Learn about vital refugee rights, refugee protection, and the globalization of migration from major universities
Refugees have the right to international protection, but what does this mean exactly? What specific rights are refugees owed and who provides them? The answers to these questions are more important than ever. According to the 2022 World Migration Report, there were about 281 million international migrants in 2020. By the end of 2021, 89.3 million people were forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, human rights violations, violence, or other disrupting events. As definitions and treaties evolve – and crises like climate change get worse – the international community and human rights defenders need to understand refugee rights, protection, and migration.
In the following seven courses, you’ll learn more about refugees in the 21st century, international migration, how to work supportively with refugees, how to care for children moving alone, and much more. Courses are free to audit, although most offer a verified certificate for a fee.
#1. Asylum and Refugee Law (LouvainX)
#2. Refugees in the 21st Century (University of London)
#3. International Migrations: A Global Issue (SciencesPo)
#4. Migrants and Health (Imperial College London)
#5. Working Supportively with Refugees: Principles, Skills, and Perspectives
#6. Migration: The Facts / Migration: The Theories (European University Institute)
#7. Caring for Children Moving Alone: Protecting Unaccompanied and Separated Children (The University of Strathclyde/CELCIS)
#1. Asylum and Refugee Law (LouvainX)
| Length: 14 weeks | Mode: Self-paced | Commitment: 6-8 hours | Level: Advanced |
This 6-module course covers asylum and refugee law with an interdisciplinary approach. You’ll study topics like regional, subsidiary, and complementary protection when dealing with armed conflicts; future challenges like the increase of climate refugees; and concepts like case law and international rights laws. By the course’s end, you’ll be ready to define and apply concepts of asylum and refugee law; analyze case-law decisions; advocate on international refugee law; and think about the future of asylum and refugee law.
Sylvia Sarolea is a lawyer and law professor at UCLouvain, where she specializes in immigration and law. Jean-Yves Carlier is an attorney and professor at UCLouvain and the University of Liege. He teaches human rights law, private international law, and European law. This course is useful for lawyers, human rights activists, judges, and anyone else interested in hiring or helping refugees. You’ll need to have completed an undergrad degree program in Law or have any undergrad degree with practical experience in human rights. The 14-week course is self-paced and requires around 6-8 hours of work per week.
#2. Refugees in the 21st Century (University of London)
| Length: 6 weeks | Mode: Self-paced | Commitment: 27 hours total | Level: Beginner |
Using a global perspective, this course introduces students to what defines a refugee, who they are, where they come from, where they go, and what the global system for refugee protection looks like. You’ll learn to apply technical, legal, and policy categories to different scenarios; engage with technical language and materials; and identify important features and trends. In the last week, you’ll learn why refugees aren’t the only type of forced migrants. You’ll consider two other kinds of forced migrants who lack State protection: stateless persons and “internally displaced persons.”
Professor David Cantor (Professor of Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies) and Dr. Sarah Singer (Senior Lecturer in Refugee Law) teach the course. Dr. Cantor has worked as a practitioner, consultant, and researcher while Dr. Singer works as the Programme Director of the distance-learning MA in Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies. With 3-6 hours of work per week, the course takes about 6 weeks to finish. There are no prerequisites, so everyone is welcome to join.
#3. International Migrations: A Global Issue (SciencesPo)
| Length: 7 weeks | Mode: Self-paced | Commitment: 2-4 hours | Level: Beginner |
International migration raises a handful of issues involving international relations, human rights, globalization, and much more. In this course, you’ll be introduced to topics like the globalization of migration; how definitions of migration, asylum, and refugee have evolved; how borders work; and global governance and the right to mobility. By the course’s end, you’ll have a more thorough knowledge of international migration and the skills needed to address key issues and assess future trends in this area thanks to materials like news articles, scientific papers, and maps.
Catherine Wihtol de Wenden (Research Director at the CNRS) teaches this course. In addition to teaching and researching, she’s worked as a consultant to international organizations like the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees. This course is a great choice for human rights practitioners, lawyers, researchers, and anyone else interested in migration and what the future holds. “International Migrations” takes about seven weeks or 22 hours to complete. There are no prerequisites.
