Master of Arts in Human Rights in the Digital Society
Tallinn, Estonia
MA
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
Human Rights in the Digital Society was created to address new developments and challenges in law and society that have arisen in connection with the ever-increasing digitalization. Digitalisation isn’t theoretical here – it’s how the state functions. Students get to explore digital rights in the only EU country where nearly all public services are online, gaining insight into the legal and ethical challenges that shape real governance systems, not classroom simulations.
This is intensive legal training grounded in practice. You'll explore how data protection, AI regulation, and digital markets law intersect with human rights, analysing real cases and European legal frameworks with faculty who advise governments and international institutions. Evening classes allow professionals to advance without pausing their careers.
Who are we looking for?
This programme is designed for professionals and graduates who want to understand how law and human rights shape today’s digital societies. It suits:
- Graduates in law, political science, or related social sciences who want to deepen their understanding of how technology challenges human rights frameworks.
- Professionals in technology, policy, or civil society working with data protection, digital governance, or AI ethics who wish to develop their legal competence.
- Human rights advocates and policymakers addressing digital-rights issues in Europe and beyond.
- Working professionals who value flexible evening study and want to connect their everyday work with advanced legal learning.
Applicants are expected to have a background in law or related social sciences, or relevant professional experience in governance, advocacy, or the technology sector.
If you are curious about how digital transformation reshapes rights, accountability, and power – and to use legal tools to make that transformation fairer – this programme offers the knowledge and perspective to do so.
Course outline
The programme is in cycle study form, which means that lectures and seminars mostly take place during weekdays evenings (starting 16:15) and the nominal time to complete the programme is four semesters. The programme is composed of compulsory law courses (54 ECTS), elective law courses (24 ECTS), open elective courses (6 ECTS), the master’s thesis (24 ECTS) and a mandatory internship (6 ECTS). During the internship, you will put your knowledge into practice under the guidance of a working legal professional and gain real-world insight into digital-rights work. The curriculum blends human-rights law, digital-regulation subjects, and continuous research-skills development, ensuring you graduate with deep legal competence, strong analytical capabilities, and practical experience rooted in real digital-governance context.
By the end of the programme, you’ll be equipped to step confidently into roles that require digital legal expertise – roles that organisations across Europe are struggling to fill. Graduates typically work in:
- Technology companies – responsible AI roles, data-protection and compliance teams, sustainable innovation, policy and governance units.
- Public institutions and EU bodies – digital-governance units, regulatory agencies, policy advisory roles.
- Human-rights and civil-society organisations – digital-rights advocacy, strategic litigation, accountability projects.
- International organisations – digital policy, rights monitoring, and regulatory frameworks.
- Media companies – balancing freedom of expression with the right to privacy, data protection, ethical AI use.
You’ll graduate with a clear professional edge: the legal skills to make sense of digital transformation and the competence to help organisations design, regulate, or audit digital systems responsibly.
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