SOP Sample for MS in Human Rights & International Relations in UK

Statement of Purpose

All humans should have an equal right to access all the available resources, but the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of few has disturbed this symmetry. Hence, a pretty large section of society struggles to exercise their fundamental rights and avail the facilities they need and deserve. On the contrary, they suffer at the hands of the privileged and live in constant fear of facing unnecessary atrocities. The scenario has inculcated in me the desire to work towards human rights and refining peace-support operations without military interruption and more through the integration of trust. Further looking at the magnitude and origin of problems in my country, I have realised that several of them have been long pending deadlocks that have remained unresolved despite sincere attempts by different authorities. I feel the need to have a fresh and international perspective on dealing with such age-old concerns and applying the learning to handle my homeland's social, political and security challenges more diplomatically and equitably. Therefore, I have opted for the MA in Human Rights and International Relations course at your renowned varsity.

The English language wasn't my forte during schooling. Hence concurrently with the 10th standard, I completed intensive English training and a personal development course. This program helped me a lot in completing my further studies, especially my BA in English from [UNIVERSITY_1]. I was even conferred with a merit-based scholarship in the winter semester of my undergraduate's second and third years. The description of social issues in the baccalaureate syllabus resonated with my interest in attending to the commoner's problems, and I contemplated choosing a similar specialisation for my master's.

However, to be sure of my interest and ability to engage in fieldwork for public welfare, I opted for an internship after completing my bachelor's. I interned under the auspices of [UNIVERSITY_2] in the project 'Factors associated with crop residue burning (CRB) in India' funded by [UNIVERSITY_3] Grants and supported by [ORGANIZATION_1] in Haryana. Besides providing agricultural knowledge, the training apprised me about casteism and gender inequality in rural settings. I also learned how class plays an important role in the power dynamics of rural politics. My project manager was very impressed with my work and decided to use my findings in her thesis. Apart from this project, I participated in Anti CAA, NRC and NPR movements. Soon a nationwide lockdown was declared due to covid. During these stressful times, I got engaged in food relief work across India. When the pandemic impact subsided and the country started inching towards normalcy, I enrolled in the MA in Sociology course at [UNIVERSITY_1]. I won the 2nd prize in the Tatkalik Bhashan Pratiyogita/Elocution Competition during my master's.

To grasp the functioning and mindset of society, I undertook a lot of voluntary work and internships throughout my Bachelor's and Master's. I volunteered as a teacher for promoting public education in Delhi through a voluntary organisation [ORGANIZATION_2]. It helped me to locate the question of language with the socio-economic conditions of the subjects. I also volunteered for the tenth [EVENT_1] as well as in celebrating [UNIVERSITY_1]'s foundation day. Further, I assisted in [UNIVERSITY_1]'s 2017 and 2018 admission process by counselling, attending phone calls and helping with course registrations. Thanks to the earlier years' performance as a coordinator, in 2019, I got the opportunity to supervise [UNIVERSITY_1]'s admission process. As an Intern at [ORGANIZATION_3], I assisted in conducting a quiz competition at the foundation's [EVENT_2] 2021 event.

I even contributed to conducting the launch event of the [CENTER_1], [UNIVERSITY_1], at [VENUE_1]. Additionally, I travelled to Bengaluru to participate in the [EVENT_3] organised by [ORGANIZATION_4]. Furthermore, I participated in the workshops on 'Gender and Sexuality with [ORGANIZATION_5]', and 'Women in Contemporary India: Contexts and Possibilities' and [EVENT_3]. I also took part in a research project, 'Incubating Community-Based Social Initiative – Kinare,' supported by [ORGANIZATION_6] under the auspices of the [CENTER_2] [UNIVERSITY_1]. My role in the project was to create a learning group to facilitate reading and writing in the families of farmers at [LOCATION_1] in Delhi city. All these pragmatic endeavours have strengthened my debating knowledge and skills and helped me have a strong stand in the discourse of social sciences.

I was also highly active in extracurricular activities. As a 12th standard Class Representative, I successfully represented my batchmates' queries and demands. In the first year of BA, I became part of a Student-Faculty Committee (SFC) and heard and resolved the students' issues. Next year I became the Student Counsellor of the entire BA English department comprising three batches. In this role, I took part in the debate with other student organisations, performed admin work, represented the department at various platforms and led demonstrations. I also maintained minutes of general body meetings of all three batches and presented them before the department.

In the final year of my Bachelor's, I became the representative of the Cafeteria Committee. Here my duties were to conduct surprise visits in the cafeteria to check food quality, note down and discuss cafeteria-related issues with the committee and discuss food subsidies to make food affordable for the entire student community. I also squeezed out some time to serve various forms of art. I acted in a short film, '[FILM_TITLE_1],' and plays titled '[PLAY_TITLE_1],' and '[PLAY_TITLE_2],' and co-directed a documentary on slum dwellers of Delhi while studying the course on Environmental Issues and Challenges.

Through my Master's in Sociology, I have been striving to understand and address societal issues and challenges on behalf of those at the receiving end. However, this cannot be the permanent and comprehensive solution. Somewhere the victims have to take up the responsibility of seeking justice for them as the opponents of atrocities like me would be far and few between who can't attend to the concerns and issues of each member of the society or intervene in their every struggle for justice. Hence, the most feasible possibility is making the people conscious of their power and rights and preparing them for a more systematic and educated opposition to the unfair treatment meted out to them.

To accomplish these objectives and inculcate the right consciousness and awakening among people, I need to learn the pertinent theories, practices and approaches. Consequently, I have selected the MA in Human Rights and International Relations course at the [UNIVERSITY_4] in the UK. London's diverse international community's association with this program ensures its contents are regularly reviewed and revised to ensure their consistency with the current human rights and international relations scenario. Therefore, this course will shed light on core international relations and modern historical, philosophical, legal and sociological debates in human rights. I will also acquire exposure to contemporary approaches and methods of human rights research. This learning will groom me to conduct pioneering research on an independent basis and develop innovative and feasible resolutions to our age-old issues of human rights. Moreover, the coveted opportunity to train with a London-based human rights firm and the international study trip will give me excellent hands-on experience of the course theories.

Upon graduating in human rights and international relations from your university, I am confident that I will have the acumen and competence to work with bigger human rights firms such as the International Labour Organization and assist those who have faced prejudice at the hands of the system. I will also be able to create awareness among people about their rights and prepare them to fight for justice. I aim to eliminate the caste-based and religious-based atrocities inflicted on humans, and your course seems an apt option to achieve my ambitions.