Masters Degrees (Social Justice)

The Social Justice and Education MA will help students to identify, examine and understand key sociological and philosophical perspectives on social justice, including issues of race, class, gender and sexuality and education. Participants will explore the personal and political dimensions of social justice concerns and develop their professional, practical and research skills in this area.

Degree information

This programme provides students with the opportunity to address, in a unique way, the complex links between social justice and education, focusing on key current policy and political debates about the role of education. They will also be able to develop, extend and reflect on their own professional interests, concerns and practice and how to address pressing issues of social justice in their everyday profesional and personal lives. Through their engagmeent with cutting edge research in this area they will learn tools for fighting for social justice and transformation in the educational areas relevant for them.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of two core modules (60 credits), two optional modules (60 credits) and a dissertation (60 credits), or a report (30 credits) and a third optional module (30 credits).

Core modules
-Sociology of Education
-Understanding Education Research

Optional modules
-Gender, Sexuality and Education
-Rights and Education
-Understanding Educational Policy
-Sociology of 'Race' and Education
-Theoretical Foundations of Educational Ideas
-Gender, Education and Development
-Values, Aims and Society
-Students can also choose from a wide range of Master's-level optional modules across the UCL Institute of Education offering.

Dissertation/report
All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of 20,000 words or a report of 10,000 words.

Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a mixed mode, including face-to-face evening sessions and interactive online learning in a combination of teaching and learning styles. Sometimes a conventional lecture-based approach is taken, with the aim of providing an overview of the field. Lectures are usually followed by open discussion or group work. At other times a seminar format is adopted involving, for example, group discussion of set reading, a video or an introductory presentation. Assessment is through coursework essay assignments, plus submission of a report or dissertation.

Careers

Graduates of this programme are currently working across a broad range of areas. Some are leaders, managers, teachers and practitioners in the compulsory education sector across international contexts. Many are working as professionals in NGO organisations specialising in social justice across many countries such as Chille, Japan, Canada and the UK. Graduates can also be found working as civil servants and goverment officials. In addition, many find places in the higher education sector including across a range of professional roles, as researchers, and as university lecturers worldwide.

Employability
Students develop the capacity to:
-Reflect critically on debates concerning education and social justice across diverse contexts.
-Understand the ways in which knowledge forms, and is formed by, education politics, policy, practice and research .
-Consider the implications of theory, research and analyses about social justice in education and how it can impact their own future practice and professional development.
-Use oral and written communication skills in order to make arguments, examine evidence and creatively advance social justice and education.
-Understand processes entailed in social science and philosophical research and conduct their own unique research in the area of social justice and education.

Why study this degree at UCL?

The Department of Education, Practice and Society at UCL Institute of Education (IOE) is home to an interdisciplinary grouping bringing together high-quality teaching and research in the sociology, philosophy and history of education, international development, post-compulsory and vocational education and higher education.

The Social Justice and Education MA is taught by world-leading sociologists and philosophers within the department who have expertise in theory, research methods, policy analysis and impacting social change. They are experts in issues such as equality and human rights, gender, 'race', sexuality, youth, disability and social class. Those teaching are active researchers and will introduce the latest research and developments in their fields.

This programme explores sociological and philosophical perspectives on social justice and equalities and also explores processes of social transformation and change. Key issues debated include understanding and responding to social and educational disparities in international contexts. The programme equips students with essential theoretical and methodological research skills for critically engaging with social justice issues including understanding power relations from various perspectives. The MA attracts a diversity of both home and international students thus providing excellent educational and professional networking opportunities.

Students gain invaluable opportunities to study with leading scholars and a cohort of internationally diverse students across the IOE MA cluster in sociology, social justice and policy studies in education.

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WHAT IS THE PROGRAMME?

This is a unique and innovative interdisciplinary programme taught through subject areas that include law, anthropology, english, history, philosophy, politics, psychology, sociology and the creative arts. Module choice within the programme will permit you to build your own personalised portfolio of knowledge and learning within the area of conflict transformation and social justice. You will be taught by academics and practitioners whose expertise is both national and global and who offer research-led teaching in areas of conflict such as South/Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Southern Europe, South America and Northern Ireland.

HOW ARE WE DIFFERENT?

This MA provides the opportunity to undertake study across the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and beyond. You will be able to choose modules across ten disciplines and will benefit from an enriched, interdisciplinary learning environment. You will engage with core theories, concepts, issues and debates within conflict transformation and social justice, as well as with modes and forms of conflict and the legal and human rights aspects of conflict transformation and social justice.
Students will critically examine the key conceptual, moral, legal, political and cultural issues that define conflict and its relationship to transformation and social justice. Study will be framed by a core module that will draw together the various disciplinary approaches and methods. Those methods will also be taught via bespoke training modules within the Faculty’s postgraduate taught programme.

