www.smu.edu/humanrights
Professor of Practice Rick Halperin, Director
A human rights minor consists of a minimum of 18 credit hours of coursework. HRTS 3301 /HIST 3301 is required. The remaining 15 credit hours must be taken from the approved elective list. Nine hours of these must be at the advanced level (3000 and above). In addition to HRTS 3301 /HIST 3301 , no more than two courses from any one department may be taken as electives unless preapproval is given by the director. Students may not earn both the B.A. in human rights and the minor in human rights.
The minor also requires a commitment of students’ effort, time and talent in defense of or in advocacy for human rights. Students are required to complete a 20-hour service-learning placement with a human rights community-based agency (as a component of HRTS 3301 /HIST 3301 ).
Students may receive three hours of elective credit by participating in an SMU Human Rights Program sponsored trip to a location where human rights violations have occurred or are occurring and completing a research paper on a human rights topic related to the site (HRTS 4390 , HRTS 4391 ).
Further, students may, upon consultation with the human rights program director, substitute HRTS 4385 with one of the following internship courses offered by the department of their second major or minor, if the internship contains a significant human rights component: ANTH 4381 , ETST 2385 , FREN 4385 , HIST 4385 , INTL 4385 , PLSC 4385 , RELI 4385 , SOCI 4387 , SPAN 4385 , or WL 4385 ; or they may conduct an approved research project (HRTS 4399 ).