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The Department of Community and Social Justice Studies offers a wide range of majors to help students develop critical perspectives and marketable skills to be advocates for communities and work in the public, private, non-governmental, and not-for-profit sectors, or to pursue graduate study.
Alumni in arts, humanities, and social sciences are employed or in graduate school within 6 months after graduation
Average starting salaries in Community and Social Justice Studies (NACE)
Noteworthy Community and Social Justice Jobs and Mid-Career Salaries with 8+ Years of Experience (PayScale)
In this program, students will learn about the intellectual and social origins of Africana studies as a discipline and its major objectives, concepts, theories, subject/content areas, perspectives, and concerns. In addition, AWS majors can expect to learn about the African, African American, and Caribbean history, literature and culture in a variety of classes offered within the Africana-world studies program. The major may be combined with teaching certification in elementary education (Early Childhood P-3 and/or Elementary K-6).
View academic program requirements and course descriptions in the University Course Catalog:
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In this program, students will be provided a comprehensive understanding of human nature and humankind. The program takes the broadest view of what it means to be human, integrating the study of biology and culture, history and cross-cultural comparison, system and conjuncture. With its global perspective and holistic approach, anthropology not only provides a solid liberal arts education, but prepares students for a wide range of jobs and careers. A major in anthropology allows students to develop a special awareness of the complexity of human nature, culture and cultural differences, and equips them with a variety of methods to address basic human processes and problems.
The Department of Community and Social Justice Studies offers a major in Community Development and Social Justice to degree-seeking students in person and on-line. The curriculum is structured around experiential-learning and interdsiciplinary approaches to community-based social problems, governance and policy, cultural identity and diverse communities, conflict negotiation and participative democracy. The curriculum also supports minors and certificate programs within the department including the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Certificate. Graduates of this program can enhance their career prospects by combining a Bachelor of Arts in CDSJ, for example, with another professionally-oriented degree (such as a major in business, public health, or criminal justice) or work toward an MBA or an MA in Leadership from William Paterson University.
The curriculum will enable our students to:
1) Gain a flexible and nimble set of skills (writing, reading, communication, leadership, research and critical thinking).
2) Apply multidisciplinary knowledge, and interdisciplinary perspectives to participate in society as critically aware citizens, community leaders, and agents of change.
3) Seek gainful employment within the U.S. public sector (organizations working within the government), including K-12 education and health, civil society (non-governmental organizations including international development organizations), private businesses with corporate social responsibility portfolios, or in global advocacy and research.
4) Develop a framework for social transformation through the perspective of social justice – i.e. transformations that center inequalities of class, race, gender, sexuality, and ability.
The major in Latin American and Latino studies is designed to bridge the gap, in the production of knowledge, between the lived experiences of the Latin American and Latino populations in the Americas. The program provides a greater understanding of diversity in keeping with the University’s mission of providing a climate of diversity and equity in educational excellence. In doing this, Latin American and Latino studies helps students develop a multidisciplinary understanding of the politics, economics, psychology, history and literature of Latin America and of Latinas and Latinos in the United States. By providing a liberal arts education we prepare students to become lifelong learners, critical thinkers, and engaged citizens.
For Returning Adult LearnersThe only program of its kind in New Jersey, the innovative BA in leadership and professional studies lets you combine your work and life experiences and create an individualized degree path that prepares you for a prominent professional role. This affordable program:
View academic program requirements and course descriptions in the University Course Catalog:Click here: Loading...
This interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary academic program engages students with community, civic issues, and citizenship. Students develop conceptual, analytical, and critical thinking skills and opportunities for experiential learning for the study of gendered lives and experiences. They engage in feminist analyses that focuses on the centrality of gender relations, emergence and reproduction of sexism and patriarchy, production of feminist knowledge and theories, women's movements, and feminist methods of doing research. Students use an intersectional framework for the analysis of gender, race, class and sexuality (concepts), racism, sexism, homophobia/heterosexism (processes), and the organization of these processes in social institutions. They learn a social justice approach to issues of systemic oppression, resistance, change, and activism locally and globally, gaining professional skills through in-class activities and civic engagement.