This interdisciplinary environment may provide a gateway to PhD research.

PROGRAMME DETAILS

Students are required to complete THREE compulsory taught modules:
Global Concepts and Practices of Conflict Transformation and Social Justice (20 CATS), Conducting Research in Conflict Transformation and Social Justice (20 CATS), and Making Knowledge Work (20 CATS), as well as the triple-weighted dissertation (60 CATS).

The remaining 60 CATS points will be taken via module choice from the following Schools: English, Creative Arts, Law, Politics, International Studies and Philosophy, History and Anthropology, Psychology and Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work. Students must pass all taught modules equating to 120 CATS points before being able to complete a dissertation.

The taught modules are delivered during two 12 week semesters

A student cannot take more than 40 credits in any School. Where a student wishes to take more than 40 credits in a particular School, it is recommended that they apply for the Masters programme in that School.
Within each stream students must take modules from at least two Schools.

STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAMME

The optional modules are structured into three streams. You will be able to specialise in one stream that will permit you to explore different disciplinary approaches to and perspectives on related and overlapping subjects.

Stream 1: Conflict Transformation
In Stream 1, you will be able to focus on conflict via reading across definitions, forms, expressions and manifestations of conflict, conflict transformation and social justice. This could include, for example exploring notions such as terrorism, territoriality, behaviouralism, performance, scale, ethnicity, gender, environmental resource competition, youth and class.

Stream 2: Asserting Social Justice, Inclusion and Rights
Stream 2 will give you the opportunity to link skills development to the understanding of conflict transformation via a human rights and/or social justice frame. The Stream relates to rights of assembly, human rights abuse, social injustice, environmental conflicts, disempowerment and social, gendered, youth-centred and other exclusions.

Stream 3: Religion, Society, Peace-building and Conflict
In Stream 3 you will work on understanding religion/faith-based coexistence and inter/intra faith approaches to peace-building that relate to the concepts of ‘peace via religion’, ‘peace without religion’ and ‘peace with religion’. The practice of religious/faith based approaches will be taught around the importance of faith in conflict transformation, religion/faith-based NGO examples and approaches.

Full details on the course can be found in our course booklet: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/isctsj/filestore/Filetoupload,470694,en.pdf

SPECIAL FEATURES

Only global MA programme on conflict transformation and social justice.
Only MA programme in the field to be interdisciplinary across all the humanities and social sciences in order to offer a fully rounded and multilevel analysis of the subject whilst offering optional modules for specialisation.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

A list of FAQs are available to assist you by clicking here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/isctsj/StudyWithUs/MastersinConflictTransformationandSocialJustice/FrequentlyAskedQuestions/

BE PART OF AN INTERDISCIPLINARY LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Learn more about the Institute here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/isctsj/AboutUs/

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The Department of Education offers a one-year (12 month) taught full time MA Social Justice and Education.

Social justice is a vitally important goal for every member of society. Educational policy makers, researchers and teachers recognize that social justice is at the very heart of all their work in education. In this programme students will understand the fundamental, philosophical meanings of social justice in education and be able to discuss and debate relevant issues. Achievement and attainment are of course crucially important: we will explore issues about who gets what in schools and other educational contexts. We will investigate the pedagogical and professional issues about social justice – what sorts of practices are fair? All of these matters will be related to research – we will consider what we already know and we will identify what research still needs to be done.

This programme will be attractive to all those who have an interest in a fair and decent society and who wish to explore what that means in relation to education. We will explore national and international contexts. Those who are interested in diversity, inclusion, equality and other matters will be attracted to this programme. The programme will be of interest to those who see themselves as current or future teachers, researchers or policy makers.

Programme Aims

The MA programme aims to:
-Understand philosophical perspectives about the nature of education and social justice (exploring the purposes of education in relation to such theoretical perspectives as human capital theory, liberation theory etc.)
-Analyse overarching conceptual considerations to do with social justice in educational contexts (e.g. achieved by exploring educational issues through the lens of inclusion, equality, diversity)
-Evaluate the contributions made to debates about social justice in education by empirical researchers
-Understand issues about achievement and attainment in a variety of contexts (reflections of who gets what from education)
-Critique the issues associated with the pedagogical approaches proposed by advocates of social justice and education
-Develop academic study and research skills appropriate to the field
-Communicate effectively at masters level

Programme Content

Term 1
In term 1 there are 2 compulsory modules:
-Social Justice and Education (20 credits)
-Research Methods in Education (20 credits)

And one option module (20 credits) which may be chosen from the full list of modules available to all taught MA students. Modules that may be of particular interest to MA SJE students are likely to include:
-Citizenship Education
-Intercultural Communication in Education
-Motivation in Education
-Teaching World English

Term 2
-Teaching and Learning Citizenship & Global Education (20 credits), or Higher Education in the 21st Century (20 credits) or Gender, Sexuality and Education (20 credits)

One option module (20 credits) from the full list of modules available to all taught MA students. Modules that may be of particular interest to MA SJE students are likely to include:
-Contemporary Issues in Teaching
-Cross-cultural Perspectives on Language and Discourse
-Qualitative and Quantitative Data Analysis

Term 3
-Planning and Communicating Research (20 credits, classes spread over Terms 2 and 3)

The third term and the summer are devoted to writing a dissertation (60 credits)based on a small-scale research study to be submitted by early September. Previous studies have included an examination of global education; universities as sites of global citizenship; studying the media.

