Major Requirements (48 Credits)

Foundation Course (3 Credits)
SJS 100Sustainability and Social Justice: Ethics, Equality, and Environments
Major Courses (39 Credits)

Individually designed programs include a total of 39 credits (13 courses) spread across at least three disciplines, 24 of which must be at the 200 or 300-level, including at least one 3-credit Academic Travel with a focus in social justice and sustainability.

Capstone Requirement (6 Credits)

Two of the following:

*All Bachelor of Arts degrees require a total of 120 credits consisting of Core Requirements, Major Requirements, and General Elective courses. Prerequisites may be required for courses outside of the major.

Administrative Procedures

The SJS major is self-designed and closely monitored by trained SJS advisors and the SJS Advisory Board responsible for the major. The SJS advisors represent their candidates at an annual SJS Advisory Board meeting. There are four overarching topics that anchor the major and help orient students as they find their specific focus: Understanding Poverty and Wealth, Environmental Limits, Human and Nature Rights, and Global Migration and Mobility.

  1. Immediately after declaring their SJS major, students will work closely with one of the SJS advisors to design their curriculum as it relates to their own specifically defined approach and chosen focus. This curriculum will be presented to the SJS Advisory Board as a formal proposal of study after completion of the foundation course. The formal proposal must include the choice of a focus in one of the overarching topics, the plan of 200 and 300-level courses to be taken for the initial year of course work in the major, a list of three internship possibilities and a rationale for how these fit into the self-designed curriculum.
  2. After the initial coursework, two further proposals to be submitted to the SJS Advisory Board will outline the remaining course work and the area and content of the two chosen capstone courses.

Eligibility and Requirements

This program is designed specifically for ambitious and independent students who wish to take on the challenge of designing their own major in Social Justice and Sustainability. Students with a GPA of 3.2 or higher after completion of 30 credits at Franklin (or who transfer in with 30 or more credits and a transfer GPA of 3.2 or higher) are eligible to pursue the program.