In this program, students will learn about the intellectual and social origins of Africana studies as a discipline and its major objectives, concepts, theories, subject/content areas, perspectives, and concerns. In addition, AWS minors can expect to learn about the African, African American, and Caribbean history, literature and culture in a variety of classes offered within the Africana-world studies program.
The interdisciplinary nature of anthropology makes it an ideal minor for students in other programs who seek an appreciation of different cultural perspectives in this age of global trade and economics.
The minor in Latin American and Latino studies provides students with an abbreviated survey of the interdisciplinary Latin American and Latino studies program. The minor exposes students to some of the core elements of the Latin American and Latino studies program, which has courses offered by 11 different departments and programs (i.e., Africana world studies, art history, anthropology, English, geography, history, languages and cultures, political science, psychology, women’s and gender studies, and Latin American and Latino studies) across the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
The goal of the 18-credit social justice studies interdisciplinary minor is to provide students with the opportunity to study the concept of social justice through a concentrated set of core and elective courses. By choosing courses from a variety of disciplines, the minor encourages intellectual inquiry from multiple perspectives with the goal of enhancing students' understanding of social inequities and to encourage informed citizenship.
In the women's and gender studies minor, students complete 18 credits. The minor complements all majors by providing conceptual, analytical, and critical thinking skills and opportunities for experiential learning for the study of gendered lives and experiences. The minor teaches a social justice perspective which serves in all professions, bringing awareness of diversity and oppression, thus creating citizens who are better informed as critical thinkers who can assess conditions that enable or inhibit individual and group resistance, agency, and activism in local and transnational contexts.
The Certificate in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is an academic credential designed to enhance professional qualifications. The goals for the certificate are compatible with the William Paterson University undergraduate core curriculum that serves as the cornerstone of the university’s mission. The program is designed to attract individuals in the business, education, health and other social service areas with an interest in and need for additional knowledge and skills around the concept culture, cultural identity and diversity, equity, inclusion, intercultural understanding, multiculturalism and difference, and the cultural aspects of globalization. Learn more »
» Current students sign-up here: Declare Certificate » If you are not currently enrolled as a student, please apply here.
Ideas, expressions, and social practices of sex, gender and sexuality have fundamentally shaped human experience. A primary purpose of this program is to enable students and professionals to gain awareness and knowledge of how sex, gender and sexuality intersect with other identity categories such as ‘race’, class, disability, religion, nationality, age, and ethnicity within and across cultures, and throughout history. Courses in this 12-credit certificate will focus on an understanding of the biocultural interrelatedness of sex, gender and sexual orientation, interrogating the ways in which biological aspects of sexuality and gender are imbued with social meanings and institutionalized within a variety of public and private sectors of society. Courses will also analyze the psychological and sociopolitical dimensions of identity formation, investigating the historical and contemporary laws and practices of gender and sexual discrimination, and explore modes of engagement for social change. Learn more »
Our five major programs—Africana World Studies, Anthropology, Community Development and Social Justice, Leadership and Professional Studies, and Women’s and Gender Studies—include hands-on learning activities and field experiences. Students have the opportunity to work with faculty on ongoing research and advocacy projects. They also develop skills through the Department’s collaborative partnerships with local organizations and communities in northern New Jersey.
In our community and social justice studies programs, students learn in-demand skills that employers have identified as critical for job candidates, including:
Our graduates are prepared for a wide range of careers in the public, private, non-governmental, and not-for-profit sectors.
"Our professors are proud practitioners in their fields and love to share their expertise beyond the classroom. Mentorship is at the core of our department, and it’s our goal that every student work directly with a faculty member to expand their knowledge and worldview."
anthropology, youth and advocacy coordinator, Children’s Defense Fund—New York
And we're ready to help you grow. At William Paterson, we provide students with the skills, knowledge, and experience they need to forge forward as a powerhouse—both in the classroom and in their careers. Apply today to discover your potential.
