About the Program

Minor

Human rights have become the moral language of today, the idiom in which we discuss our common humanity and weigh competing claims for resources, rights, and protections. The Human Rights Interdisciplinary (HRI) minor at UC Berkeley allows students to shape their education around coursework which investigates the legal, political, historical, economic, social, psychological, and representational dynamics of human rights.

Helping undergraduates explore issues via multiple forms of thought and media of expression—through literature as well as politics, journalism as well as law, film as well as anthropology—the HRI minor emphasizes the many different intellectual spaces in which human rights questions are currently being posed. In so doing, it encourages students to recognize how human rights are intertwined with fields as disparate as postcolonial literature and medical ethics, as well as with the more familiar fields of political science and international law.

Declaring the Minor

The first steps in declaring the HRI minor are to fill out the application form, the program worksheet and meet with a Human Rights Interdisciplinary Minor advisor to get the forms approved and have yourself declared in CalCentral.

The department encourages students to meet with an HRI minor adviser early in their academic careers. Advisers will help craft a plan of study, approve elective courses, and help students connect with the faculty members whose work best fits their academic interests.

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Minor Requirements

Students who have a strong interest in an area of study outside their major often decide to complete a minor program. These programs have set requirements and are noted officially on the transcript in the memoranda section, but they are not noted on diplomas.

General Guidelines

1. All courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements below must be taken for graded credit.
2. A minimum of three of the upper division courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements must be completed at UC Berkeley.
3. A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 is required for courses used to fulfill the minor requirements.
4. Courses used to fulfill the minor requirements may be applied toward the Seven-Course Breadth requirement, for Letters & Science students.
5. No more than one upper division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs.
6. All minor requirements must be completed prior to the last day of finals during the semester in which you plan to graduate. If you cannot finish all courses required for the minor by that time, please see a College of Letters & Science adviser.
7. All minor requirements must be completed within the unit ceiling. (For further information regarding the unit ceiling, please see the College Requirements tab.)

A complete Human Rights Interdisciplinary minor application consists of:

1. Minor Application Form and Program Worksheet.
2. A current CalCentral (unofficial) transcript with your name printed on it. Please highlight any courses that apply to the minor. Also, indicate which course (if any) will overlap between the minor and your major.
3. Copies of transcripts from other colleges attended (if course work taken there will be counted for the minor). Electronic transcripts are accepted only if the relevant coursework also appears in your transfer credit summary on CalCentral.. If it does not appear oin CalCentral, we require official  transcripts.  (We do not have access to transcripts in the Registrar’s Office.)
4. The Petition for Confirmation of Minor Program Completed signed by the student and the major adviser.

Requirements

Permanently Approved HRI Minor Courses

The courses below may be counted in any semester they are offered.  There may be other courses available on campus that are suitable for the minor, however, such courses will require a curriculum petition.

Faculty and Instructors