Interested in a career that makes a meaningful impact? Our Human Rights program equips you with the skills and knowledge to address and advocate for human rights and social justice, both in Canada and globally. Examine current issues including racism, discrimination, children’s rights, women’s and gender rights, multiculturalism, ableism, crimes against humanity, human trafficking and more.
Develop practical skills in grant writing, professional fundraising, and project management, preparing you for impactful careers as human resources professionals, lawyers, social workers, international development workers, fundraisers, and more.
Your future professors work hard to make sure your academic experience is current, complete and designed to open doors in your career. Here are a few things you can count on:
Here are just a few of our students’ favourite ways to apply their learning in the real world throughout their degree (check out the Experience Guide for even more!):
We offer more than 30 courses. The following is only a sampling.
This course provides an interdisciplinary introduction to the study of human rights, human diversity (e.g., race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, disability), and the complex relationship between human rights and human diversity within contemporary states. The course may involve the study of specific cases, issues, debates, and important historical events. Assessment will include a short written assignment.
This course examines Canadian and international, especially developing world, perspectives on the historical and current struggles of women and girls to achieve equality and recognition of their human rights. Special attention is paid to how women's efforts have been shaped by and, in turn have shaped, cultural mores and regulatory frameworks.
Fundraising is an important skill upon which many organizations advancing human rights and other causes rely. For some people fundraising forms part of their job; for others it is the focus of their career. This course introduces students key concepts and methods of fundraising. Topics addressed may include annual giving, special events, foundation relations, corporate relations, capital campaigns, endowed giving, and the ethics of fundraising.
This interdisciplinary course addresses issues related to children and youth with disabilities from the perspectives of critical disabilities studies and human rights. Topics addressed may include the roles of self-advocacy, social movements, and child advocates; policy and legislation; practical modalities to facilitate active inclusion; and the transition to adulthood. Domestic and international perspectives will be considered.
This course explores the theory and practice of children's rights in North America, other world regions, and international law (especially the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child). Topics will include: the concept of childhood, the evolution of children's rights, and contemporary issues, such as child labour, prostitution and sex trafficking, slavery, juvenile justice and child soldiers.
This course provides students with an overview of rights and freedoms in Canada, the institutions that have been designed to secure and protect them, and the impact they have had on Canadian society and politics. While the course will focus primarily on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (its origins, content, and impact) other topics may be addressed including human rights commissions and the development of constitutional rights in Canada.
This course addresses the phenomena of human trafficking and other contemporary forms of slavery and forced labour. It will address the historical context of these phenomena, causes that contribute to their prevalence, efforts to eradicate these practices, and the problematic nature of the term “human trafficking,” especially how it is often used in ways that conflate consensual and non-consensual forms of labour and human migration that skirt or violate the law.
This course addresses crimes against humanity and humanitarian law. Crimes against humanity will be studied in theory and in practice, including critical examination of important historical incidents of genocide, war crimes and other atrocities. Study of humanitarian law will address its origins, philosophical foundations and evolution.
This course applies an interdisciplinary approach to the study of immigrant and ethno-racial youth in Canada and, to a lesser extent, the United States. The course will cover such topics as: challenges faced by immigrant youth and how they differ from second- and third-generation immigrant youth; marginality, racism, and exclusion; and the critical role played by the educational experience on the outcomes of ethno-racial youth.
This course explores the politics, history, and cross-cultural dimensions of efforts to advance the cause and recognize discrimination against people with minority gender identities and sexual orientations (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) as a human rights issue in Canada, in other countries, and at the international level.
This course enables students to explore interactions between international human rights and state- and sub-state-level cultures, practices, laws and policies in Canada and around the world. Among topics that may be considered are: how elements of diversity like culture, religion, gender, disability, and human rights intersect; universalism versus cultural relativism; and approaches to address local practices that conflict with international human rights. Assessment will include a presentation and a research essay.
Enhance your expertise by specializing in either the Certificate in Non-Profit Career Foundations or the International Development Specialization as part of your Human Rights degree.
The Certificate in Non-Profit Career Foundations allows you to combine your studies with practical skills, enabling you to launch a career in the non-profit sector. Some skills this certificate enables you to develop are:
Students who maintain a B- average are eligible to participate in an 84-hour placement with a non-profit for academic credit.
