After Graduation
What are you going to do with a degree in Human Rights and Human Diversity? We can't tell you, but you have three basic immediate options:
- Enter the workforce;
- Go on to further education; or
- Do a graduate internship.
What Some Recent Grads Are Doing
Graduation Year: 2015
- MA in Criminology (Ottawa).
- Human Resour
- Specialty sales representative with a travel company.
- ces Management (Conestoga).
- MA in Globalization Studies (McMaster).
- Community Outreach and Organizing intern with an NGO.
- MA in Social Justice and Community Engagement (Laurier).
- MA in International Public Policy (Laurier).
- Human resources assistant with an auto parts manufacturer.
Graduation Year: 2014
- Staff, Ontario Disability Support Program.
- MA in Human Rights and International Relations, Roehampton University (London, UK).
- MA in Media and Communications, Bournemouth University (UK).
- Wholesale professional.
- Human resources intern.
- Campaign leader for a fundraising organization.
- Community placement program assistant with an Ontario municipality.
Graduation Year: 2013
- Master of Divinity (Trinity College, University of Toronto).
- MA in Gender Studies and Feminist Research (McMaster).
- Specialty group facilitator, YMCA.
- Law (LLB) at University of Windsor.
- Communications coordinator with a development NGO based in Hamilton, ON.
- MA in International Development at Dalhousie University. Now working for an NGO in Brantford.
- Admissions and Recruitment, Laurier.
- Computer hardware management analyst.
- Event manager.
Entering the Workforce
The following sites can be useful for:
- Searching for a job after you graduate; and (better yet)
- Researching the kinds of skills and preparation that are required for particular careers so that you can make sure you have these covered before you graduate.
Public Sector
- Jobs.gc.ca: Includes information about the federal government's general post-secondary recruitment program as well as about internships.
- Ontario Public Service Careers: This site is useful for looking for full-time jobs or for looking ahead to think about the kinds of qualifications you need for particular careers.
Not-For-Profit Sector
- Charity Village: Jobs with non-profit organizations. Canadian site.
- 211Ontario: Not directly a jobs site, but useful for locating nonprofits/community organizations in Ontario.
- Idealist.org: A good site for jobs and internships with nonprofits in Canada and internationally.
- The Communication Initiative Network: Look under "Classifieds" and click "Vacancies" for jobs in the communications field, many with an international and social justice focus.
International Organizations
Compiled below are the results of some research on careers in the UN and other international organizations. The Human Rights and Human Diversity program cannot vouch for the veracity of these sources and only provides them for informational purposes.
Book
- Jorge Chediek, "Careers in International Organizations" and Alf Ivar Blikberg, "Starting Out at the United Nations," in Maria Pinto Carland and Candace Farber, Careers in International Affairs (8th ed.) (Washington, D.C: Georgetown University Press, 2008). On reserve in the Laurier Brantford collection on one-day loan. Call number: JZ 1238 U6 C37 2008.
Online Guides
- UN Careers - How to get a job at the United Nations? (UN Women)
- A Guide To Careers with the United Nations (undated PDF)
- Getting a job at the UN: Blog by Mark Overman. Has lots of useful links embedded in it.
- International Organization Careers (US State Department): Section titled "Students and Young Professionals" has links to tons of sites with internship programs.
- Job Seekers: UN Secretariat
- How to Get a Job With the United Nations: WikiHow. Contains links to many UN job sites as well as tips.
Job Sites
- UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Site lists jobs with the UN related to human rights around the world. You're probably not qualified right now, but reading the ads gives you an idea of what you need to do to get from here to there.
- UNICEF: Employment
- United Nations Development Program
General Job Resources
- TalentEgg: Hatching Graduate Careers.
- Careercruising: An online career guidance resource for the North American marketplace for which Laurier has a subscription (login: wlu and password: laurier). If you have questions about Careercurising or would like assistance in job searching or researching career options, please consult Laurier's Career Development Centre.
