Ph.D. in Applied Social Justice - Online

Dominican University is offering a Ph.D. in Applied Social Justice starting Fall 2023.
Tuition: $850/credit.

Only 36 credits required!!

https://www.dom.edu/admission/graduate/college-applied-social-sciences/phd-applied-social-justice

 

Also notable from Dominican University, a three-year PhD in Information Studies, concentration in either library and information science or information management, hybrid with four in-person weekend meetings. Two years coursework, third year for a dissertation.

 

Applied Social Justice LOL - what would that be good for and why would one need a PhD in it? Get a law degree or better yet just skip it altogether.

 

Different strokes for different folks.

 

I find it fascinating all these "36 credit" doctorates. Thanks for sharing!

 

Is the Ph.D. Social Justice on campus or online? The way I am reading it, There are 36 required plus additional classes up to 15 credits max plus 6 or more for the dissertation. They may accept six credits in transfer.

 

A J.D. is more like a degree in Applied Social Injustice. The legal system can be used, and has been used, to protect and further the civil and political rights of oppressed people but it has been just as useful for protecting the rights of the oppressor to oppress and for a longer time.

Legal systems are intrinsically conservative and anti-democratic. Law values stability and predictablity over almost every other consideration. That's not necessarily a bad thing but using the law to achieve social reform is pushing the rock uphill.

 

I'm dubious about a PhD being in an "applied" field. I would want to know (a) what is/are the foundational theory(ies) of the field of study and (b) what could be contributed to the scholarship and how.

If the resulting product is not scholarly (advancing scholarship through theory building and/or theory testing), a PhD would not be the appropriate award. Assuming the work done is at the doctoral level, something like a Doctor of Science would be more fitting for an applied field.

 

I know Critical Race Theory is one of the foundational theories of the program. Perhaps the learning goals and outcomes may provide more insights.
https://www.dom.edu/admission/graduate/college-applied-social-sciences/phd-applied-social-justice/learning-goals-and-outcomes

 

I got a PhD for doing an EdD. I got a DSocSci for doing a "taught" PhD. The blurring of lines! The blurring!

 

Virginia University of Lynchburg DHA program added a lecture on CRT. My guess is that other graduate programs in general may introduce or discuss the theory at some point. I don’t have a desire to major in it but don’t disagree with learning about it.

 

Could be the theme song for a social justice marketing campaign!

 

CRT is a theory as opposed to an academic discipline. I'm not sure one can "major" in it?

 

Some Ed.D. and DBAs should be Ph.Ds. Who cares? If the school and the accreditor are okay with the degree title, what do I care?

 

Likely looking at marketability as opposed to academics. Schools have tried that approach with mixed success as NPR noted.

 

You can choose not to care, but that doesn't make the differences go away.

In some academic situations, the EdD and DBA would not be acceptable because they are professional doctorates, not scholarly ones. That would be said if someone did a scholarly doctorate but was excluded from an opportunity merely because of the degree title (instead of what went into it).

Our erstwhile colleague, Dr. Anthony Peña, had described this. He earned an EdD, but actually did a scholarly doctorate. His career has not been hampered by this distinction, it seems.

Ironically, with all the discussion about DEAC on this board, not much has been said about the fact that DEAC makes this very distinction! They will not accredit a school offering the PhD. Their scope is (currently, anyway) limited to professional doctorates. But it is the scholarly doctorate that places one inside the academy, and DEAC knows it.

Like any distinction, whether or not it represents a difference is entirely up to the person and the situation.

 

I don't know what the specific focus of an applied social justice degree Ph.D. program might be but I can think of a few very interesting areas of research that might qualify. One might be the effect of freeway routing in the 1950s and 60s on household wealth in poor urban an areas. Another thought might be to study whether recruitment of minority police officers has any effect on police involved shootings.

Just random thinking. The idea would be to influence policy at a local level.

 

Hypothetical: if a candidate were to, say, identify the "feeder" theories for social justice, then one could either create (inductively) or test (deductively) theory that could also have a practical outcome. In the thesis, the literature review would identify these and demonstrate where the gap is and how the research would fill it. From this gap would come an "armchair theory" (one that is inferred from the literature review, but remains untested). From this armchair theory would emerge hypotheses to be tested. They could be tested by empirical research. Bu they could also be tested by a practical project carried out for such a purpose.

In short, scholarly research does not have to be impractical. But it certainly MUST be grounded in the scholarship of one's discipline. That is what distinguishes the PhD (and other scholarly doctorates) from professional doctorates. (And it's why, in some situations, a professional doctorate will not qualify one for certain faculty positions.)

Again, the lines get blurred and these distinctions don't always hold.

 

Interestingly, there are a few colleges that offer undergraduate critical race and ethnic “majors.”

“
What Can I Do with a Major in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies?”

https://www.miamioh.edu/cas/academics/advising/academics/career-options/bws/index.html

https://www.stritch.edu/academics/programs/int12

https://www.stjohns.edu/academics/programs/critical-race-and-ethnic-studies-bachelor-arts