The Best Online Social Justice Degrees

St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences provides students with a solid foundation in critical thinking, analytics and problem solving. The college offers more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs as well as dual degree options and advanced certificate courses.

The online Master of Arts in Global Development and Social Justice program strives for social justice and human rights advocacy, grounded in Catholic Social Teaching. The fully online, innovative master's program is multidisciplinary.

Credit requirements: 33 credits

Selection of core courses:

• Models of Intervention in Global Development
• Catholic Social Thought and Practices of Integral Human Development and Solidarity
• Economics of Development
• Migration and Refugees in Development: Humanitarianism, Gender and Inequities
• Health Care Issues in Global Development

Students also complete a seminar and capstone project.

Online instruction style: Asynchronous

Admission and transfer credit information: Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree or its equivalent. Applicants must submit two letters of recommendation and a personal statement.

Accreditation: St. John's University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

Part of Arizona State University, ASU Online offers more than 175 online degree programs ranging from art history to biological sciences to business and more. ASU Online enrolls more than 30,000 students.

The Online Bachelor of Science in Justice Studies program teaches students about the cultural, historical and social forces that shape our society. Students gain skills needed to create real-world change and meaning through policy, law and social justice.

Students focus on five core areas of study: law, policy and social change; globalization, sustainability and economic justice; social identities and communities; citizenship, migration and human rights; and media, technology and culture.

Credit requirements: 120 total credit hours

Selection of core courses:

• Introduction to Justice Studies
• Research in Justice Studies
• Statistical Analysis for Justice Studies

Learning enrollment options: ASU Online offers six start dates per year

Admission and transfer credit information: Freshman applicants submit high school transcripts and ACT/SAT scores. Transfer students must submit transcripts from all institutions they've attended. Students must complete 30 hours at ASU.

Accreditation: Arizona State University holds accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges.

For more than 45 years, the University of Massachusetts Amherst's University Without Walls has helped adults complete their bachelor's degrees. The University Without Walls allows students to design their own program of study and complete it completely online.

The bachelor's degree completion program in Advocacy and Social Justice Studies prepares graduates to be effective leaders who can engage with the complex social challenges that impact our social institutions, communities, health and environment as well as advocate for those who are vulnerable to exploitation and underrepresented.

The program features courses from a range of academic departments such as Sustainable Agriculture, Economics, African American Studies, and Economics, among others.

Credit requirements: 120

Selection of core courses:

• History and the Civil Rights Movement
• Embracing Diversity
• Gender, Sexuality, Literature and Culture
• Social Change in the 1960s
• Cultural Equity in the Arts
• Health Communication
• Food and Culture
• Perspectives on Social Justice and Advocacy

Learning enrollment options: Two start dates each year

Admission and transfer credit information: Students can earn up to 105 credits from prior coursework, prior learning and work/life experience. Students must complete at least 45 credits in their area of study, and students must maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative grade point average. Applicants must hold a minimum of 12 college credits and at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA.

Accreditation: UMass Amherst is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.

Southern New Hampshire University is a non-profit university that offers a very large variety of online degree options for undergraduate and graduate students. SNHU has many unique online degrees, including an MBA in Music Business in collaboration with Berklee College of Music, and an online Associate's degree in Data Analytics. SNHU offers the online Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice: Human Services and Advocacy degree.

SNHU also offers fast online bachelor's degrees that can be completed in two years.

This degree is suited for online students who wish to learn how to become an advocate for people and their families who are in the Criminal Justice system. What this program teaches are proficiencies in Public Policy, Advocacy, Ethics, Child Welfare, and Family and Community Systems.

SNHU also offers an online Bachelor of Arts in Human Services, with these concentration options:

• Child and Family Services
• Gerontology
• Substance Abuse

This is a degree program for online students who wish to go into social work, such as child advocacy groups, and for students who want to work with the elderly population, and for students who wish to work with substance abuse centers. Students learn how to care for and advocate for all three of these people groups and domains of life.

Arizona Online provides students with the same degree, resources and professors as their on-campus counterparts - all from the comfort of home. Arizona Online offers more than 100 online programs ranging from certificates to doctorates.

The Online Master of Arts in Human Rights Practice provides students with foundational knowledge, practical skills and critical perspectives to advance human rights worldwide. Designed for people involved in human rights work across disciplines, the curriculum features applied problem solving and extensive interaction. Students also can tailor their degree to their personal and professional goals with an applied project or electives.

Credit requirements: 30 units

Selection of core courses:

• Advancing Human Rights
• Advancing Human Rights Organizations
• Community Project in Human Rights
• Community-Based Participatory Action Research for Human Rights
• Human Rights Crises
• Cutting-Edge Advances in Human Rights Practice

Admission and transfer credit information: Applicants must submit transcripts, letters and recommendation and an essay. Students can transfer up to six credits.

