Social Justice Studies

The 18-credit graduate certificate in Social Justice Studies (SJS) is a collaborative program between the Departments of Teaching and Learning; Interdisciplinary, Gender, and Ethnic Studies; Sociology; Higher Education; and History. Other interested departments are invited to join the collaboration.

Students in the certificate will develop interdisciplinary theoretical, methodological, and practical knowledge on all aspects of social justice, grounded in deep understanding of the root causes of injustices, and skills to advance social justice related to civil and human rights, social action/activism, community organizing, radical love, processes of conscientization, and societal democratization.

The certificate is aligned with the relevant Transformative Standards for Social Justice, Peace, and Environmental Education codified by Andrzejewski, Baltodano, & Symcox (2009). See also, Certificate Overview.

Master's and doctoral students enrolled in various disciplines, as well as current administrative professionals who already possess an undergraduate degree and have 2-3 years' full-time work experience, will particularly benefit from this certificate.

While it is generally best for students to apply to and enter a certificate program first, and then apply to and enter the degree program that houses that certificate, it is also allowable for students to do the opposite. Accordingly, students who may already be in a CSIEME, IDP, Sociology, History, and/or Higher Education degree program who now want to complete this certificate program can do so, however, they can only "share" credits between this certificate and the degree program, if they complete both together, or complete this certificate first and then the degree. Students may not return after earning a graduate degree and use their degree courses/credits toward earning a graduate certificate.

Certificates will be awarded upon the student's successful completion of the certificate requirements.

Qualified students must apply for admission to the Graduate College via the online application. All minimum Graduate College requirements MUST be met. Additionally, SJS certificate applicants must also complete and submit a résumé/vita and a 250-750-word personal statement detailing their interest in the SJS certificate.

Applications for admission into the graduate certificate in SJS may be submitted at any time during an academic term (by March 15, June 1, and November 1 for the subsequent term). Applicants, domestic and international, apply for admission through UNLV's Graduate College Admissions "Gateway." To gain login access to the Gateway, applicants must create an account.

Additional information about what you will be required to submit through the Gateway system is available on the UNLV Graduate College Admissions page and the UNLV Graduate College page.

(18 credit hours) - See also, Graduate Catalogue. Enrollment may be limited based on class size. Students must earn a B or better in all courses.

Required Course: 3 Credits

• CME 700 Social Justice Education (formerly CIG 774) (3 credits)

Required Electives: 6 Credits

Sociology Requirement

Choose One (1) 600 level or above Sociology course focused on social justice (i.e., race and ethnic relations, social stratification, social movements/social change, political sociology, etc.).

Interdisciplinary, Gender, and Ethnic Studies Requirement

Choose One (1) 600 level or above WMST, AAS, AIS, AUS, LAS, IDS course focused on social justice (i.e., race and ethnic relations, social stratification, social movements/social change, political sociology, gender and sexual politics, etc.).

Elective Courses: 9 Credits (no more than 6 credits in the same content area)

