Social Justice Advocacy Certificate of Concentration
Objective
The certificate of concentration in Social Justice Advocacy is intended for a select group of students who aspire to use their legal advocacy skills to address social justice issues.
Eligibility
Preference for admission to this program is given to Stetson law students in good standing who have completed a minimum of 30 semester credit hours and not more than 45 semester credit hours. The co-directors (Professor Scully and Professor Adams) of the concentration program will make final determinations on all applications for acceptance into this program based upon consideration of the student's application materials, the student's demonstrated commitment to the program and the likelihood that the student will be able to successfully complete the requirements of the program.
How to Apply
Interested students should download and complete the Concentration Application (PDF) and deliver the completed application to the Faculty Support Services Office. Although applications will be considered at the end of the fall and spring semesters, interested students are encouraged to participate in SJA events prior to their admission to the concentration.
Requirements
In order to receive the Social Justice Advocacy (SJA) Certificate of Concentration at graduation, a student must be formally accepted into the program, and must complete the following requirements:
- The student must complete at least 21 hours in the specifically approved curriculum listed below, including both mandatory and elective curriculum requirements, with an average/cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 in all courses taken in the Approved Curriculum. Students must also achieve at least a 2.25 in any course taken in the approved curriculum which is to be included in the 21 hour requirement;
- Each student must participate in an approved experiential learning opportunity related to social justice advocacy law (e.g., a clinic, internship, or other experiential learning unit approved by a director of the Social Justice Advocacy Program);
- Each student must complete additional mentoring, pro bono service, and assigned administrative tasks, as approved by her/his faculty mentor and the co-directors of the Social Justice Advocacy Concentration Program; and
- In addition to any elective Seminar, each student must complete a separate Independent Study Project or Directed Research Project approved by her/his faculty mentor in an area of social justice advocacy that would fulfill the experiential and/or writing requirements of an IRP or DRP.
Required Mentoring
Upon being selected into the Social Justice Advocacy Certificate of Concentration program, a student will be assigned a mentor who is a member of Stetson Law's faculty or a practicing member of the bar. The student will be expected to meet regularly with her/his mentor, no less than twice each semester, for the purpose of discussing advancement toward completion of SJA requirements. Further, as a prerequisite for registration for each upcoming semester, each student accepted into the concentration program will be required to obtain the approval of her/his mentor regarding her/his elective course selections. In keeping with this goal, students in the Social Justice Advocacy Certificate of Concentration Program should not select elective courses simply because they are listed as qualifying courses, but will be expected to present an elective course plan that is directly related to their career plan.
Pro Bono Service
To receive the Social Justice Advocacy Certificate of Concentration, at least 30 hours of the 60 hours of pro bono service required for graduation must be related to the student's approved area of social justice advocacy.
Administrative Hours
To receive the Certificate of Concentration in Social Justice Advocacy, a student must perform any administrative hours requested by a co-director of the SJA program to plan, or participate in planning, programs at or sponsored by the Stetson University College of Law that are directly related to the SJA Concentration Program.
Approved Mandatory Curriculum
Although all areas of social justice advocacy are inter-related, the Social Justice Advocacy Certificate of Concentration program will encourage students to focus on coursework that advances their interest in the criminal legal system or their interest in civil law subjects that relate to a specific field of practice or law-related service that furthers the public interest and social equality.
Mandatory Curriculum (Criminal Law Emphasis)
Students who wish to pursue a criminal law emphasis must complete nine (9) credit hours related to criminal law which are the following courses:
Criminal Procedure- Investigation (3 credit hours) and two other three (3) credit hour criminal law or criminal procedure courses from the Approved Elective Course list below that have been specifically approved by a Social Justice Advocacy mentor.
Each student in the Social Justice Advocacy Certificate of Concentration Program must complete the Independent Research Project (IRP) or the Directed Research Project (DRP) requirement.