Careers

Our graduates find employment in a wide range of sectors within education and higher education, but also in journalism, information management, human resources and other careers.

Others find employment opportunities in the civil service, NGOs and other international organisations.

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This programme is currently under review and will not be accepting applications for January 2017. The revised programme will resume in January 2018.

The MSc in Social Justice and Community Action is a joint initiative of the Moray House School of Education and the Global Justice Academy.

This part-time, online masters programme is designed to equip you with the knowledge and practical skills to help you make positive social change. It offers you the opportunity to critically engage with foundational ideas and debates about equality, fairness, power, democracy and citizenship and consider a range of actions in communities in policy and legislation processes and in organisations for the real world application of these ideas.

Online learning

You will join a vibrant and supportive digital community of staff and students and study at the times and in the places that suit you best. The programme will be taught through a rich mix of online methods, including podcasts, group work and independent study. Specialist IT skills are not required.

Programme structure

This programme will be taught through a mix of online methods including podcasts, group work and independent study. You will complete four compulsory courses, two option courses and a supervised dissertation project.

Compulsory courses:

• Theories and Politics of Social Justice
• Community Action and Social Justice
• Policy Analysis for Social Justice
• Activist Social Research

Option courses:

• Learning for Democracy
• Organisational Management for Social Justice

You may also choose from other online courses provided elsewhere in the University.

Career opportunities

This programme is designed for professionals working on social justice issues in research, policy or grassroots practice and for recent graduates who wish to gain the skills to enter the social justice field.

Possible careers include work on social justice issues in grassroots community practice, public policy development and implementation, and social research in non-governmental organisations and in the public and private sectors across the globe.

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This course aims to further develop your professional knowledge and understandings in specific areas of education and welfare.

It is based upon a critical concern for social justice and the ways this is understood and implemented through policy and practice to affect the lives of disadvantaged children and young people as well as poor and marginalised groups and communities.

The MA Education (Social Justice) aims to:
• Increase awareness of, and access to, a range of academic ideas and research findings in relation to issues of education and social justice
• Promote personalisation of broad themes around the challenges posed by changing global political, social and economic landscapes and to meet the needs and interests of students while providing a focused line of study
• Promote vocationally relevant and varied assessment formats with a negotiated focus to support individual and organisational needs
• Promote engagement with key issues in education and social justice, involving critical examination of a wide range of key sources and texts
• Encourage evidence-based practice and reflexive practice-based understandings through engagement with work-based settings allowing student to integrate theoretical ideas with practical implications.

Visit the website: https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/courses/postgraduate/next-year/education-social-justice

Course detail

The MA in Education (Social Justice) is designed to develop a breadth of understanding of the theoretical debates that underpin the process and practice of education and social welfare and will enable you to analyse and reflect on research that contextualise the complexities of working with disadvantaged and marginalised groups across community, local authority and voluntary sector settings.

The course will strengthen your ability, and equip you to apply for jobs (or further training) in a wide range of educational settings as teachers, community workers, social workers, police, probation officers, education welfare workers, home school link or family welfare workers and professionals working across the voluntary sector.

This Master's degree will also enable you to progress to doctoral study in specific specialist areas.

Modules

• Education and Social Justice
• Citizenship and Welfare in the 21st Century
• Analysing Policy: Children’s Voice
• Research Methods in the workplace
• Dissertation (Social Justice)

Assessment

You will complete a range of assessments, many of which you can tailor to your existing or developing interests and experience.

You will do a number of oral presentations, which not only improve your ability to present information in a professional and coherent way but also enable the sharing of research and experience amongst the group. One unit also includes a debate as part of the assessment.

Written assessments include case studies, essays and literature reviews.

You will develop your research skills throughout the course and apply them to a final dissertation.

Careers

Bringing your subject knowledge from the areas you have studied, you will have gained knowledge and skills through this course that will make you a specialist in relation to social justice and education.

Graduates who have completed the master's course are most likely to seek jobs:
• Teaching in schools FE or HE
• Community or social work
• Police, probation officers
• Local Authority work
• Home, school link of family welfare workers
• Voluntary sector work

Those who have postgraduate degrees are most likely to progress in these careers and to go into management roles more quickly.

The course has a strong employability focus with contact with those in a range of jobs related to Education and Social Work.