#4. Migrants and Health (Imperial College London)
| Length: 5 weeks | Mode: Self-paced | Commitment: 31 hours total | Level: Beginner |
This course is part of the Global Health Challenges and Governance specialization. Over four modules (and an orientation week), you’ll learn key terms and global migration trends; how crises in non-health sectors impact health; and how policy instruments address migration. Topics include human trafficking and health, stories from migrants, and the politicization of migration. By the course’s end, you’ll be ready to explain the health effects of migration, describe the international treaties that protect migrants’ right to health, and analyze whether national health systems are providing universal health coverage to migrants.
Christina Atchison (Principal Clinical Academic Fellow/Honorary Consultant in Public Health Medicine) and Wendy Kwok (Teaching Fellow in Public Health) teach the course. Both are from the School of Public Health. While this course is part 2 in the specialization, there don’t appear to be prerequisites. You can complete the course in about 5 weeks or 31 hours. Bear in mind that Week 2 (“An Introduction to Migration”) takes 8 hours to complete while the last week (“Migrants and Universal Health Coverage”) takes 13 hours.
#5. Working Supportively with Refugees: Principles, Skills, and Perspectives (University of Glasgow)
| Length: 3 weeks | Mode: Self-paced | Commitment: 4 hours | Level: Introductory |
Refugees represent a huge variety of people with different cultural backgrounds, languages, experiences, and needs. Those who want to work with refugees need to have awareness, skills, and training before trying to offer support. This introductory course, which explores interdisciplinary ways to work with refugees, can help. You’ll learn principles like psychological well-being, interpretation and conflict management, and intercultural communication. By the course’s end, you’ll be ready to discuss the legal, social, and cultural grounding for refugees; analyze ideas about social integration and meditation strategies; and explore the skills needed to work with refugees.
Marta Moskal, Giovanna Fassetta, and Jamie Spurway teach the course. Marta and Giovanna are both senior lecturers at the University of Glasgow, while Jamie works as a diversity trainer who specializes in courses about refugees, equality, human trafficking, and more. “Working Supportively with Refugees” is a great choice for interpreters, NGO practitioners, volunteers, refugees, and anyone else interested in working with refugees. With 4 hours of work per week, the course takes about 3 weeks to finish. There are no prerequisites.
#6. Migration: The Facts / Migration: The Theories (European University Institute)
| Length: 6 weeks | Mode: Self-paced | Commitment: 3 hours | Level: Introductory |
These two courses make a great pairing. In “Migration: The Facts,” you’ll be introduced to the key challenges and cases around the world dealing with irregular migration and asylum. Topics covered include the Syrian refugee crisis, the politicization of migration debates, the “Pacific solution” policy in Australia, and more. In “Migration: The Theories,” you’ll learn about different theoretical models that dig into why migration starts, why it continues, and what role networks and institutions play. By the end of both courses, you’ll be ready to identify main terms and concepts; explain motivations for people who leave their home countries; explore theoretical approaches; and apply main theories to real-world case studies.
Anna Triandafyllidou (the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration at Ryerson University) teaches both of these courses with Camilla Balbis (“Migration: The Facts”) and Nick Dines (“Migration: The Theories), who is a research fellow. The courses each take 3 weeks with about 3 hours of work per week.
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#7. Caring for Children Moving Alone: Protecting Unaccompanied and Separated Children (The University of Strathclyde/CELCIS)
| Length: 6 weeks | Mode: Self-paced | Commitment: 4 hours | Level: Intermediate |
This course covers the protection and care of migrant children moving alone across and between countries. You’ll cover topics like what unique risks children face; why offering a range of alternative care options is so important; and how to assess the needs and vulnerabilities of children. By the course’s end, you’ll be ready to identify children’s risks and needs; apply relevant international and national law; identify promising care practices; and explore the principles in the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children.
Dr. Chrissie Gale teaches this course. She has worked as a child protection specialist around the world and led the international work of CELCIS for four years. She now works as a consultant. “Caring for Children Moving Alone” is a great course for frontline professionals, volunteers, social workers, lawyers, and anyone else interested in caring for unaccompanied and separated children. There are no specific prerequisites, but students will benefit from some background knowledge or experience in child protection and children’s rights. With 4 hours of work per week, the course can be finished in about 6 weeks.
