Fuller Announces Launch of Master of Arts in Justice and Advocacy Degree
Fuller is excited to announce a new degree program, the Master of Arts in Justice and Advocacy (MJA), which holistically equips students to enact God’s call to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God” in their vocational contexts. This 60-unit degree is designed for practitioners who have experience working in justice and advocacy in a variety of settings including community organizing, congregational ministry, health and mental health care, nonprofit management, law, public policy, business, and the arts.
“In more than 40 years of work in the faith-based justice arena, I have found that we often end up reinventing the wheel because we lack the opportunity to step back and learn about best practices,” said Alexia Salvatierra, assistant professor of mission and global transformation. “I wish that this degree had been available early in my ministry.”
According to Dwight Radcliff, MJA program director and academic dean for the Pannell Center for Black Church Studies, “The MA in Justice and Advocacy forms change agents in a way that is uniquely rooted in Scripture, mission, and social science.” An additional distinctive feature of the program, he noted, is the integration of spiritual practices to strengthen students’ faith as they pursue their calling.
A hallmark of the MJA is the cohort model, providing the opportunity to learn in a dynamic group of others committed to justice and advocacy work, and foster connections with faculty and fellow students that can last far beyond graduation.
“At Fuller, we recognize that welcoming Christ’s kingdom involves us in the work and witness to shalom,” remarked Erin Dufault-Hunter, associate professor of Christian ethics. “The MJA invites leaders into a community of faculty and students who seek Jesus and want to be equipped to seek his just peace in our communities.”
“The MJA will produce graduates who embody an approach to shalom in their context that is not only informed by the best intellectual and practical knowledge,” said Dr. Radcliff, “but also attentive to the Spirit who is already at work for justice in, among, and through them.”