For those who wish, there will be the option of applying to progress to doctoral study.

Funding

For information on available funding, please follow the link: https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/money/scholarships/pg

How to apply

For information on how to apply, please follow the link:

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he MA in Education and Social Justice is a course with a strong research ethos. It will be of interest to anyone who wishes to gain research expertise as well as develop knowledge of social justice issues. Such research experience will be particularly useful for students who wish to learn how to intervene in education systems to promote social justice, and for those who wish to develop research-led policy agendas in their own institutions.

The programme provides a thorough introduction to issues in social justice research, a solid grounding in research methods and writing skills, and extended opportunities from early in the programme to work with an expert academic supervisor. It is a course intended primarily for working professionals worldwide with a strong interest in social justice and education. Students and tutors work together entirely online to explore a range of social justice issues.

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This programme examines global migrations and social justice by addressing questions such as who moves and why, who is allowed to settle and where, what are the roles of states, institutions and civil societies in these processes. It provides advanced training in social science research methodology to fulfil Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) postgraduate research training requirements.

[[Why this programme}}

● The programme draws on recognised expertise in migration studies, sociology, anthropology, history, criminology, human geography, policy and politics and ethics as well as a wide variety of country and regional expertise.

● You will get access to cutting-edge academic research on migration with an emphasis on social justice and learning from non-academic work in this area.

● You will be taught research methods by expert staff from a wide range of disciplines, allowing you to benefit from specialist knowledge and methodology.

● The programme is supported through GRAMNet, the University of Glasgow’s internationally recognised research network for Refugees, Asylum and Migration in Scotland. You will benefit from the provisions offered by GRAMNet, such as training, seminars, opportunities for knowledge exchange and spaces for dissemination.

● The programme is the only Masters programme in Scotland with a focus on migration studies and social justice.

● This degree is taught jointly with the MSc Global Migrations & Social Justice, which has a stronger focus on the subject, with less emphasis on research methods.

Programme structure

You will take five core and one optional course as well as complete a dissertation or a practical project.

Core courses

• Global migrations: Histories, structures, experiences.
• Public social science for social justice
• Research design
• Qualitative methods
• Quantitative data analysis.

Optional courses

• Access, equity, health
• Century of the refugee: refugees and statelessness in comparative perspective, 1900-2000
• Immigration and asylum law
• Migration, mobility and settlement: Post-Soviet Migrations
• Migration, mobility and settlement: Central and East European migration to the UK and Scotland
• Racism and modernity
• Texts for diversity: language across learning for children with English as an additional language.
• Some courses might not be available every year. You may also be able to choose from courses in the other subjects in the School of • Social & Political Sciences.

Resources and facilities

In addition to a long history of large communities of migrants setting in the city Glasgow is host to the UK’s largest population of refugees and asylum seekers under dispersal policy. Across the city there is a large number of organisations working with migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in a variety of ways. Within this distinctive context, GRAMNet - the University of Glasgow’s internationally renowned Glasgow Refugee Asylum and Migration Network - brings together researchers, practitioners, NGOs and policy makers with a focus on examining the social and cultural effects of migration. At its heart is a focus on social and intercultural values, social justice and critical engagement with questions around migration. The network’s reputation for developing and applying innovative participatory methodologies to address complex questions is internationally renowned.

For

Background and Aims

please check out the website http://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/globalmigrationssocialjusticemres/#/backgroundandaims

[[Career Prospects ]]
http://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/globalmigrationssocialjusticemres/#/careerprospects

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The Department of Social Justice Education offers a multi- and interdisciplinary graduate program developed from the past programs of History and Philosophy of Education as well as Sociology and Equity Studies in Education. It is an intellectual community committed to producing and advancing knowledge on social justice education in Canada and beyond. Social justice education is a robust term, allowing for diverse meanings and methodologies.

This graduate program is concerned with both theoretical and empirical problems regarding in/equity in educational spaces, broadly conceived. Faculty and students approach their inquiries from disciplinary (e.g., anthropology, history, philosophy, political science, or sociology) and/or interdisciplinary (e.g., anti-colonial, critical race, disability, feminist, francophone, indigenous, or queer) perspectives. They focus on identifying new relationships and making connections by asking significant questions about social justice education within and across disciplines. Hence, they foreground research and teaching in social justice education, pursued through analytical and empirical tools from the humanities and social sciences.

The department's vision is to enable both graduate students and initial teacher education students to explore questions such as, “What was, what is, and what should be the relationship between education and society?” and “What kinds of knowledge do educators need to answer those questions?” The department aims to provide students with the academic knowledge and skills necessary to engage and raise questions of critical importance to educational theories and practices, and their relationship to individuals, communities, and societies.

