Press Releases Index

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 2007
CONTACT: Millie Gonzalez
Office of University Relations
908-737-NEWS (6397)
E-mail: mgonzale@kean.edu

Kean University to Offer M.A. in Sociology and Social Justice
First Graduate Program of its Kind in the State and the Region

UNION, N.J. – Kean University is proud to announce that the New Jersey Presidents' Council has approved its proposal to offer a Master of Arts degree in Sociology and Social Justice, the first of its kind in the state and the region.

The 36-credit graduate program, to be launched in fall 2008, is grounded on the traditional core areas of sociology with a direct link to the academic discipline of social justice, and emphasizes a rigorous approach to the interplay between theory and applied research methodologies.

"The Master's degree in Sociology and Social Justice will prepare students to address inequality based on identity categories such as race, class, gender and ability," said Dr. José Sánchez, chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, who led the development of the program. "The collective and dedicated work of the faculty in our department is testament of our commitment to social justice both as a moral principle and as a fertile academic area of research and scholarship."

According to Sánchez, a broad definition of social justice includes the application of action research, citizenship, and collective responsibility in advocating equity and fairness in how social advantages and disadvantages are distributed. It also seeks to understand and make more equitable the relationship between social identity and inequality.

"The value of social justice as an academic discipline has generated a wide and growing interest nationwide," said Sánchez. "In response to the presence of political and social issues in the current national scene, Kean's M.A. in Sociology and Social Justice is a pioneer in furthering these trends and, in so doing, providing a venue for ongoing discourse." Despite the growth in interest, the nearest peer institutions offering similar programs that focus on social justice and also appear to share Kean's programmatic mission and vision include American University in Washington, D.C. and Brock University in Ontario, Canada.  

This graduate program is consistent with Kean's mission to prepare students to think critically and creatively; to adapt to changing social, economic, and technological environments; and to serve as active and contributing members of their communities. In tandem, the M.A. in Sociology and Social Justice aims to develop students who are "consultants-in-training," learning to become independent or in-house consultants to a range of non-profit organizations.

"We have already begun to forge connections with several nonprofit organizations to develop internships and to encourage student employment in this sector as well as to generate graduate student interest and recruitment," said Sánchez. "We intend to explore the possibility of connecting our students with global nonprofit organizations, so-called NGO's."

As noted by Dr. Carla Howery, external consultant and deputy executive officer of the American Sociological Association, "the students would learn to bid on research projects, think about the challenges of real world sampling with vulnerable populations, identify relevant existing data, know the limits of evidence and its claims, and know how to conduct original research projects."

The program further seeks to inspire in Kean students a commitment to democracy and firm principles of egalitarianism and equity that will prepare them for empirically grounded graduate work and positions in research, teaching, public service, business and other positions where they may serve as agents of social change.