Justice Studies

Justice Studies program art featuring a university shield, pelican, and power fist Established in 2020, the Justice Studies program fosters interdisciplinary, community-engaged scholarship in the service of social change. Faculty and doctoral students conduct applied research projects that combine ethnography, archival research, oral history, textual analysis, critical program evaluation, activist research, survey research, and other humanities and social science approaches. They collaborate with a wide range of community organizations working on social justice, educational justice, environmental justice, and transformative justice & carceral studies.

Concentrations

Social Justice

Educational Justice

Environmental Justice

Transformative Justice & Carceral Studies

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Application deadline for the Fall 2025 cohort: March 15, 2025

Ph.D. Program Requirements

This graduate research degree will help you advance justice in both theory and practice.

57 credits beyond the Bachelor’s:

Two seminars in foundations of justice: Theories of Justice, Justice and Law
Two seminars in interdisciplinary research methods: Justice Research I & II
33 credits in relevant graduate courses, including six credits directly related to one of the four concentrations
Written comprehensive exam
12 credits (minimum) of dissertation research
Dissertation Defense
Up to 27 credits may be transferred from a prior graduate program towards elective requirements, with approval.