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Welcome to Arizona State University’s Master of Arts program in Social Justice and Human Rights (Online). Arizona State University comprises sixteen colleges and schools spread across four campuses in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area. The online MA program in Social Justice and Human Rights is offered by the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, which is part of the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, and is housed on ASU’s West Campus in Phoenix, AZ.
The online master's in social justice and human rights (SJHR) addresses key issues, theories, methods, and applied practices related to immigration and refugees/asylum seekers, gender-based violence and sex trafficking, international law and organizations, humanitarianism, global justice, and more.
The SJHR graduate degree program provides students with a combination of applied real-world skills and training in theory and method. Each student is encouraged to identify the specific interests that bring focus to their studies, for example, in humanitarian intervention, education, disability rights, indigenous rights, refugee or immigrant rights, racial justice, or the abolition of gender violence and sex trafficking. They may also direct their focus to regional contexts such as the Middle East, Central Europe, Africa, Central America, or even the United States.
The coursework in this theoretically and methodologically rigorous program examines social justice and human rights issues in contexts defined by multiple and intersecting forms of social identity and disadvantage, including gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and nationality.
● All courses are required and include:
○ Skill-building core courses in theory and method (Proseminar; Problem-Based Seminar; Research Methods; Action Research; and Grant Writing)
○ Thematic courses emphasizing key issues and contexts (International Law and Organizations; Migration, Asylum and Refugees; Gender Violence and Sex Trafficking),
○ Plus two elective courses (Critical Humanitarianism and Global Justice).
Each course contains a capstone element where students may bring their unique focus and interests to bear on course content. Some capstone elements will accommodate limited-scale original research and analysis. The capstone elements together provide coherence and synergy across coursework and form the basis of the final capstone e-Portfolio and video overview, in which students showcase their graduate-level skills and knowledge.
Arizona State University comprises sixteen colleges and schools spread across four campuses in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area. The online MA program in Social Justice and Human Rights is offered by the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, which is part of the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, and is housed on ASU’s West Campus in Phoenix, AZ.
If you have any questions about our Online MA Social Justice and Human Rights program, feel free to contact ncgradonline@asu.edu.
This is an online program that requires 33 credit hours of coursework, including a Capstone course.
Required Courses
Required Core
JHR 501: Pro-Seminar in Social Justice and Human Rights
JHR 506: Grant Writing for Social Justice and Human Rights
JHR 510: Problem-Based Seminar in Social Justice and Human Rights
Required Method
JHR 500: Research Methods
JHR 525: Action Research in Social Justice and Human Rights
Thematic
JHR 598: Migration, Asylum, and Refugees
JHR 598: Gender-Based Violence and Sex-Trafficking
JHR 598: International Law and Organizations
Electives
JHR 598: Critical Humanitarianism
JHR 598: Global Justice
Capstone
JHR 549: Capstone in Social Justice and Human Rights
Students in this program may be admitted in Fall (August), Spring (January), or Summer (May). The program requires students to register for specific courses each term for four consecutive terms.
The Social Justice and Human Rights Online program requires students to follow an established course sequence year-round. This sequence divides each semester into two sessions, A and B, with a requirement of taking one course in each session. During the last semester, students will take one course in each session as well as a Capstone course.
Students in the online MA in Social Justice and Human Rights program will be assigned courses based on their admit term. It is your responsibility to review registration information and register for the appropriate courses. Any modification to the required sequence may delay graduation and/or progress in the program by up to one calendar year. It is your responsibility to ensure you are registered for the right courses. To view the required course sequence for you select the semester and year that you were admitted:
Capstone: JHR 549 Capstone in Social Justice & Human Rights
● Students will draw together the capstone elements from each course and revise, develop, and polish them to synthesize and frame a brief narrative essay articulating how the elements relate to one another and to theoretical and contextual insights in the field of social justice and human rights. This will be assembled in a professional e-Portfolio that showcases the skills and knowledge acquired in relation to their specific interests and goals.
● The e-Portfolio is accompanied by a video overview created by the student.
To be eligible for the culminating experience, students must meet the following requirements:
● Up to date Plan of Study (iPOS) on file.
● Graduate GPA, Cumulative GPA, iPOS GPA must all be at 3.00.
● Students can take ONE JHR elective with their culminating experience.
The Interactive Plan of Study (iPOS) functions as an agreement between the student, the academic unit and the Graduate College. To facilitate program completion and shorten the time to complete the program, graduate students are encouraged to complete their iPOS in their first semester.
Submitting your iPOS should take about 15-20 minutes. The ASU Graduate College has provided a list of how-to videos and resources located here.
When filing the iPOS please:
● Refer to published course sequences based on admit term.
● List Dr. Tricia Redeker-Hepner as faculty Chair.
● No updates to staff advisor are needed.
After you submit your iPOS, a staff advisor will review your course sequence and ensure all degree requirements are listed. Approval by the academic unit typically happens within 3-5 business days and the ASU Graduate College will provide final approval within another 2-3 business days. An iPOS can be modified after it is submitted and approved.
If you have any questions, please contact our advising team at ncgradonline@asu.edu
Important Policies:
Graduate College Policy Handbook
New College Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy
Program Handbooks
Advising Checklist
Social Justice and Human Rights Checklist - Spring 2020 or later
Social Justice and Human Rights Checklist - Summer 2022 or later