- LinkedIn.com: Another great website to search for job ads.
- Jobpostings.ca
Further Study
Many professional programs (e.g., Law, Social Work, Business, Public Administration) do not require any specific program of undergraduate education. Others are generally more insistent that students have an undergraduate degree in their own or a closely related discipline (e.g., History, English, Psychology, Sociology). Of course, this won't be a problem for you because you must combine your HRHD Honours program with one of the other Honours programs we offer at Laurier Brantford.
Listed below are some programs that appear to fit particularly well with the aims of Human Rights and Human Diversity.
University Programs: Master's and PhD
- Applied Politics (MAP), Wilfrid Laurier University
- Conflict Analysis and Management (MA), Royal Roads University (Victoria, BC)
- Conflict Studies and Human Rights (MA), Utrecht
- Diversity Management and Governance (Joint PhD), (English-taught by consortium of European universities)
- Ethics, Peace and Global Affairs (MA) American University, Washington D.C.
- European Master's Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation, (Various partner universities)
- Gender and Diversity Stream in Political Science PhD Program, Carleton University
- Global Affairs (MA) Munk School of Global Governance, University of Toronto
- Global Affairs with a Concentration in Human Rights, (MS) Rutgers
- Global Governance (MA and PhD), Balsillie School of International Affairs, (Waterloo, ON)
- Globalization Studies (MA), MacMaster University
- Human Rights (LLM), University of Aberdeen
- Human Rights (MA), University College London
- Human Rights and Conflict Management (MA), Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa, Italy). English is the language of instruction.
- Human Rights and Criminal Justice (LLM), University of Aberdeen
- Human Rights and Cultural Diversity (MA), Essex (UK)
- Human Rights and International Politics (MSc), University of Glasgow
- Human Rights and International Relations (MA), University of Roehampton, London
- Human Rights Studies (MA), Columbia University
- Human Rights and Social Justice (MA), London Metropolitan University
- Human Rights Under Pressure (PhD), Free University of Berlin and Hebrew University of Jerusalem (offered in New York City)
- Human Security and Peacebuilding (MA), Royal Roads University (Victoria, BC)
- Immigration and Settlement Studies (MA), Ryerson
- Industrial Relations and Human Resources (MIRHR and PhD), University of Toronto. This site includes a list of 'recommended' courses to take in prepration for this interdisciplinary Masters degree. There are, however, no specific requirements beyond a four-year honours degree.
- International Affairs (MA), Columbia University
- International Crime and Justice (MA), New York University
- International Crimes and Criminology (MSc), University of Amsterdam (in English; need social science BA, not just Criminology)
- International Peace and Conflict Resolution (MA), American University, Washington D.C.
- International Public Policy (MA), Wilfrid Laurier University
- Irish Centre for Human Rights (MA and PhD), Galway. Offers MAs and PhD programs related to human rights.
- Local Economic Development (M), University of Waterloo
- Peace and Conflict Studies (MA), University of Waterloo
- Public Service (MPS), University of Waterloo
- Policy Studies (PhD), Ryerson University. Includes a stream in Immigration Settlement and Diaspora Policies.
- Social Justice and Equity Studies (MA), Brock University
- Socio-Legal Studies (MA and PhD), York University (Toronto)
- Understanding and Securing Human Rights (MA), University of London (This program has a competitive scholarship called the Routledge Studentship. It is open to students from Commonwealth countries and it is worth £12,000.
University Programs: Professional Programs
College Graduate Certificate Programs and Similar
The programs in the following Ontario lists are typically two to three semesters for people who have completed a degree. However, not all programs associated with these links are graduate certificate programs. Read carefully.
Training and Credentials
Scholarships for Graduate Study
- Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund: Scholarship for Canadian Students Pursuing Graduate Studies in the United Kingdom
Graduate Internships
The following sites may sometimes list graduate internships. The Entering the Workforce links above may also list graduate internships.