Accreditation: The University of Arizona is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

Grand Canyon is one of the leading universities currently offering online degrees in many subjects. The online Bachelor of Science in Justice Studies is designed to teach students about the criminal justice system and its impacts on different people groups and different demographics.

This is an interdisciplinary degree, which teaches from different disciplines, and approaches how the law and justice affect communities and individuals.

The systems studied include law enforcement, courts, and corrections. Through the lens of justice, students will learn constitutional law, legal statues, and how to interpret case law.

Total Credits: 120

GCU accepts up to 90 qualifying transfer credits. Each online course is 8 weeks long.

Courses include:

• Criminal Behavior and Victimology
• Professional Responsibility in Justice
• Threat Assessment and Behavioral Analysis

EKU Online offers more than 40 undergraduate, graduate, certificate and non-degree programs in an online format. Designed for working professionals, courses follow an eight-week format allowing students to earn their degree in less time.

The online Master's degree in Justice, Policy and Leadership prepares graduates for leadership roles that value diversity, challenge injustice, and support the human rights of all people. Students can tailor their degree with concentrations in law enforcement, juvenile justice and corrections.
The curriculum combines academic and professional preparation in eight-week terms

Credit requirements: 30 credit hours

Selection of core courses:

• Program/Policy Evaluation and Analysis
• Criminological Theory for Policy and Leadership
• Research Methods for Justice Policy and Leadership
• Advanced Justice Administration and Leadership
• Leading with Political, Ethical and Emotional Intelligence

Students also complete a capstone applied research project.

Online instruction style: Asynchronous

Learning enrollment options: EKU Online offers six start dates each year.

Admission and transfer credit information: Applicants must submit official transcripts from all academic institutions they've attended. Students can transfer up to nine hours.

Accreditation: Eastern Kentucky University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Lewis University, a Catholic university, offers undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 7,000 students. The university offers small class sizes and individual attention paired with real-world experience.

The Online Master of Science in Criminal Justice program provides students with an advanced understanding of the skills and knowledge needed to address complex issues in society. The program prepares graduates to demonstrate critical- and ethical-thinking skills and recognize the preeminence of social justice.

Credit requirements: 36 credit hours

Selection of core courses:

• Applied Research Methods I
• Applied Research Methods II
• Criminal Procedure
• Criminal Law
• Criminology

Students also must complete a week-long comprehensive exam.

Online instruction style: Asynchronous

Admission and transfer credit information: Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree in a social or behavioral science from an accredited college or university or be currently serving in the criminal justice field. Applicants must submit official transcripts, letters of recommendation and a statement of purpose.

Accreditation: Lewis University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

Founded in the 1960s, Prescott College emphasizes experiential learning and self direction within an interdisciplinary curriculum. The college has a more than 40-year history of distance education, including fully online and "limited residency" degree programs.

The fully online Master of Arts in Social Justice and Community Organizing degree program prepares graduates to be leaders in social justice and effective community organizers. The program, which students can complete in 12 months, combines theories and practices and provides students with connections, knowledge and skills to participate in social justice and grassroots mobilization. Courses emphasize the knowledge of mobilization and organizing as tools for understanding the complex relations of power, culture, systems of oppression and the history and future of movements for environmental and social justice.

Credit requirements: 36 credits

Selection of core courses:

• Globalization and Urban Politics
• Radical Pedagogy as Praxis
• Landscapes of Neoliberalism
• Leadership Development
• Community Organizing
• Mobilizing Change

Students also complete a capstone course.

Learning enrollment options: Three start dates each year
Admission and transfer credit information: Applicants must submit to letters of recommendation, an autobiographical essay, a resume, official transcripts and a sample of scholarly work.

Accreditation: The Higher Learning Commission provides accreditation to Prescott College.

The University of Arizona Global Campus offers more than 80 online degree programs in a range of program areas. Designed for adult learners, its courses follow an accelerated five- to -six-week format, allowing students to earn their degrees faster.

The Bachelor of Arts in Social and Criminal Justice degree program helps students develop a thorough understanding of the current criminal justice and social system. The program prepares students to analyze criminal justice issues, evaluate the application of social justice principles and apply knowledge of cultural sensitivity and diversity awareness.

Credit requirements: 120 credits

Selection of core courses:

• Introduction to Criminal Justice
• Forensics
• Crime & Society
• Criminal Law & Procedure
• Introduction to Ethics & Social Responsibility

Students also complete a criminal justice capstone course.

Admission and transfer credit information: Ashford University awards college credit for work experience, and students can transfer up to 90 credits. Applicants must be older than 18 and submit transcripts.

Accreditation: WASC Senior College and University Commission.