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The MA in Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice is a vibrant, interdisciplinary graduate program that attracts excellent students from around the world. Our students pursue their interests in areas as diverse as blue collar alliances with neoconservative movements, and post-communist Eastern European women’s narratives of trauma. Many of our faculty are cross-appointed giving the program strong connections in areas such as sociology, English, environment and development, community and regional planning, anthropology, and classical and religious studies.

Each year we receive approximately 35 applications and admit 4-6 students. Most will complete the program in 18-24 months, with thesis students taking a little longer than those writing an extended essay.

Students in the GRSJ MA program will complete 30 credits of course work in total, including their choice of a thesis (9 credits) or extended essay (3 credits). Incoming students will be assigned a pro tem advisor to guide them in planning their program of study.

The Social Justice @ UBC Networks provide opportunities for graduate students to interact with other students and faculty on shared themes of interest. Being interdisciplinary networks, there is also participation from across UBC departments and units, providing key avenues to extend networks across the campus community. To date, the thematic networks have held workshops and colloquia, sponsored guest artists and lectures, and published materials. We see the networks as invaluable training opportunities for our graduate students to engage and interact around targeted focal themes and to work with key academics and activists.

All successful applicants to the program will be considered for partial scholarship funding. A separate application is not required. Incoming students may also apply for Graduate Academic Assistantships.

Students are provided with shared office space and desks, and access to a photocopier with printing and high-speed scanning capability. Laptops may be signed out for day use, and lockers are available on request. The GRSJ main office has a kitchen and lounge space shared by students, faculty and staff, and a meeting room which may be booked by students.

The GRSJ Graduate Student Association pursues activist, social justice and equity issues, and hosts social events throughout the year.

Quick Facts

- Degree: Master of Arts
- Specialization: Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice
- Subject: Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities
- Mode of delivery: On campus
- Program components: Coursework + Options
- Faculty: Faculty of Arts

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This programme provides a comprehensive introduction to understanding contemporary research on global migrations and social justice. Unique in Scotland, it addresses questions such as who moves and why, who is allowed to settle and where, what are the roles of states, institutions and civil societies in these processes.

Why this programme

● The programme draws on recognised expertise in migration studies, sociology, anthropology, history, criminology, human geography, policy and politics, ethics, as well as a wide variety of country and regional expertise.

● You will get access to cutting-edge academic research on migration with an emphasis on social justice and learning from non-academic work in this area.

● It offers innovative and wide ranging learning and teaching approaches from lectures and seminars, to project work, workshops and field based activities, along with assessment methods with practical options for collaborative and arts-based projects.

● The programme is supported through GRAMNet, the University of Glasgow’s internationally recognised research network for Refugees, Asylum and Migration in Scotland. You will benefit from the provisions offered by GRAMNet, such as training, seminars, opportunities for knowledge exchange and spaces for dissemination.

● The programme features guest lectures and input from leading migration academics as well as practitioners working in this area.

Programme structure

You will take three core and three optional courses as well as complete a dissertation or a practical project. Courses will be delivered via lectures and seminars supported by appropriate multi-media material, such as monographs, videos, podcasts, journal articles, reports and survey data. Coursework will involve project work, workshops and field based activities.

The dissertation options have been designed to bring together practice and academic learning, allowing you to reflect on the experience of being directly and actively engaged with service providers and asylum seekers, refugees and migrants, working alongside them to explore how research may be transformative for organisations, individuals and communities.

Core courses

• Global migrations: histories, structures, experiences
• Public social science for social justice
• Research design.

Optional courses

• Access, equity, health
• Century of the refugee: refugees and statelessness in comparative perspective, 1900-2000
• Immigration and asylum law
• Migration, mobility and settlement: Post-Soviet migrations
• Migration, mobility and settlement: Central and East European migration to the UK and Scotland
• Racism and modernity
• Texts for diversity: language across learning for children with English as an additional language .
• Some courses might not be available every year. You may also be able to choose from courses in the other subjects in the School of • Social & Political Sciences.

Resources and facilities

In addition to a long history of large communities of migrants setting in the city Glasgow is host to the UK’s largest population of refugees and asylum seekers under dispersal policy. Across the city there is a large number of organisations working with migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in a variety of ways. Within this distinctive context, GRAMNet - the University of Glasgow’s internationally renowned Glasgow Refugee Asylum and Migration Network - brings together researchers, practitioners, NGOs and policy makers with a focus on examining the social and cultural effects of migration. At its heart is a focus on social and intercultural values, social justice and critical engagement with questions around migration. The network’s reputation for developing and applying innovative participatory methodologies to address complex questions is internationally renowned.

