About us :: MCR

The Master of Advanced Studies in Children’s Rights (MCR) is an interdisciplinary postgraduate programme that is offered by the Centre for Children’s Rights Studies of the University of Geneva.

As an inter-faculty centre of the University of Geneva, the Centre for Children’s Rights Studies operates in collaboration with the Faculties of Law, Psychology and Educational Sciences, Social Sciences and Medicine. It has a strong record in providing interdisciplinary academic teaching, in particular at postgraduate level (Master) and in continuous education. The Centre undertakes basic and applied research on various subjects related to the study of children, childhood and children’s rights. Via its outreach activities, the Centre maintains privileged links with numerous governmental and non-governmental organisations, including with the International Institute for the Rights of the Child (IDE) which is a partner organizations of the MCR Programme.

Existing since 20 years, the Master of Advanced Studies is one of Europe’s oldest children’s rights programmes. Between 2003 and 2014, the programme has been offered as a joint degree delivered by the University Institute Kurt Bösch (IUKB) in Sion and the Law Faculty of the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. Following the transfer of IUKB’s teaching and research activities in children's rights to the University of Geneva, the programme is now part of the large portfolio of continuing education programmes of the University of Geneva.

At the international level, the Centre for Children’s Rights Studies hosts the Coordination Office of the Children's Rights European Academic Network (CREAN), a network of European universities that aims to enhance the academic field of children’s rights as an interdisciplinary field of studies and to reinforce the already existing ties between academic research and policies development.

The Master of Advanced Studies in Children’s Rights has been accredited by the Swiss Accreditation Council at the request of the Swiss Agency for Accreditation and Quality Assurance (AAQ).

Member of

Team

Karl Hanson

Karl Hanson, who obtained his doctorate in Law from Ghent University, Belgium, is Professor in Public Law at the University of Geneva in Switzerland and the Deputy Director of the Centre for Children’s Rights Studies. His teaching and research activities are in the interdisciplinary field of children’s rights studies. He is an editor of the journal Childhood and chair of the Children’s Rights European Academic Network.

Roberta Ruggiero

Roberta Ruggiero holds a Master of Law and a PhD in Promotion and Protection of Children’s Rights from the University of Molise, Italy. She is Senior Research Associate at the Centre for Children's Rights Studies at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, where she works as coordinator of the Master and the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Children's Rights (MCR).

Hortense Hofer

After working several years in administrative position, Ms. Hofer integrated the Centre of Children’s Rights studies in July 2015 as an administrative assistant for the continuous education.

Simon Nehme

Simon Nehme is a scientific associate with the Center for Children’s Rights Studies where he assists in the coordination of the Children’s Rights Academy and the Master of Advanced Studies in Children’s Rights (MCR). He is an expert in child protection programming and system building, children’s rights in humanitarian settings and children in migration. He has a long working experience with UNICEF. He comes from a social work background and has a master’s in International Affairs and Political Science.

About us

Member of

Team

Academic Staff