Undergraduate Course Lists

Course Lists Overview 

ISHR Courses

Each semester ISHR provides a list of classes offered by the Institute, which may satisfy core or other requirements for the undergraduate human rights major or minor. 

• Fall 2026

• Summer 2026

*Vergil login required.

Other Human Rights Courses

In addition to ISHR courses, the department publishes a list of human rights classes offered by departments and schools across Columbia University to help students identify courses of interest. 

• Fall 2026

• Summer 2026

Courses on this list are continuously updated. Students should consult Vergil, department course offerings, and school bulletins for course descriptions and meeting times. 

Click here for courses offered in past semesters.

Selecting Your Courses & Course Approvals

In order to fulfill the distributional requirement of the Major, students select one pre-approved course in three of the four distributional categories: 

• Politics and History (PH);
• Culture and Representation (CR);
• Political Theory and Philosophy (PP);
• Social and Economic Processes (SEP). 

All pre-approved distributional courses for the major may be counted towards the Minor. 

Students should confer with their academic advisor to verify that courses of interest fulfill degree requirements before finalizing their schedule. Note that approval of a class does not guarantee enrollment in that course. Students are responsible for following all registration and cross-registration procedures. Consult Vergil and individual departments/instructors regarding any permission or prerequisites needed for a course.

Courses not on the pre-approved list may fulfill degree requirements if the student can demonstrate that they will complete substantial coursework specifically focusing on human rights. To count one of these courses towards the degree, students must obtain approval from the program by emailing [email protected] and sharing a syllabus for review. In most instances, the department will not accommodate more than one special approval outside of the pre-approved list.