Master of Advanced Studies in Children's Rights

The Master of Advanced Studies in Children's Rights (MCR) is a part-time international and interdisciplinary postgraduate programme, which takes place over a two-year period. The Programme is designed for professionals who work with children’s rights issues, including lawyers, psychologists, sociologists, judges, social workers, government officials, staff of non-governmental organisations, academics and journalists. The MCR takes advantage of its geographical location and academic context, by including customised visits to Geneva-based international organizations and through the active participation of scholars and experts coming from all over the world. Furthermore, the participation of students with different backgrounds and career-levels contributes to make the Master of Advanced Studies in Children’s Rights an outstanding learning environment fostering exchanges at both theoretical and practical levels.

We believe that the combination of relevant content and an appealing format explains the Programme’s success as measured by the numbers and the high quality of the students enrolled in the course.

James Jolley

Director of Child Rights Advocacy, Marist International Solidarity Foundation (FMSI), Geneva, Switzerland

“As the director of an NGO that focuses on the rights of children, I have found the course extremely relevant and helpful for my work. It has challenged my own perceptions of children and childhood and has grounded me with a good working knowledge of the CRC. The interdisciplinary approach of the program has broadened my perspective immensely.”

Kelley Bunkers

Children’s rights consultant, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“The MCR was an excellent opportunity to broaden my own understanding of children’s rights, especially within an international context, while simultaneously creating friendships with other like-minded professionals from all over the world. The privilege of being in an academic setting amongst professionals with expertise in their individual fields created a stimulating environment to reflect upon and learn about pertinent issues in children’s rights.”

Deepak Paj Sapkota

Country Director, Karuna Foundation, Nepal

“It is an extremely useful programme for professionals interested in children’s and human rights. The theoretical knowledge gained is sure to enhance the practical work of the participants.”

Testimonials

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We’re looking forward to hear your story and learn how you will apply the insights and experience of your MCR degree to improve your career in the children's rights field. Learn more about application requirements.

Studying at the University of Geneva

Unique learning experience at international level

The Master of Advanced Studies in Children’s Rights is offered by the University of Geneva (UNIGE), which was founded in 1559 by Jean Calvin and boasts around 18,000 students of more than 150 different nationalities. The University of Geneva is Switzerland's second largest university and has the highest rate of female enrolment (61% as against a national average of 49.7%). It enjoys a strong international reputation, both for the quality of its research (it ranks among the top institutions among the League of European Research Universities) and the excellence of its education.

Having completed its transition to the ‘Bologna System’ in 2007, the University of Geneva is part of the European Space of Higher Education. It offers more than 290 types of degrees and more than 280 Continuing Education programmes covering a wide variety of fields: exact sciences, medicine, humanities, social sciences, law, etc.

Moreover, Geneva played an international historical role in the advancement of the field of children rights form the Children Right Declaration (Geneva Declaration) in 1924 to the drafting process of the Convention the Rights of the Child adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989. Today, Geneva is the main children’s rights international hub with the widest network of child rights specialist and advocates. It hosts the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC Committee), along with the major international non-governmental organizations and the United Nations Office harboring the headquarters of main UN agencies operating toward the dissemination and implementation of children’s rights worldwide. Within this context, the UNIGE interdisciplinary Centre for Children's Rights Studies offers the Master of Advanced Studies in Children’s Rights (MCR). A programme established by D.h.c. Jean Zermatten, former member and chairperson of the CRC Committee.

Being embedded within such a distinctive setting, and benefit of the strong ties of the UNIGE with the many international governmental and nongovernmental Geneva-based organizations, such as the CRC Committee, the United Nations Organization (UNO), or the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the MCR Programme exposes students to international expertise with unique networking opportunities. In all teaching modules, leading international scholars as well as experts of international organizations intervene as lecturers or participants of workshops and round table sessions. In addition, during the teaching modules that take place in Geneva, we organize field visits to international human rights and children’s rights entities, including the Committee for the Rights of the Child, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Practical information

The teaching modules take places at two different locations: 5 modules are held in Sion, the capital of the Valais in the heart of the Swiss Alps, at the Valais Campus of the University of Geneva, and 2 modules are held in the city of Geneva at the university’s main campus.

Travel and accomodation