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Master's in social justice programs

A master’s in social justice program provides students with key information to recognize and address societal issues. Explore a meaningful career path in this guide.

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Why earn a master's in social justice degree?

Make an impact in your community

With a master's in social justice degree, you can build a career that directly influences your community.

Qualify for management roles

A master's in social justice degree can help you land public, private, and nonprofit leadership positions.

Build critical analysis skills in your field

Earning a master's degree in social justice may provide opportunities to explore new perspectives and challenge personal biases.


Do you want to dedicate your career to making a difference in the lives of those in your community? By earning a master's degree in social justice, you can explore the causes of societal and institutional inequities.

Careers in social justice allow you to apply data-driven theories that address a community's material needs.

Discover how enrolling in a master's in social justice degree program can help prepare you to address real-world social and political issues.

Browse MSW programs that teach about social justice and social work

Prestigious
An immersive cohort-based learning experience that is designed to optimize learning outcomes and ensure global networking opportunities.
Flexible
Choose your path with a range of completion options and class times.
Equivalent to on-campus
Earn the same degree and complete the same curriculum as on-campus students.

What can you do with a master's in social justice degree?

A master's in social justice is a graduate degree program that helps prepare students to address societal inequities. After getting a master of social justice degree, you may work in public, private, and nonprofit sectors to assess inequity through various lenses, such as race, gender, politics, economics, and climate change.

Here are some potential career paths for graduates of a master's in social justice program to pursue, with salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS):

What should you expect from a master's in social justice program?

A master's in social justice program coursework often involves critically analyzing societal injustices. This instruction aims to prepare students to create systems and theories that address problems in real-world communities. You may learn skills like grant writing, research methodology, and needs assessment.

While some schools offer master's programs in social justice, others include social justice as an interdisciplinary concentration with a master of arts or social work degree.

To graduate with a master's in social justice degree, students generally must complete 30 to 36 credit hours, which often takes two to four years.

Courses for a master's in social justice program

Master's degree programs in social justice usually require core coursework that addresses the main themes of social justice. These courses provide foundational information for specialized elective course offerings.

Core and elective courses in a social justice master's degree program may include:

  • Social justice foundations: This course explores social justice theories, using historical examples to demonstrate how social and political factors affect communities.
  • International human rights: In this course, you can learn about how cultures around the world deal with human rights struggles and how global intervention affects communities.
  • Critical race, gender, sexuality, class, and religion studies: Many schools offer critical analysis courses with various combinations of societal lenses. You can learn how different traits and biases may affect society's view of a group of people.
  • Law and justice: Social justice degree programs often include law courses that examine how public policy impacts society. You may learn about international and domestic laws in these courses.
  • Social justice theories in healthcare, education, and food: In these types of social justice courses, you can explore theories specific to important vocations. Learn to understand how inequity affects access to necessities.

Admissions for master's in social justice programs

The application process for a master's in social justice program varies between schools. However, many programs have adopted an online portal to submit your application materials and fees.

In your social justice master's program application, you may need to include:

  • Bachelor's degree transcript
  • Relevant work experience
  • Letters of recommendation
  • Required test scores
  • Statement of purpose or admissions essay
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