Academy Award winner and humanitarian, Angelina Jolie Pitt is set to join the London School of Economics as a visiting professor, to teach a course on gender and human rights.
As part of her role, Jolie Pitt will be working at the university's Centre for Women, Peace and Security, where she is expected to participate in public events, workshops and present guest lectures.
The actress will contribute to "MSc in Women, Peace and Security", a new postgraduate course which taps into issues of peace and security that impact women.
Jolie Pitt is one of four leading figures who will be acting as a "visiting professor in practice", who—like other LSE fellows—hope to develop strategies that encourage gender equality and enrich women's involvement in the political, social and economic space.
She will be joined at the university by former U.K. foreign secretary Lord William Hague, Amnesty International Geneva's director of international advocacy, Jane Connors, and Madeleine Rees OBE, the secretary general of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
Those who are given the visiting professor role have achieved "appropriate distinction within their area of (non-academic) practice," according to the university, with the position itself being unpaid.
The actress helped launch the Centre for Women, Peace and Security with Hague, back in February 2015. The duo also co-founded the "Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative" in 2012, which encourages states to tackle sexual violence and injustice.
The actress has been involved in humanitarian work for well over a decade, having advocated for change in many areas including human rights, immigration, conservation and education. She is currently a special envoy for the U.N.'s refugee agency, UNHCR.
Following the announcement, Jolie Pitt said she was "very encouraged" by the creation of the postgraduate course, saying she hoped educational institutions elsewhere would follow suit.
"I hope other academic institutions will follow this example, as it is vital that we broaden the discussion on how to advance women's rights and end impunity for crimes that disproportionately affect women, such as sexual violence in conflict," Jolie Pitt said in a statement.
"I am looking forward to teaching and to learning from the students as well as to sharing my own experiences of working alongside governments and the United Nations."
Students who are interested in joining the program can sign up to the year-long Masters course on "Women, Peace and Security" from this fall. The course is expected to start in the academic year of 2017/2018.