Please refer to the website for

Background and Aims

http://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/globalmigrationssocialjusticemsc/#/backgroundandaims

Career prospects

On completing the programme, you will be equipped to apply your learning to a wide range of opportunities locally, nationally and internationally. This might include working with policy-making bodies, local and national governments, community organisations, NGOs and third sector organisations. The emphasis on applied learning makes this programme relevant to a range of professional settings where graduates may be working with asylum seekers, refugees and migrants, for example in education, social work, housing, equalities, campaigning and advocacy work, community development, human rights advocacy work, social research. It will also provide the necessary foundations for further study through doctoral research.

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The M.A. program in Communication and Social Justice offers students a unique opportunity to pursue media studies in an environment conducive to addressing social justice issues. In particular, the M.A. in Communication and Social Justice bridges two main approaches to the study of communications, media and culture—namely, Political Economy and Critical Cultural Studies.

The political economy of communication typically concerns itself with how policies, regulations, technologies, media institutions, laws, and concentrations of wealth and power affect the media, and conversely the ways in which this affects social, political and economic power structures. Critical Cultural Studies has emerged as an area that focuses on cultural practices, representation in media texts, cultural production and consumption.

Taken together, these two approaches complement and inform one another impacting the interpretation of everyday communicative and symbolic environments.

Through advanced course work and research, the M.A. program will:
-Prepare students for careers in information/communication sectors such as: community-based public advocacy organizations, governmental and non-governmental organizations, communication policy analysis, media research, journalism and multimedia
-Prepare students to better understand and critically appraise the evolving social, cultural, political and technological environment
-Prepare students for entry into PhD programs in Communication and cognate fields

Program History

Established in 2002, the MA Program in Communication and Social Justice is a unique, student-centered program which offers individuals a distinctive opportunity to pursue their scholarly interests in a vibrant, diverse, and supportive environment. The program promotes innovative and original thinking, research, and practice.

Over the years, the program has attracted the interest of students from many parts of the globe—including Canada, the Caribbean, China, India, Mexico, Thailand, Venezuela and the United States. Such diversity has contributed to the rich tapestry of graduate student culture and research undertaken by former and current students.

Students in the program have presented their work at major international conferences on a wide variety of topics. Several have also been recipients of prestigious scholarships awarded by the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Graduates of the program have gone on to pursue doctoral studies, teaching and law careers, and employment opportunities in the public and private sectors as well as in alternative media.

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The MSc in Global Health and Social Justice is unique in the world for bringing together the natural and social sciences with philosophy in order to help students understand and improve global health. The global health movement seeks to address the inequalities in preventable mortality, disease, disability, and access to medical care across countries.

Key benefits

- An emphasis on applying critical reasoning skills in class discussions, assignments, and dissertations.

- Exposure to the central issues in global health including health measurements, global institutions and governance, social determinants of health, global health ethics, philanthro-capitalism, evidence based medicine, and health economics.

- Taught by internationally recognised experts across disciplines including global public health, sociology, anthropology, geography, gerontology, philosophy, and political science within the world-leading Department of Social Science, Health and Medicine.

- Taught in the heart of central London, at the Strand Campus, on the banks of the river Thames; with access to organizations relevant to global health and to London’s key cultural activities.

Visit the website: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/taught-courses/global-health-and-social-justice-msc-pg-dip-pg-cert.aspx

Course detail

- Description -

The appalling inequities in preventable mortality, disease, disability, and access to medical care between and within countries and global regions are a result of a complex mix of social, economic and political factors. Medical and health care advances are often extending the healthy lives of the wealthy few, yet millions fall ill or die for want of basic health and social facilities, often hampered by ineffective and non-responsive political and social systems.

From the World Health Organization, international NGOs, global pharmaceutical companies to the new generation of philanthropists and university research centres, the global health movement is growing. However, it is challenged by a variety of grass roots movements that start from different premises and advocate very different practices of intervention. Improving global health requires a new generation of individuals who can understand the many complex dimensions of health, healthcare, and global institutions and processes as well as who can carefully reason about the ethics of the problems, processes, proposed solutions and so forth.

- Course purpose -

The MSc in Global Health and Social Justice is ideal for anyone wishing to develop a rigorous understanding of the dynamic field of global health; it is suitable for health professionals, policy makers, philanthropists, those who work in governmental and non-governmental organizations, and potential PhD students and academics.

It provides access to the major issues and debates in global health, develops capacity for critically assessing the scientific research and practices aiming to address global health inequalities. It also grounds students in the philosophical debates about social justice and health equity.

- Course format and assessment -

Formative assessment is provided both informally through verbal feedback on students’ contributions in seminars; and formally through written and verbal diagnostic feedback on coursework assignments. Summative assessment is achieved through a combination of examinations and coursework assignments.

Career prospects

Ministries of Health and other government agencies, NGOs; health professionals, policy makers; research organisations; business, and teaching.

