Social Justice in Public Service Graduate Certificate

The Social Justice in Public Service graduate certificate seeks to develop leaders who can understand how public policies influence social justice. Students will obtain a background in social justice, exploring topics such as human rights, income distribution and the role of markets. Students will understand factors that contribute to inequity among various groups, with a focus on providing theories and methods to analyze social justice issues in public service. They will understand principles of social justice as they apply to government and nonprofit sector in education, health, transportation.

Graduate Certificate in Social Justice in Public Administration consists of 15 credit hours. Each student will complete 6 credit hours of core courses and 9 credit hours of restricted electives.

This certificate is primarily a face-to-face program but students will be able to select electives from the list of restricted electives that may be offered on-line. Classes are offered at UCF Downtown campus in the evenings.

Total Credit Hours Required: 15 Credit Hours Minimum beyond the Bachelor's Degree

Degree Requirements

Core

• Complete the following:
  • PAD5185 - Foundations of Social Justice for Public Service (3)
  • PAD5186 - Policy Advocacy for Social Justice (3)

Restricted Electives

• Complete at least 3 of the following:
  • EDF6886 - Multicultural Education (3)
  • EDF6855 - Equitable Educational Opportunity and Life Chances: A Cross-National Analysis (3)
  • INR6067 - Human Rights and Security (3)
  • INR6062 - Peace Studies (3)
  • INR6356 - Environmental Security (3)
  • PAD5356 - Managing Community and Economic Development (3)
  • PAD5930 - Global Cities (3)
  • PAD6357 - Urban Resilience (3)
  • PAD6825 - Cross-Sectoral Governance (3)
  • SYO6409 - Social Inequalities in Health (3)
  • SYO6404 - Food Insecurity and Health (3)
  • PAD6439 - Leadership in Public Service (3)

Grand Total Credits: 15

Application Requirements

For information on general UCF graduate admissions requirements that apply to all prospective students, please visit the Admissions section of the Graduate Catalog. Applicants must apply online. All requested materials must be submitted by the established deadline.

In addition to meeting general UCF graduate application requirements, applicants to this program must provide:

• An official transcript meeting the minimum GPA requirement of 2.5 in a sealed envelope, from each college/university, attended.
• Current professional résumé including experience in the field (paid or voluntary).
• Goal Statement: The goal statement is a key component of the admission review process and serves as an example of the applicant's ability to express himself or herself in writing. The goal statement must be no longer than two pages double-spaced (500-800 words) and should address the reason for pursuing graduate study in Social Justice related to Public Administration.
• Applicants applying to this program who have attended a college/university outside the United States must provide a course-by-course credential evaluation with GPA calculation. Credential evaluations are accepted from World Education Services (WES) or Josef Silny and Associates, Inc. only.

Application Deadlines

Students must achieve a grade of "B-" (80%) or higher in every course listed under core requirements.

Students must maintain a program of study and graduate status GPA of 3.0 or higher and can only graduate with a graduate status GPA of 3.0 or higher.

The School of Public Administration incorporates service learning into some courses. Service learning is a teaching method that provides a means for every student to enhance his or her academic program with experiential learning opportunities. Service learning provides an opportunity for students to work with community partners by collecting and compiling data and producing quality products that will be beneficial to both students and organizations.

Students are expected to be computer literate and have computer internet access upon entry to the program.

Independent learning is demonstrated throughout the curriculum through the process of inquiry and dialogue. Tangible projects, such as research scholarly papers and internships also contribute to the self-development of students.