The Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy concentration at SIPA prepares students for careers addressing human rights issues in both the public and the private sector. It includes two focus areas while maintaining a common core curriculum. The Human Rights Policy focus area prepares students for careers that require knowledge of areas such as corporate social responsibility, genocide prevention, gender and globalization, or rights-based development policy. The Humanitarian Policy focus area leads to careers that might focus on the management of complex emergencies, early recovery, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, aid coordination, or resource mobilization.
Many students bring substantial experience to the program, enriching the classroom dynamics. Previous graduates have pursued a wide variety of careers and now work in various government agencies, the United Nations and other international organizations, NGOs, corporations, community organizations, think tanks, and service organizations.
The concentration is designed to allow flexibility for students' specialty within Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy, however, students may also choose to focus more generally on the fields of Human Rights or Humanitarian Policy.