Mandatory Curriculum (Civil Law Emphasis)
Students who wish to pursue a civil law emphasis must complete one of the following courses: Administrative Law, Administrative Law for Health Care, Consumer Protection Law, Employment Discrimination, Environmental Law, Environmental Regulation of Water, Florida Administrative Law, International Trade and the Environment, Labor Law, Land Use Law, Poverty Law, or Water Law: Public and Private Rights.
Each student in the Social Justice Advocacy Certificate of Concentration Program must complete the Independent Research Project (IRP) or the Directed Research Project (DRP) requirement.
Elective Courses: Faculty mentors will counsel students to maintain a focus on electives that are related to students’ areas of special interest. Additional elective classes may be approved by the co-directors upon written explanation from a student who wishes to take such a class based on her/his area of emphasis within the SJA Concentration Program.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| LAW 3040 | ADMINISTRATIVE LAW (Civil) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3045 | ADMIN LAW FOR HEALTH CARE (Civil) | 2 to 3 credits |
| LAW 3052 | ADVANCED APPELLATE ADVOCACY | 3 credits |
| LAW 3054 | ADOPTION LAW SEMINAR (Civil) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3696S | ADV LGL WRITING:SOCIAL JUSTICE | 1 to 2 credits |
| LAW 3075 | ADVANCED CRIMINAL TRIAL ADVOCACY (Criminal) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3129 | AMERICAN LEGAL HISTORY (Civil) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3162 | CHILDREN AND THE LAW (Civil) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3217 | THE FIRST AMENDMENT (Civil/Criminal) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3238 | CONSUMER LAW (Civil/Criminal) | 2 to 3 credits |
| LAW 3239 | CONSUMER LAW PRACTICE AND CLASS ACTIONS | 3 credits |
| LAW 3265 | CRIM PROCEDURE - ADJUDICATION (Criminal) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3270 | CRIM PROCEDURE-INVESTIGATION (Criminal) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3296 | DISABILITY LAW (Civil) | 2 to 3 credits |
| LAW 3296S | DISABILITY LAW SEMINAR | 2 to 3 credits |
| LAW 3298 | (Civil/Criminal) | 1 credit |
| LAW 3334 | EMPLOYMENT LAW (Civil) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3324 | ELECTION LAW SEMINAR (Civil/Criminal) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3333 | EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION (Civil) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3351 | EQUALITY UNDER LAW SEMINAR | 3 credits |
| LAW 3412 | FAMILY LAW (Civil) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3414 | FAMILY LAW MEDIATION | 3 credits |
| LAW 3430 | FED COURTS & FEDERAL SYSTEM (Civil/Criminal) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3485 | FEMINIST JURISPRUDENCE SEMINAR (Civil) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3490 | FLORIDA ADMINISTRATIVE LAW (Civil) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3502 | FLORIDA CRIMINAL PROCEDURE (Criminal) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3511 | FOOD LAW AND POLICY SEMINAR (Civil) | 2 credits |
| LAW 3513 | FLA LEGIS & POL ADVOCACY PRACT | 2 credits |
| LAW 3943 | HIST/WESTRN LW&LEG THOUGHT SEM (Civil/Criminal) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3544 | HUMAN TRAFFICKING (Civil/Criminal) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3538 | IMMIGRATION LAW (Civil/Criminal) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3539 | IMMIGRATION LITIGAT & ADVOCACY (Civil/Criminal) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3584 | INTERN'L LAW HUMAN RIGHTS SEM (Civil/Criminal) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3115 | INTRO TO AGING AND THE LAW (Civil) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3600 | JURISPRUDENCE (Civil) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3611 | JUVENILE LAW SEMINAR (Criminal) | 2 credits |
| LAW 3613 | LABOR LAW (Civil) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3216 | LW & THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT (Civil/Criminal) | 2 credits |
| LAW 3219 | LAW & THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT TRAVEL CRSE | 3 credits |
