About the European Master’s Program in Democratization and Human Rights (EMA)
EMA is a one-year advanced master’s program designed to equip professionals to handle the demands of their day-to-day job in academia, non-governmental organizations, field operations, and international organizations. The advantages of genuine European inter-university cooperation in human rights education are reflected in the interdisciplinary nature and broad reach of European master program in democratization EMA. In support of this strategy, 42 esteemed universities and human rights centers from every EU member state, as well as the UK and Switzerland, collaborated to form European master program. These institutions are all well-known for playing a pioneering role in the fields of human rights education, research, and advocacy, as well as democratization. They set a unique example in Europe with their collaborative experience in curriculum development, teaching methods, student selection and evaluation, and even degree granting in European master program.
There are several advantages: for students, the collective viewpoints of the EMA member universities offer a diversity of viewpoints that would be impossible for a single department or faculty to provide; for instructors and specialists, who willingly donate their time and experience to this shared project, the collaboration offers new perspectives and motivation, which benefits the member universities.
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EMA is the first master’s program funded by the European Union, having been founded in 1997 as a result of the vision of ten trailblazing universities. Through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), the EU provides funding for it. It has evolved throughout time in accordance with evolving global and European perspectives on democratization and human rights, as well as more cohesive approaches to trans-European human rights education.
Over time, the EMA program’s institutional frameworks have also undergone modifications. The European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC), which preceded the Global Campus, was established in 2002 in Venice by fifteen European universities with the primary objective of collaboratively arranging the EMA curriculum. With time, the EIUC developed into the preeminent transdisciplinary hub for human rights and democratization education and research in Europe. It created master’s programs that were comparable to EMA in other regions and were also supported by the EU. The European Union asked the EIUC in 2012 to begin coordinating these regional master’s programs and to turn them into an international network of universities in charge of post-graduate education.
Goals of European Master Program EMA
A testament to the true dedication of professors, experts, students, and staff to the advancement of global values and human dignity through inter-university cooperation, interdisciplinarity, and an action-oriented approach is European master program in democratization EMA’s academic excellence in teaching, research, and practical training. The curriculum successfully combines two objectives in order to attain these goals: providing a strong theoretical foundation and providing a comprehensive understanding of the operational requirements and problems of practical work.
In particular, EMA was founded with the following objectives:
1. To train top-tier human rights and democratization experts who are eligible to work as researchers, employees, or field representatives for intergovernmental, governmental, and non-governmental organizations;
2. To equip its graduates with the skills needed to carry out work in this field as well as a strong academic awareness of issues pertaining to democratization and human rights;
3. To establish and preserve a European network of institutions working together to develop curricula and exchange staff in the areas of democratization and human rights.
More than 1800 people have graduated from European master program EMA, and their careers attest to the program’s broad influence. It has served as both an inspiration and a catalyst for the development of a community of skilled professionals engaged in human rights and democratization on a local, regional, national, and worldwide scale in academia and the governmental and non-governmental sectors.
How to Apply
Applications are now being accepted for the academic year 2023–2024. Ongoing acceptance and processing of applications takes place. Application deadline for scholarships and non-EU candidates: February 13, 2023.
Application deadline for EU self-funded candidates: April 18, 2023. The final list of admitted students is approved by the EMA Executive Committee. The latest communication with shortlisted candidates will occur in mid-July 2023.
Please carefully review the admission requirements listed in the Call for Applications before submitting an application. You must apply online at https://apply.gchumanrights.org in order to submit your application.
The application must be submitted with the following documents:
1. Official transcripts and diplomas of degree
2. A list of references
3. Two letters of reference, ideally one from a professional and one from an academic setting.
4. A duplicate passport photo page
5. Evidence of fluency in the English language
6. Acceptance of payment for the fifty Euro application fee
Should you have any issues with your submission, please get in touch with the EMA Secretariat.
EMA Structure
The following organs make up the EMA Program’s organizational structure, as specified in the Venice Charter of the European Master’s Program in Human Rights and Democratization:
Council of EMA
The Council oversees the program’s national and international components and is the top decision-making body. It will, among other things: 1. Adopt budgetary instructions
2. Choose the chair of the EMA
3. Choose the Executive Committee members.
4. Indicate the requirements for entrance, the total number of students enrolled, and the cost of tuition.
5. Outline the Evaluation Guidelines
6. Suggest to Inner Circle Universities that students who complete the program’s prerequisites be awarded a master’s degree.
7. Every school year at the conclusion, evaluate the program.
8. Accept all program structure alterations.
The Global Campus of Human Rights President and Secretary General, the EMA Program Director, a representative from each Participating University, and two student representatives (with consultative status) make up the Council.
Executive Committee of EMA
The Executive Committee carries out the Council’s decisions by, among other things:
1. Supervises examinations and other processes
2. Keeps an eye on the first semester’s curriculum planning, considering the Academic Curriculum Group’s suggestions.
3. Selects the students for the program at the end.
4. Evaluates and aggregates test findings
5. Makes connections with governmental, non-governmental, and intergovernmental groups.
6. Makes suggestions to the Council for program development efforts.
The President and Secretary General of the Global Campus of Human Rights, the European master program EMA Chairperson, the EMA Program Director, and seven other members selected from the Council—at least one of whom must be an Inner Circle University—make up the Executive Committee. The EMA Executive’s current membership.
- Thérèse Murphy (Queen’s University, Belfast) – Chairperson
- Dr. Orla Ní Cheallacháin (EMA Programme Director)
- Prof. Dr. Christina Binder (University of Vienna)
- Dr. Andrea Broderick (Maastricht University)
- Prof. Paolo De Stefani (University of Padua)
- Dr Agata Hauser (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan / Poznan Human Rights Centre)
- Prof. Dr. jur. Hans-Joachim Heintze (Ruhr-University Bochum)
- Prof. Jeffrey Kenner (University of Nottingham)
- Dr. Eva Maria Lassen (University of Southern Denmark/Danish Institute for Human Rights)
- Prof. Dr. Gerd Oberleitner (University of Graz)
