International Human Rights Exchange Program (IHRE)

  South Africa

Johannesburg

Term: Fall 
Dates: June-November

Description: The International Human Rights Exchange (IHRE) is the worlds only full-semester, multidisciplinary program in human rights. The program is housed at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa and run in close partnership with Bard College.

At IHRE, we believe that the subject of human rights provides an excellent framework for realizing the goal of liberal education. IHRE aims to provide a challenging and rewarding experience in both liberal education and human rights education by:

-Enabling critical and creative thinking about human rights;
-Developing a democratic understanding of people's role in society;
-Linking academic work with activism, advocacy, and building a culture of human rights;
-Implementing student-centered learning; and
-Establishing relationships of equality, mutuality, and exchange among African and North American participants.

We seek to promote a critical understanding of human rights as part of a broad intellectual and social movement, not simply as a code or set of laws. We believe that human rights is a discourse in transformation (and often in contest) which is best understood through a multidisciplinary approach extending to the humanities, social sciences, arts and sciences.

Highlights: Each year starting in July and ending in November students and faculty from North America and Africa come together to engage in a deep and multifaceted intellectual engagement with human rights. In addition to a required core course introducing the human rights framework, students choose from 12 electives exploring human rights from the perspective of a variety of academic disciplines.

IHRE also opens up possibilities for substantive participation in human rights work. Students enrolled in the Engagement with Human Rights course intern with an NGO working on contemporary rights in post-apartheid South Africa.

In addition to their coursework, students will: explore human rights challenges in rural South Africa through a Community Human Rights Workshop at Wits Rural; visit the Apartheid Museum and other relevant sites; and attend guest lectures by human rights experts from South Africa and around the world.

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$: Please visit our website for more detailed information.

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to South Africa Independently or in Groups

Typically Participants Work Independently or in Groups

Scholarships are Available.

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Physical Exam/Health Records
• Resume
• Transcript
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Job and Internship Network

Year Founded: 1860