How to apply: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/taught-courses.aspx

About Postgraduate Study at King’s College London:

To study for a postgraduate degree at King’s College London is to study at the city’s most central university and at one of the top 20 universities worldwide (2015/16 QS World Rankings). Graduates will benefit from close connections with the UK’s professional, political, legal, commercial, scientific and cultural life, while the excellent reputation of our MA and MRes programmes ensures our postgraduate alumni are highly sought after by some of the world’s most prestigious employers. We provide graduates with skills that are highly valued in business, government, academia and the professions.

Scholarships & Funding:

All current PGT offer-holders and new PGT applicants are welcome to apply for the scholarships. For more information and to learn how to apply visit: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg/funding/sources

Free language tuition with the Modern Language Centre:

If you are studying for any postgraduate taught degree at King’s you can take a module from a choice of over 25 languages without any additional cost. Visit: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/mlc

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This MA examines contemporary issues concerning justice. You will learn how to conceptualise and study the possibilities of human rights, going beyond legal formulations to look at the conditions in which human rights claims are made- http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-human-rights/

Human rights mobilise millions of supporters across borders, inspiring passion and hope. And they operate at and between all the scales involved in globalisation: local, national, international, transnational. They are moral claims to justice. Although often associated with law, human rights are not the same as legal rights – human rights can be claimed where no legal rights are codified, even if changes in the law are invariably called for as part of attempts to realise human rights in practice.

Human rights are carried by different actors:

-grassroots social movements, small Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and huge International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs)
-lawyers and judges
-bureaucrats and experts in Inter-Governmental Organisations (IGOs) even, sometimes, national politicans
-journalists, novelists, translators, artists, film-makers

These different actors are often at odds with each other in defining and defending particular justifications of what human rights are and should be.

In this Masters you will learn about how human rights are constructed, exploring framings of human rights through case studies; and you will begin to practice some of the methodologies and methods that are currently used in NGOs and grassroots activist networks trying to remedy global injustices.

The focus on culture that runs through the programme makes for an emphasis on concrete, situated practices and meanings. Can human rights contribute to a global culture in which injustices figure as ‘wrongs’? Or are human rights invariably skewed, constructing injustices in ways that suit international elites better than they suit people who are suffering? Do human rights do violence to local cultures? Are they an appropriate response to local violence? In this MA we contextualise the study of how human rights are constructed in micro-processes, in the media and face-to-face in relation to debates over macro-structures, processes of globalisation and the institutions of global governance.

In terms of social justice, the MA is set up to study human rights beyond narrow, legalistic definitions. We look at what really makes a difference in terms of realising human rights in practice. Can human rights really be constructed in ways that challenge and overturn established social structures? Can rights be claimed in such a way that they can really protect us as human beings against the ‘creative destruction’ of global capitalism, state repression, the subjugation of women, and hatred and violence against minorities of all kinds – sexual, ethnic, religious?

This course covers the following disciplines: sociology, politics, anthropology, law, geography, english, literature, cultural studies, criminology

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Kate Nash.

Modules & Structure

The MA in Human Rights, Culture and Social Justice is taught in the Department of Sociology, where there are a number of people who are working on areas broadly related to human rights as well as directly on how human rights are constructed and claimed.

In the first part of the course you will take the core module ‘Constructing Human Rights’ in which you will be introduced to debates over the possibilities of human rights, different ways of conceiving culture and the role that is played by a diverse range of organisations involved in challenging injustices connected to globalisation. You will also consider practical attempts to realise human rights.

You will take two short, skills-oriented modules 'Researching Human Rights' and 'Organising Human Rights' in which you will be introduced to methods and skills that will be of direct practical use in working for NGOs (eg evaluating user engagement, team-building and decision-making through role play, tracing the media impact of a campaign).

In the second term, you will choose among a number of options. You can choose to take 'Practicing Human Rights' and make use of some of the skills you have learned in a placement. Students who choose this option find and negotiate a placement in an organisation or a grassroots campaign whose work can be related to human rights and attend a series of workshops that allow them to reflect on the practical work, on their professional skills and on the broader significance of their observations.

While the core modules of the programme are taught by lecturers in Sociology, you may choose your option modules from those that are run here or in other departments, including Politics, Media and Communications, and Anthropology.

Finally you will write a dissertation based on research you will carry out, possibly related to the NGO or network you have worked in, and making use of a range of concepts and methods taught in the Department. You will be supervised by someone with expertise and interest in the topic you are studying and the methodologies and methods you plan to use.

Option modules

You will choose option modules worth 60 credits in Sociology, Media and Communications, the Centre for Cultural Studies, English and Comparative Literature, Anthropology, Politics, Music and Educational Studies.

This includes the following option module, available to Human Rights students only:

Practising Human Rights (30 credits)
This series of workshops accompanies your placement in an organisation or grassroots activist network. We will discuss diaries that each participant will carry out during the placements in the context of broader debates about human rights on the one hand, and about professional practice, organisations and activism on the other hand. As a requirement for this option, you will negotiate a placement in an organisation whose work can be related to human rights or practical involvement in a grassroots campaign.