The International Development Specialization enables you to develop knowledge and skills that will prepare you for a career with international development organizations or pursue further postgraduate programs in international development. Students pursuing the International Development Specialization will complete the following courses:
These are a few of the many popular academic opportunities which allow you to dive deeper into your major area of study or broaden your knowledge:
Check out other options to enhance your degree.
Combine your BA in Human Rights with a graduate certificate from Conestoga College in just four years! Approved certificates include Human Resources Management, Management in Community Services, Career Development Professional, Project Management and Event Management. You take the courses to complete these graduate certificates in your third year; Human Resources Management is offered through Conestoga College on Laurier’s Brantford campus, the others are available nearby in Kitchener.
The Human Resources Management program (available in Brantford) provides you with all of the required educational components to become a Certified Human Resources Professional. The Management in Community Services program includes a work placement opportunity that provides students with practical workplace experience.
The Career Development Professional program provides the full academic component and partial fulfillment of work experience hours for certification by the Career Development Practitioners' Certification Board of Ontario (CDPCBO).
The Project Management program allows you to earn project management education hours towards a variety of certifications: Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), Project Management Professional (PMP), Agile Scrum Master (ASM), Risk Management Professional (RMP), or Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) designations.
The Event Management program is specifically designed to meet the needs of a growing industry in the planning and management of virtual and live in-person events and provides graduate students with specialized training and practical hands-on learning opportunities.
The following opportunities allow you to pursue additional, related qualifications from another postsecondary institution (either before or after your time at Laurier):
Check out other pathways to and from Laurier.
Human Rights (BA) and Law (LLB):
Human Rights (BA) + Master's (MA Sussex):
Students applying to this program from a Canadian province outside of Ontario are encouraged to review our course equivalents by province chart. This chart will show you what courses from your province are equivalent to the admission requirements listed under the Ontario High School Admission Requirements section.
Students applying to this program from an international curriculum are encouraged to review our curriculum-specific requirements. You will find which courses from your country's curriculum are equivalent to the admission requirements listed under the Ontario High School Admission Requirements section. If your country or curriculum is not listed, please reach out to international@wlu.ca.
Laurier's language of instruction is English, and so we may require you to provide evidence of your English proficiency to help make sure you are successful in your academic courses.
Your three most recent years of full-time education must be in English without taking any ESL (English as a Second Language) courses. If you do not meet this requirement, you must provide evidence of your English proficiency.
We reserve the right to request an English-language test from any applicant.
If you do not meet Laurier's English proficiency requirement but are academically qualified for your program, you may be eligible for a conditional offer of admission.
The Academic Transition Pathway (ATP) program is offered through our affiliated institution, Wilfrid Laurier International College, and provides an option for meeting our English-proficiency requirement. If you have received an offer to Laurier with a condition to meet our English-proficiency requirement, you can meet that condition by successfully completing the ATP program.
Students applying to this program from another post-secondary institution are encouraged to review our transfer-specific requirements. This page will show you the admission requirements for your unique transfer situation and provide more details about transferring to Laurier.
College graduates applying to Laurier’s Human Rights program may be eligible for admission with one of our block transfer agreements or articulation agreements with specific college partners.
Learn more about our college pathway opportunities.
Visit our admission requirements section to find specific requirements for transfer students, indigenous applicants, mature learners, homeschooled applicants, senior citizens, refugees, and more.
It’s not only about the journey; it’s about the destination. Let us help you get to where you’re going.
Here are just some examples of our graduates' destinations. What’s yours?
Note: Additional training and education may be required.
Explore more careers options, prepare for your future and see what our graduates are doing now.
Alumni for life means that you have access to Career and Employment Support offered at Laurier for your entire career.
Getting a university education is an investment in your future.
At Laurier, we take financial health seriously by providing a wide variety of funding opportunities for you throughout your degree, such as scholarships and bursaries, and by equipping you with the skills to manage your finances effectively in the years to come.
Want to know what it’s really like to be in this program? U Community is our Discord server where future Golden Hawks like you can connect with current students to get their first-hand stories and tips on living and learning at Laurier.
Questions? Email chooselaurier@wlu.ca, call 548.889.8888 or see all contact information.
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