Application process – Master’s Program in Human Rights and democracy

Read the following information carefully.

NOTE! Important notice about scholarships at UCS:
University College Stockholm unfortunately does not offer full-time scholarships to students beginning the M.A. program in Human Rights and Democracy. In order to apply for a residence permit in Sweden, it is a requirement to be able to pay the study fee. If you do not have sufficient funds for studies in Sweden, we cannot help with a scholarship. If you are accepted to the master’s program and cannot start the program for various reasons, we can hold your place until the following year. Kindly note that there are many applicants for the program and therefore we need to prioritize those who have all the documentation ready.

Program information

Name: Master’s Program in Human Rights and democracy
Level: Advanced level, Second cycle (400)
Credits: 120 ECTS credits program
Length and time: 2-year full-time study (i.e. 40h a week, day time)
Place: Campus Bromma (the program is taught on-campus)
Language: English

Application period

Applications are made online at www.universityadmissions.se
For Swedish students at www.antagning.se

Application code:
  • For international applicants (and applicants from EU/EEA and Switzerland): MRMAE
  • For Swedish applicants (and applicants from EU/EEA and Switzerland): MAHRD

Note that applicants from EU/EEA and Switzerland can apply in both rounds.

Application period
  • 15 March – 15 April for Swedish citizens and citizens of EU/EEA and Switzerland
  • 17 October – 16 January for citizen of countries in EU/EEA and Switzerland and for citizens of other countries outside EU/EEA and Switzerland.

Specific information for applicants outside EU/EEA and Switzerland

If you are a citizen of other country outside EU/EEA and Switzerland you are only able to apply to the program during the period October-January. This is because the processing period for a student visa at the Swedish Migration Board requires longer time. International applicants outside the EU / EEA and Switzerland are usually required to pay an application fee. Make sure to apply to the program during the application period intended for you, so as not to pay the application fee more than once.

Requirements

To study a program at the advanced level, you need to meet general and specific requirements as listed below.

Requirements for the M.A program in Human Rights and Democracy

The general and specific entry requirements for the M.A program are:

  • A Bachelor’s degree in human rights studies or another related field in social or political science, law or the humanities. Students with undergraduate degrees in the natural sciences, engineering or medicine may also be admitted subject to their ability to demonstrate a proficiency in human rights, for instance through professional or voluntary work or activity.
  • If English is not the applicant’s native language, his or her language proficiency is to be demonstrated by e.g. IELTS test, TOEFL test, Cambridge/Oxford test, a Bachelor’s degree from a study program taught entirely in English, or a passing grade in English 6 from Swedish upper secondary school.
  • The applicant must submit a CV, as well as a Statement of Purpose letter (download the template for the letter bellow) describing his or her academic and professional qualifications, academic and professional aspirations and reasons for applying to the program.

Specific requirements for the citizens of EU/EEA and Switzerland and citizens of other countries outside EU/EEA and Switzerland

  • Citizens of EU/EEA and Switzerland and citizens of other countries outside EU/EEA and Switzerland must also submit two letters of recommendation. The letters of recommendation can be from both working life and academia.
  • You are required to attach an academic text, which can be a thesis from the bachelor’s program or an independently written text that you have written during the time you studied the bachelor’s program. The text must clearly show how you have used references and source management as well as your academic skills. NOTE! If you have not written your thesis or any other text in English, you can submit a short summary of your thesis in English, where you also show how you use references. The text should not be more than 3 pages long.
  • You also need to meet the requirements for supporting documentation as described below. This applies to citizens of the EU / EEA, Switzerland and citizens outside the EU / EEA, Switzerland countries.

Supporting documentation

Citizens from EU/EES, Switzerland and outside EU/EES, Switzerland need also to:

  • Transcripts of completed courses and grades for each semester included in your degree. If you have had courses credited/transferred from previous studies, you must also submit official transcripts for those courses.
  • Certificates and diplomas of your completed degree(s) from an internationally recognized higher education institution
  • Proof of English language proficiency
  • Copy of the page in your passport with your personal data and photograph, or some other identification document.

