Classes and guest lectures are the core of the IHRE program. The curriculum offers a critical exploration of human rights topics in a multi-disciplinary forum and is comprised of the follow key elements: 

Multidisciplinary Core Course, Human Rights:  Perspectives from the Disciplines. This semester-long lecture course draws on the South African experience, among others, to introduce students to significant materials on human rights and to different disciplinary perspectives on the idea and practice of human rights.  Lecturers are drawn from different fields; IHRE students also attend small-group tutorials.  Topics may include the universality of human rights, the economics of social transformation, the impact of international relations, psycho-social perspectives, and the implications of traditional law and gender, among numerous others. The core course is complemented by the IHRE Guest Lecture Series, public lectures by prominent practitioners and other invited speakers.

Core Seminar, Engagement with Human Rights. The semester-long core seminar examines the varied practices of human rights advocacy and engagement; it is supplemented by an internship of approximately 10 hours per week at a human rights organization in the Johannesburg area.  Issues treated in the core seminar include the differences and tensions among governmental and non-governmental organizations, activist and community-based groups, and national and international agents of change; the third sector or "civil society" and the advocacy roles can it play; and the dilemmas of ethical or political principles put to the test of practice. 

Electives. Students select four half-semester electives from among six-to-eight offered each semester.  In 2007 the electives included:  Human Rights and the Media, Politics and Human Rights, Human Rights and African Literature, Psychosocial Perspectives on Human Rights and Social Justice, State Sovereignty and Human Rights, and Islamic Law and Human Rights.  The 2008 curriculum can be found here.

Optional Wits Course: Students may replace the core seminar with a regular course offered at Wits. The core course is required and may not be replaced.