M.A. in Global Development and Justice

Global Development and Justice is a degree that focuses on preparing students to respond with best practices to complex global issues in either local and/or international contexts. For students looking to work with NGOs, non-profits, and other faith-based organizations, both experience and academic training are essential. This degree program provides significant professional training from faculty who have experience and academic proficiency in their fields, as well as experiential opportunities like such as internships and field projects.

There are very few academic programs that will prepare you to work across the nexus of community development, justice, and peacebuilding work. This is our specialty. In the process, we place a high emphasis upon professional excellence and the integration of a Christian worldview. We are also deeply passionate about mentoring and walking with our students through their degree programs. Not only are professors active scholars, on the field, getting it done, but they desire to see students prepared with both soft and hard skills which will facilitate opportunities for job placement and for high-quality results in whatever career path they choose.

Justice is a deeply biblical concept. Biblical social justice requires an emphasis on the kingdom of God. Micah 6:8 states, “He has told you . . . what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” The focus of Micah 6:8 is primarily about relationships, and these relationships center around values established by God himself for his kingdom and people. Thus, biblical justice requires that the people of God are concerned for and partner with those who face significant injustices and vulnerabilities, seeking to address the root issues driving these conditions. Justice work often includes seeking to right the wrongs that are committed against those whom God deeply loves and to restore life to what God intends for people and society. For the Christian, social justice finds itself deeply rooted in the personhood and actions of God.

Advocacy work is generally understood as influencing decision-makers by ensuring that policies and practices are appropriate and just and that the voices of those most marginalized in society are heard. Our faith deeply guides us in how we advocate for those who are disempowered, including those affected by material poverty, systemic injustices, and those who are victims of unjust laws and policies. (Proverbs 31:8-9)

Just peace-building concerns itself with seeing the shalom of God manifested where conflict, corruption, and greed have torn people apart from the potential that God has established for individuals and communities.  True peace or “shalom” is found when relationships are set right—with God, self, others, and with God’s good creation. Accountability and restoration are both necessary aspects of a just peace, seeking for relationships to be set right. In a world filled with division and strife, we believe that peacebuilding is an integral aspect of our Christian witness, as well as a critical component in an approach to holistic development.  Thus, skills such as conflict analysis and conflict transformation are complimented with an emphasis upon the dispositions of a person of peace. (Matthew 5:9)

Investing time, finances, and energy into a graduate program is not for everyone, but it is for those who are seeking a vocation and calling to work across the nexus of development, justice, and peace-building efforts in their local communities or internationally (or both). Experience and academic training go hand in hand when it comes to being employed by a non-profit, church, or international non-governmental organization (NGO). Both play a critical role in ensuring high-quality work and opportunities for employment. If you feel called to engage in addressing complex issues in our world through the lens of God’s heart for the holistic restoration and flourishing of all people—we think it’s worth it, and we would love for you to join us on this journey!

MAGDJ alumni work in cross-sector careers, including the areas of community and international development (43%), social services (32%), mission organizations (7%), churches (5%), and other sectors, including education and health care (13%).