NOTE! The transcripts, certificates and diplomas must be officially issued by a representative of the Academic Registrar’s Office, the Examinations Office, or the equivalent office that issues official transcripts of records at your university. You can find more information specific for the country where you are applying from regarding the supporting documentation here.

CV and Statement of purpose templates

The Statement of purpose template consists of questions relevant for the program. Answer the pre-set questions and do not write longer than the character limit. Focus on motivation, competence, and potential. Don’t forget to keep a common thread between your interests, your choice to study Human Rights and Democracy and your career plans. Make sure to give relevant examples with the purpose to explain how you are suited for the program.

NOTE! There is no specific format requirement for the CV, but you may choose to use our template if you like. Keep a formal layout of the CV, no longer than 1-2 pages. The person who may look at your CV is the director of studies and/or the dean of the department. You are not required to add a profile photo but may do it if you wish.
Required template STATEMENT OF PURPOSE – Download here
Optional template CV – Download here

Upload your CV and Statement of Purpose

You can upload the documents to the University Admissions platform. To access the document uploader:

  • Login to your account at Universityadmissions
  • Go to ‘Documents’
  • When you have logged in you will have the chance to read ‘Information before getting started‘ for important general instructions
  • Follow the step-by-step instructions for uploading your documents

We recommend that you upload the Statement of Purpose, CV and other documents as separate documents.

Tuition and application fees

In general, individuals who are citizens of countries that are not part of the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland are required to pay application and tuition fees. There are some exceptions to this general rule. Read more about the criteria’s HERE.

If you are required to pay the application fee to universityadmissions.se, you need to do so in order for your application to be processed. The registration/application fee is 900 SEK, and it is paid in connection with your application at universityadmissions.se. The application fee will not be refunded if the program is canceled. Read more here.

Tuition fee at University College Stockholm

For students who are citizens (nationals) from countries outside the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland tuition fees are required.

The tuition fees at University College Stockholm at the M.A. Program in Human Rights and Democracy for one semester on campus are SEK 40 000. You are required to pay SEK 40 000 for each semester (total SEK 160 000 for a 2-year full time education program).

Formal exchange students are exempt from tuition fees.

How to make the payment?

Students who are required to pay tuition fees will receive a conditional offer of admission and need to pay the tuition fee in order to secure their seat on the program. All offers of admissions are considered preliminary until the student has paid his or her tuition fee for the first semester.

When you have received the admission notice, you will also be provided with further information on how to make the online payment of the tuition fee and you will receive a confirmation of payment. If you experience difficulties with the payment please contact our office at kursadministrator@ehs.se.

If the payment is delayed?

You can start your studies before the tuition fee payment has been registered. But you will not be able to get any grades registered until the payment has been received by the school.

You also need to check with the Swedish Migration Agency if they require that you need to submit confirmation of tuition fee payment when you are applying for the student visa.

The selection process

  1. Rank your selection
    It is very important in which order you rank your choices of program/courses. When applying for the M.A. program in Human Rights and Democracy, it is important to think about ranking the program higher on the list in order for you to increase your chances of being accepted. Read more about the ranking process at universityadmissions here.
  2. Meet the general and specific entry requirements
    To be accepted, you must meet various eligibility requirements. Make sure you meet the required eligibility requirements, and double check if you need to complete your application with certificates and documents of proof before the program starts.

    It is important that, in addition to documents that prove the prerequisites (i.e. grades that are not already registered on universityadmissions.se), also upload the CV and Statement of Purpose.

    Your TOEFL test result must be submitted / uploaded according to the instructions available at universityadmissions.se. Some nationalities must also have their extracts / grades sent directly from the university by post to the admissions service. See country-specific instructions. Find more information about the English language requirements here.
  3. Submit documents in time
    Please note that all documents must be uploaded or submitted in time for you to participate in the selection. Last completion dates may vary from year to year, but the current dates are available at universityadmissions.se. The registration fee must also be paid on time. Read more about the important dates and deadlines here.

