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Finding the best human rights JD program takes more than a simple Google search. You need to dig deeper into who the law school actually supports. The best way to do this is to look for specific human rights coursework, clinical programs, or connections to international programs.
Not every school lists this information accessibly, which is why I’ve built this list. Below, I’ll explore the best human rights law schools and what they offer for aspiring human rights lawyers.
Here are the top 10 law schools that offer the strongest combination of human rights curriculum, clinical infrastructure, and institutional partnerships in the country:
To improve your admissions chances to a human rights JD program, work with an expert for specific feedback on your application. Our advisors will work one-on-one with you to help you get into a top law school for human rights.
To find the best law schools for human rights, we looked at several factors. Here is the ranking criteria we used to build this list:
Georgetown University Law Center is the best law school in the U.S for human rights. The Human Rights Institute supports all aspiring human rights lawyers, while the Center for Applied Legal Studies handles asylum cases for refugees.
The program offers two certificate programs in Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies and International Human Rights Law. First-year students can enter the Human Rights Associates Program before they've even selected electives.
Yale Law School offers an excellent postgraduate pathway for aspiring human rights lawyers. Here are all the program offerings at Yale Law School that make it one of the top schools for human rights lawyers:
Yale Law School's small class size gives students direct access to these resources early in their education.
Columbia Law School has one of the most ambitious human rights programs in the country with its Human Rights Institute. Here’s a look at what Columbia Law School offers aspiring human rights lawyers:
Columbia locks students into the field early through the 1L Advocates Program, which builds a human rights cohort from the first semester. Human Rights LLM Fellowships extend that investment to international lawyers pursuing advocacy careers.
NYU School of Law offers the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, which has focused research portfolios in:
The Earth Rights Research and Action Clinic adds a dedicated environmental justice and human rights practice.
The Global Justice Clinic partners with social movement organizations on multi-year advocacy projects spanning Haiti, Guyana, and the broader Western Hemisphere.
NYU School of Law publishes a free, open-access international human rights textbook used by educators and practitioners globally.
NYU School of Law also manages the China and International Human Rights Law Research Program and selects a Human Rights Scholars cohort each year to fund students pursuing concentrated work in the field.
Harvard Law School runs two distinct human rights clinics that cover different areas:
That dual structure gives students both traditional advocacy training and a venture-building pathway that no other school on this list offers.
The HLS Advocates for Human Rights student organization layers in additional pro bono opportunities, and cross-campus collaboration with the Harvard Carr Center for Human Rights Policy connects law students to the university's broader policy research infrastructure through joint programming and practitioner conversations.
UC Berkeley School of Law's International Human Rights Law Clinic was one of the first in the country and remains one of the most active, with projects spanning:
Berkeley earned an A+ on the preLaw Human Rights Honor Roll and maintains one of the highest public interest placement rates among T14 schools. Over 40 Student-Initiated Legal Services Projects give students additional self-directed advocacy channels, including the International Refugee Assistance Project.
The Global Rights Innovation Lab Clinic pairs law students with data scientists to tackle human rights problems using digital investigative tools, under the supervision of a human rights data scientist rather than a traditional attorney.
The Human Rights Center operates as a separate interdisciplinary research hub that bridges law, data science, and public health, with dedicated programs in international justice, global health, and climate.
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School's strength in human rights is evident in its interdisciplinary architecture. JD students can cross-register at the Wharton School through the Business and Law Certificate, adding a corporate accountability and global governance lens to their legal training.
The LLM program offers a dedicated Global Security, Sustainability, and Human Rights concentration that attracts international lawyers specializing in the field.
Perry World House, Penn's global policy research center, gives law students direct access to visiting world leaders, diplomats, and policymakers working on human rights issues across security, migration, and technology.
Penn earned an A+ on the preLaw Human Rights Honor Roll, though its clinical infrastructure in this area is narrower than that of the schools ranked above it, which is why it ranks seventh despite its overall prestige.
Stanford Law School's flagship offering is the International Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic, which operates across four practice areas:
Students work directly with civil society partners on advocacy projects and participate in a companion seminar that teaches skills from both human rights and conflict resolution.
The Stanford Human Trafficking Data Lab, a cross-school collaboration with the School of Medicine, represents a research model few law schools can replicate, using data science to map trafficking patterns and support federal labor prosecutors.
The Stanford Human Rights Center supports events, publications, and research partnerships, while the WSD Handa Center for Human Rights and International Justice, housed in the School of Humanities and Sciences, adds transitional justice expertise and international criminal trial monitoring capacity.
Stanford earned an A- on the preLaw Human Rights Honor Roll, reflecting strong but more focused programming compared to the broader infrastructures above it.
American University Washington College of Law has coordinated its human rights programming through the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law since 1990, hosting 50 to 70 events per academic year, including:
American University Washington College of Law's location in Washington, D.C., gives students the same proximity advantage Georgetown holds to international organizations, embassies, and advocacy headquarters.
The UNROW Human Rights Impact Litigation Clinic funds student participation in human rights cases through a dedicated endowment. The War Crimes Research Office provides legal research directly to international criminal tribunals, giving students exposure to active proceedings.
The International Human Rights Law Clinic places students before regional and international bodies, U.S. federal courts, and immigration courts to represent non-U.S. citizens and organizations defending human rights.
The Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law runs an annual training program that draws practitioners from around the world.
University of Minnesota Law School rounds out the top 10 because of a combination most schools outside the T14 can’t match.
The James H. Binger Center for New Americans is unique in that it houses three immigration-focused clinics:
The Human Rights Center, founded in 1988, holds UN ECOSOC consultative status, giving the school direct access to United Nations human rights mechanisms and global networks that most law school centers lack.
Minnesota offers a formal Human Rights Law concentration for students who want to build their entire JD around the field, and it has earned five consecutive A+ ratings from preLaw magazine, the longest active streak on the honor roll.
Take a look at the video below to decide what law schools to apply to:
The best law school for human rights law is Georgetown University Law Center. Georgetown combines the largest human rights curricular infrastructure of any U.S. law school with unmatched proximity to international organizations, offering students clinical, academic, and professional entry points into the field starting in their first year.
Yes, you can get an LLM in human rights at several top law schools. The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School has a Global Security, Sustainability, and Human Rights law concentration. Georgetown and NYU Law also provide specialized human rights tracks within their LLM curricula for international students.
In a good human rights law program, look for specific human rights coursework, active training with real clients, and connections to international organizations or tribunals. You can also look for fellowships and summer training programs that give students an early start on human rights coursework.
Clinical programs are very important for human rights law because you need practical skills in addition to theory. Clinical programs help you represent asylum seekers, file submissions with international bodies, and conduct field fact-finding investigations, which will all help you as a human rights lawyer.
You should choose the law school that offers the best resources to help you become a human rights lawyer. If your choice is a top-ranked school, that’s excellent. However, you shouldn’t focus too much on rankings, since the best human rights JD program for you will depend on your goals.
Yes, you can work for international organizations after graduating from law school. Schools in Washington, D.C., and New York allow their graduates to work for organizations like the United Nations, the World Bank, Human Rights Watch, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
David Merson was the original author of this article. Snippets of his work may remain.
Co-Founder of Juris Education, Dartmouth College
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