Skills & Careers

As issues of globalisation and justice are frequently in the media, and government policy in the UK, US, and elsewhere in Europe is now supposed to be guided by considerations of humanitarianism and human rights, there is a need for graduates with knowledge of human rights.

There are openings for careers in organisations including charities, humanitarian and human rights NGOs and even multi-national corporations, many of which are now concerned with their image in terms of human rights.

Funding

Please visit http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/fees-funding/ for details.

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The course is aimed at law graduates wanting to work in the field of human rights as legal practitioners, policy or development work or as human rights advocates. It provides students with the legal human rights attributes to work locally or internationally.

During the course you cover • human rights law • conventions • policy and theory • principles of human rights and social justice • advanced case studies in international human rights and social justice • legal scholarship in human rights • project management for human rights (optional).

You gain skills in • legal application and understanding of human rights principles and law • critical appraisal of human rights legalisation in the UK and internationally • problem solving • practical application and realisation of human rights in practice.

Key features of the course include opportunities to

• develop a comprehensive understanding of the relevant legal, policy and social contexts in which human rights legislation operates
• develop an understanding of how human rights organisations ensure legal practice
• engage with the research work of staff in the Human Rights and Social Justice, and Social-Legal Research Clusters and the Department of Law and Criminology
• complete in-depth case studies on key topics in human rights
• learn from experienced lawyers, practitioners and policy-makers from local and international human rights organisations.

You also benefit from

• the unique opportunity to take part in the work of the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice on a range of practical human rights projects/event, case reviews, seminars and workshops
• high profile guest speakers who work in the real world of human rights principles, with past speakers including Shami Chakrabarti and Trevor Phillips
• input from leading human rights organisations allow you to meet leading human rights practitioners and defenders and to find out about their work
• opportunities to organise human rights events
• real world case studies and application
• the opportunity to undertake in-depth work with a human rights organisation and obtain real world experience
• links to international partners and projects.

You can also complete a dissertation based on a topic of your choice, enabling you to specialise in an area of interest.

Course structure

Modules

• human rights in the 21st century
• principles of human rights and social justice
• advanced case studies in international human rights and social justice
• legal scholarship for human rights
• dissertation
• project management for human rights

Assessment

• case studies
• reports
• essay
• presentation
• dissertation

Employability

On the course you gain transferable skills and develop knowledge of human rights, social justice theories and legal practice. This prepares you to work in

• human rights non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
• legal profession
• local and central government services
• research and development organisations.

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This online distance learning programme engages critically with major issues in assessment, a highly significant topic for education systems across the world. It develops skills of assessment in relation to individual learners, to classrooms and schools and to local, national and international systems.

Why this programme

◾You will reflect on and critique theory, cutting-edge research and current policies and practice in assessment and consider the impact of these on social justice.
◾You will have opportunities to collaborate and network with peers from a variety of work contexts and locations, to support critical reflection, peer and self-assessment and effective use of online distance learning.
◾You will consider how research, policy and practice interact in the development of often contested innovations in educational assessment across the globe.
◾The programme blends theory, research, practice and policy and explores the relationships between assessment and the promotion of social justice.
◾You will be taught by academics who have been employed in the development of national policy in assessment and have experience in the practices of classroom education and a commitment to social justice.
◾Teaching staff have considerable experience in international cooperation: in research in assessment, as consultants to a number of governments and in employment by international organisations.

Programme structure

You will take four core and two optional courses across years 1 and 2. In year 3 you complete a piece of independent research, normally in the form of a dissertation. The programme is fully delivered online utilising innovative technologies within a fully supported and interactive learning environment.

Core courses

◾Assessment for improvement, accountability and social justice
◾Assessment for learning and progression
◾Principles and practice of research
◾Principles and theory of assessment for social justice.

Optional courses

◾Curriculum, assessment and pedagogy: International perspectives
◾Curriculum, assessment and pedagogy: Understanding learners
◾Socially just assessment futures in the school context
◾Theoretical underpinning and practical issues in tests and examinations.

Studying online

The learning and teaching on this programme will be supported by distance online learning, delivered via Moodle, the University’s chosen Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The programme's approach to learning and teaching emphasises the construction and maintenance of an online learning community that is both challenging and supportive. Extensive use is made of electronic resources including e-books, online journals, podcasts and video clips. You will be offered both flexibility and supportive scaffolding via a series of formative learning activities structured around milestone targets for each course.

Career opportunities

This programme addresses needs recognised as significant for local, national and international students, both teachers and policy makers. It will build a network of graduates who have high-level knowledge, skills, and capabilities in assessment. The knowledge, skills and academic and professional standing gained will enable you to contribute effectively to local and national policy making in your own context. You will also be well equipped to undertake further study through doctoral research.

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