Minor in Social Justice and Social Policy
The program in social justice and social policy (SJSP) is open to all Brandeis undergraduates who entered Brandeis prior to June 1, 2022. Students who enter Brandeis after June 1, 2022 will not be admitted.
The social justice and social policy (SJSP) minor links an academic curriculum with the university’s commitment to social justice. The program provides a common place for students in all disciplines to engage with issues of justice and equity.
The Social Justice and Social Policy Program brings together an unusually broad spectrum of faculty and curriculum—combining the academic perspectives of the arts and sciences departments with professional expertise from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Students are encouraged to explore policy areas in concrete detail, focused variously on particular groups (children, the elderly, people with disabilities) or particular services (health care, income support).
Students can also select courses that deal thematically with problems of social equity (poverty, discrimination), as well as courses that approach social justice from historical, philosophical, and comparative perspectives. Key elements of the program include a foundation course, a capstone course, and a research-based internship in a social policy setting.
This program does not seek to promote a particular ideological agenda, but rather to spark creative thinking about complex social problems. It carries the search for norms and principles into the wider arena of practical experience. By providing models for critical reflection, it challenges students to articulate their own value commitments in a spirit of constructive debate.
Academics and Research
Events and Networking
Careers and Alumni
Students who minor in social justice and social policy go on to engage with the world in many different areas related to social justice, policy, and advocacy. Brandeis' Hiatt Career Center is a resource for students to find job and internship opportunities, networking opportunities, and more.
Recent Internship
Majors: Sociology
Minors: SJSP and Education Studies
Interned at: African Refugee Development Center in Tel Aviv, Israel as a Higher Education Caseworker
The African Refugee Development Center helps refugees by advocating on their behalf and offering them educational assistance. As a caseworker I am assigned about thirty to forty clients and I help them with different educational needs such as applying to college or taking English and Hebrew classes. I am also working on additional projects such as social media ad helping with special events that the ARDC puts on. It is a great organization and I have really enjoyed interning for them!
Recent Internship
Majors: Sociology
Minors: Social Justice, Social Policy and Legal Studies
Interned at: Legal Aid Society, Immigration Law Unit
Offering services in all six boroughs of New York City, the Legal Aid Society is the nation's oldest and biggest pro-bono legal service provider. At the Legal Aid Society, I work in the Immigration Law Unit. There, I assist paralegals and attorneys with case work and input client data in our database. Centrally, I run the Legal Aid Society's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) scheduling and inqury inbox, and meet with DACA recipients to renew their status.