Social Justice and Community Leadership, Minor

The Social Justice and Community Leadership Minor helps you develop advanced knowledge and skills in social justice, social change and service learning leadership, preparing you to work as a leader in a variety of community-oriented fields such as education, social services, community economic development, and more. You will be capable of creating and implementing transformative partnership programs between educational institutions and communities. After completing this minor, you will be able to take a position as a leader in the field of service learning and community service, both locally and at the state and national levels.

This Minor combines a focus on social change-oriented experiential learning with a grounding in theories of service and social justice. It gives you a strong foundation in the design and delivery of service learning and other community-based learning experiences, understanding of community and social change processes, and perspectives in service and social justice. In addition, you integrate this knowledge in the form of a service-learning related Senior Capstone project, designed and carried out collaboratively with a community organization.

Required Courses

Please note: Twelve of the units taken to complete a minor (6 of which are upper division) may not be used in fulfillment of other minors, concentrations, or major requirements.

Complete all of the following courses:
SL 300S - Social Justice and Service Learning Pedagogy Units: 4
SL 394S - Service and Social Justice Units: 4
Any upper-division service learning course, as long as it is not used to fulfill a requirement of your major. Search options here.
Complete one of the following courses/course combinations:
SL 491S - Topics in Civic Engage Units: 4
SL 490 - Participatory Action Research Methods Units: 3 and
SL 492S - Participatory Action Research Practicum Units: 2
SL 497S - Independent Study Service Learning Units: 2-4

Learning Outcomes

LO 1: Service Learning and Pedagogy

Students know the theoretical roots and various approaches to service learning and experiential education pedagogy; have a working understanding of empirical research in service learning, focusing on cognitive and effective outcomes for student learning and development as well as community development; facilitate service learning and practical experiences, and identify and assess critical components of effective service learning; and assess community service learning as a strategy for (a) creating more just communities, and (b) preparing students for lifelong community participation.

LO 2: Perspectives in Service & Social Justice

Students understand theories and issues of social justice, including oppression (and its manifestations at various levels), liberation, coalitions and alliances; identify and analyze systemic elements that perpetuate injustice in communities; recognize diverse traditions of service and historical service movements, and analyze their relation to the current service movement; and critically analyze the linkages between service and social justice.

LO 3: Community & Social Change Processes

Students know various models for grassroots social change, including direct action, policy initiatives, and systemic change; understand communities and how they function, make decisions and acquire and expend resources; analyze the network of influences and forces (local, regional, national and global) that affect community life; and engage in effective practices in community building and processes that connect people across differences.

LO 4: Advanced Application (Capstone)

Students articulate the linkages between service, social justice, and their chosen field of study; complete a Senior Capstone project that is responsive to community-identified needs; gather knowledge with a community and provide information to it in a way that enhances community capacities; and understand their own capacity for service and social justice as individuals working in their chosen field of study.