| LAW 3550 | THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM AND HUMAN RIGHTS | 2 credits |
| LAW 3551 | THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE CIVIL LEGAL SYSTEM | 1 credit |
| LAW 3665 | LAW & HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY | 2 to 3 credits |
| LAW 3675 | LAW & SEXUAL ORIENTATION SEM (Civil) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3684 | LW THROUGH THE LENS/POETRY SEM (Civil/Criminal) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3710 | LOCAL GOVERNMENT LAW | 3 credits |
| LAW 3771 | POVERTY LAW (Civil) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3778 | 3 credits | |
| LAW 3779 | POLITICAL CIVIL RIGHTS LAW | 1 credit |
| LAW 3784 | POSTCONVICTION REMEDIES | 3 credits |
| LAW 3788 | RACE AND THE LAW SEMINAR (Civil/Criminal) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3870 | SEXUAL RIGHTS AND THE LAW SEM | 2 credits |
| LAW 3876 | SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY&THE LW (Civil/Criminal) | 3 credits |
| LAW 3892 | STRATEGIC AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN HIGH PROFILE CRIMINAL CASES | 1 credit |
NOTE: The elective courses listed above may not be offered in a particular semester, and some may not be offered regularly in the academic year. Note also that courses may be listed as mandatory (for the criminal or civil track) and also listed as "elective courses." Thus a student in the criminal track may, with approval of the faculty mentor, enroll in an appropriate elective course in civil law. However, no course may be "double-counted," toward the total credit hour requirement for the SJA Concentration. Each student who is in the Social Justice Advocacy Certificate of Concentration program will receive academic counseling from Professor Scully or Professor Adams, or the student's assigned mentor regarding preferred electives prior to registration for each term that the student is in the program. Students in the SJA Concentration Program should take the initiative in contacting their mentor as soon as the elective course offerings are released for each semester, regarding their proposed course schedule for each term.
Externships and Clinics
Internships and clinics that qualify for the concentration program:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| LAW 4200 | CHILD ADVOCACY CLINIC | 5 credits |
| LAW 4500 | CIVIL LEGAL SERVICES CLINIC | 5 credits |
| LAW 4520 | 5 credits | |
| LAW 3315 | ELDER & DISABILITY LW EXTRNSHP | 3 to 4 credits |
| LAW 3317 | 3 credits | |
| LAW 3332 | EMPLOYMENT & LABOR LW EXTERN | 3 or 4 |
| LAW 3415 | FAMILY LAW EXTERNSHIP | 3 credits |
| LAW 3454 | FEDERAL JUDICIAL EXTERNSHIP | 2 to 4 credits |
| LAW 3537 | HOMELESS ADVOCACY EXTERNSHIP | 3 credits |
| LAW 4533 | JACOBS LAW CLINIC FOR DEMOCRACY AND THE ENVIRONMENT | 1 to 5 credits |
| LAW 4534 | ADV JACOBS LAW CLINIC | 3 to 5 credits |
| LAW 4535 | IMMIGRATION LAW CLINIC | 5 credits |
| LAW 4550 | PROSECUTION CLINIC | 5 credits |
| LAW 4560 | PUBLIC DEFENDER CLINIC | 3 to 5 credits |
| LAW 4565 | TAMPA PROSECUTION CLINIC | 5 credits |
| LAW 4570 | VETERAN'S ADVOCACY CLINIC | 5 credits |
| Other Selected Externships | ||
Student Organization Component:
Each student will be encouraged to maintain active membership, and participate in the programming of at least one of the following approved student organizations, which advance social justice dialogue and student development in the specific field related to the student's course area:
- American Association for Justice
- American Constitution Society
- Amnesty International
- Asian American Law Student Association
- Black Law Student Association
- Disability Allied Law Student Association
- Dream Defenders
- Education Law Association
- Environmental law Society
- Equal Justice Works
- Hispanic Bar Association
- Immigration Law Student Association
- Innocence Initiative at Stetson Law
- International Law Society
- Jewish Law Students Association
- Juvenile Justice Initiative
- Labor and Employment Law Association
- Lambda Legal Society
- Leadership Development Committee
- Mental Health Law Association
- National Association for Women Campus Action Network
- National Lawyers Guild
- Public Service Fellows
- Student Animal Legal Defense Fund
- Student Veterans Association
- The Pillars