European postgraduate credits in these disciplines) as meeting the learning objectives of the programme
- Letters of intent explaining the interest in the Programme and career ambitions; two letters of recommendation of which one must be an academic one
- English Language Proficiency
- Relevant Experience in human rights, democracy work, or related areas is advantageous
Maximum number of accepted students: 20 (per academic year)
Dates
Deadline: May 09, 2025
Cost/funding for participants
Fees and Scholarships
Fees are calculated depending on the number of credits; each credit costs 66.67 euros.
- One-year track: between 5,000 and 6,000 euros, depending on the number of courses taken (70 to 90 ECTS)
- Two-year track: 4,000 euros per year (60 ECTS)
Financial support (full or partial tuition waiver and/or contribution towards living expenses) is awarded to a limited number of students on the basis of academic achievement, need and geographical distribution.
Un-save Opportunity
Internships, scholarships, student conferences and competitions.