• AAS/ETS 633 Contemporary Issues in African American Studies (3 credits)
• AAS 634 Constructions of Racial Ambiguity (3 credits)
• AAS 635 Malcolm X (3 credits)
• AAS 636 Politics of Racial Ambiguity (3 credits)
• CIG 773 Critical Pedagogies/Critical Literacies (3 credits)
• CME 680 Ethnic Studies for Teachers (3 credits)
• CME 705 Multicultural Education (3 credits)
• CME 710 Cultural Studies in Education (3 credits)
• CME 720 Comparative Studies in Education (3 credits)
• CME 725 Current Topics in Multicultural Education (3 credits)
• CME 730 Intersectional Analysis in Multicultural Education (3 credits)
• CME 735 Multicultural Curriculum Transformation (3 credits)
• CME 740 Intergroup Dialogue Facilitation (3 credits)
• CME 745 Theory and Research in Multicultural Education (3 credits)
• CME 750 Critical Multicultural Education (3 credits)
• CME 755 Teaching about Latinas/Latinos in Education (3 credits)
• CME 756 History of Black Education (3 credits)
• CME 760 Critical Race Theory in Education (3 credits)
• CME 765 Analysis of the School-to-Prison Pipeline) (3 credits)
• CME 770 Critical Inquiry & Praxis (Indigenous Methodologies) (3 credits)
• CME 775 Multicultural Organizational Development (3 credits)
• CME 780 Critical whiteness Studies in Education (3 credits)
• CME 785 Restorative Justice Practices in Schools and Communities (3 credits)
• CME 790 DisCrit in Education
• EDH 714 Understanding Minority Serving Institutions (3 credits)
• EDH 609 Leading Diverse Institutions (3 credits)
• ETS 603 The Hispanic in the United States Today (3 credits)
• ETS/AAS 633 Contemporary Issues in African American Studies (3 credits)
• ETS 607 Making Gender, Sexuality & Race (3 credits)
• HIST 638A American Indian History to 1851 (3 credits)
• HIST 638B American Indian History Since 1851 (3 credits)
• HIST 638C Topics in American Indian History (3 credits)
• HIST 648 Asian American History (3 credits)
• HIST 695 Race and Sexuality in Twentieth Century America (3 credits)
• HIST 754 The Power of Place and the Politics of Memory (3 credits)
• SOC 607 Environment and Society (3 credits)
• SOC 610 Sociology of Aging (3 credits)
• SOC 615 World Population Problems (3 credits)
• SOC 616 Sociology of Work and Occupations (3 credits)
• SOC 627 Comparative Racial and Ethnic Relations (3 credits)
• SOC 629 Globalization: Economic, Political, and Cultural Perspectives (3 credits)
• SOC 636 Sociology of Poverty (3 credits)
• SOC 641 Social Inequality (3 credits)
• SOC 645 Men in Society (3 credits)
• SOC 649 Sex and Social Arrangements (3 credits)
• SOC 653 Gender and Society
• SOC 655 Social Movements and Social Change (3 credits)
• SOC 660 Critical Sociology (3 credits)
• SOC 655 Collective Behavior (3 credits)
• SOC 671 Race and Ethnic Relations in America (3 credits)
• SOC 675 Political Sociology (3 credits)
• SOC 678 Women and Society (3 credits)
• SOC 683 Aging and Social Policy (3 credits)
• SOC 714 Seminar in Work and Occupations (3 credits)
• SOC 741 Graduate Seminar in Social Stratification (3 credits)
• SOC 745 The Family-Work Nexus (3 credits)
• SOC 748 Gender, Sex and Society (3 credits)
• SOC 750 Seminar in the Sociology of Sex (3 credits)
• SOC 751 International Issues: Gender, Sex, Globalization (3 credits)
• SOC 752 Global Migrations (3 credits)
• SOC 753 Racial Justice and Latinas/Latinos (3 credits)
• SOC 755 Social Movements and Social Change (3 credits)
• SOC 768 Environmental Sociology (3 credits)
• SOC 770 Race and Ethnic Relations in America (3 credits)
• SOC 774 Feminist Theories and Research (3 credits)
• SOC 776 Seminar in Political Sociology (3 credits)
• SOC 779 Seminar in Sociology of Aging (3 credits)
• SOC 780 Aging and Social Policy (3 credits)
• WMST 601 Feminist Theories (3 credits)
• WMST 618 Language and Gender (3 credits)
• WMST 632A History of American Women to 1870 (3 credits)
• WMST 632B History of American Women Since 1870 (3 credits)
• WMST 648 Gender and Social Interaction (3 credits)
• WMST 672 Controversies in Gender and Race (3 credits)
• WMST 673 Chicana Feminism and Experience (3 credits)
• WMST 674 Gender, Sexuality, and Consumer Culture (3 credits)
• WMST 676 Feminism and Activism (3 credits)
• WMST 677 Critical Race Feminism (3 credits)
• WMST 690 Special Topics (3 credits)
• WMST 700 Introduction to Women's Studies (3 credits)
• WMST 701 Feminist Theory (3 credits)
• WMST 702 Principles of Feminist Inquiry (3 credits)
• WMST 703 Feminist Pedagogy (3 credits)
• WMST 799 Independent Study (3-6 credits)