Residence permit

In order to study for more than 90 days in Sweden, you must apply for a student residence permit. Read more about how to apply for a permit for studies or research in Sweden at the Swedish Migration Agency website here

NOTE! University College Stockholm is not responsible for providing student residence permits. It is the student’s own responsibility to find out information and start the application process.

Q&A

Yes, you can still apply, as long as you will have finished and aquired your BA degree before the program starts. In general, Master’s programmes require a Bachelor’s degree as a basic admission requirement. If you are in your final year of undergraduate degree studies, most programmes will still accept your application to the programme. This is known as an application with ‘qualifications pending’.
You must include with your application an official document stating:
• that you are registered for the last semester of your undergraduate program, and
• date of expected graduation, and
• an official transcript of records of your studies thus far.

You must be awarded your undergraduate degree before you start the M.A program.

University Admissions in Sweden has created a template for students to give to their university to complete and confirm their final-year Bachelor’s degree status. You find the template on the University Admissions in Sweden website here.

Proof of English proficiency must be submitted no later than the deadline to submit supporting documents. Read more about deadline to submit documents here.

The overall requirements and eligibility criteria for the Masters Program in Human Rights and Democracy are:

–a Bachelor’s degree in human rights studies or,
–another related field in social or political science, law or the humanities.

Students with undergraduate degrees in the natural sciences, engineering or medicine may also be admitted subject to their ability to demonstrate a proficiency in human rights, for instance through professional or voluntary work or activity. If your bachelor’s degree is in an area other than the one listed here, you will need to demonstrate your proficiency in human rights through volunteer work, professional work or other assignments related to human rights.

University College Stockholm does not offer full-time scholarships to students beginning the M.A. program in Human Rights and Democracy. In order to apply for a residence permit in Sweden, it is a requirement to be able to pay the study fee. If you do not have sufficient funds for studies in Sweden, we cannot help with a scholarship. Please keep in mind that there are many applicants for the program and thus we need to prioritize the applicants who can finance their studies.

We have limited possibilities to offer accommodations for international students. Contact our office at kursadministrator@ehs.se for more information. We have listed a few links that might be useful for your who are looking for housing. Read more here.

You have the opportunity to choose to study one semester abroad. This means that you can study courses of 30 ECTS credits at another university abroad, which will be included in your master’s degree. Internship is not included in the master’s program, but as a student at University College Stockholm, you can apply for the internship course after completing a master’s degree.

Do you lack formal eligibility criteria for an education at University College Stockholm? Do you have the prerequisites to complete the education through other qualifications? Are you a resident of Sweden? Then you can apply for an assessment of the Prior learning (reell kompetens).

Prior learning (Swedish: reell kompetens) can be used as a basis when determining whether an individual fulfills basic or special qualifications prior to admission to higher education or whether he or she should be able to credit certain education or certain knowledge and skills. Read more here (in Swedish).

Letter of admission is available online as a printable PDF file at universityadmissions.se, so no hard copy is sent by regular mail. The print-out serves as the official document and should be used when you need to present an official copy of your selection results. Login to your account at universityadmissions.se and download the letter of admission. If you need further assistance or additional documents, contact UCS here.

Depending on which country you are a citizen of, you may be required to pay a tuition fee. When you have accepted your place on the program contact our office by email to receive invoice for the payment of the tuition fee.

Tuition fees paid to University College Stockholm may be refunded in some cases which prevent the student from undertaking his or her studies. Contact us to find out what rules apply for refunds and how you can make request for a refund.

Other information


Read the Quick Guide to studying in Sweden.

Find detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to complete and submit an application for master’s studies in Sweden, here.

Read the guide “Studying in higher education” at the Swedish Migration Board Agency.