Criminal Sentencing and Sentencing Advocacy (Graduate Certificate)
Social media and nightly news are filled with events that involve the justice system. Enhance your studies with this prestigious graduate certificate and develop the skills you'll need to serve confidently as a practitioner and advocate with advanced expertise.
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Accreditation
Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Criminal Sentencing and Sentencing Advocacy program description
ASU ranks No. 20 for best graduate social work program by U.S. News & World Report, 2024 and No. 2 for best graduate criminology and criminal justice programs by U.S. News & World Report, 2023.
The certificate program in criminal sentencing and sentencing advocacy assumes that for any professional to function effectively, they must have a fundamental knowledge of the respective roles that sentencing professionals play during various phases of the criminal justice process.
In keeping with this viewpoint, you take courses for practice as both a presentence investigator and a sentencing advocate. Those courses are seminars in courts and sentencing, in presentence investigations, and in alternatives to penal sanctions. After taking these required courses, you select an area of specialization to further your expertise as a probation professional, sentencing advocate, mitigation specialist or victim advocate. You take these courses from a range of electives available in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and in the School of Social Work.
This interprofessional certificate program also provides you with content on the relationship between mental disorders and crime, and the way in which differential sentencing frameworks affect the sentencing of offenders suffering from mental disorders.
This program is highly recommended if you are a social worker, forensic psychologist or other criminal justice professional seeking specialized expertise as a sentencing professional responsible for making sentencing recommendations, addressing relevant offender risks and needs, victim impacts, treatment alternatives to incarceration, community safety and other relevant sentencing considerations.
Why earn a criminal sentencing and sentencing advocacy graduate certificate at ASU?
You study through an interdisciplinary curriculum taught by faculty from both the School of Social Work and School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. This dual perspective ensures you understand sentencing from multiple professional angles, giving you a more complete foundation than programs that approach the subject from a single discipline.
This graduate certificate emphasizes practical professional skills that address offender risks and needs while promoting community safety and rehabilitation. Your coursework includes specialized training in victimization, mental health, race and ethnicity, mitigation and community corrections. You examine the relationship between mental disorders and crime and learn how different sentencing frameworks affect offenders with mental disorders, knowledge that sets you apart in the field. You develop specialized expertise in sentencing decisions throughout the criminal justice process. You gain comprehensive training in both presentence investigations and sentencing advocacy, learning to write Presentence Reports, evaluate victim impacts and consider evidence-based alternatives to incarceration.
Additional details
You can connect with peers through multiple student organizations. The School of Criminology and Criminal Justice offers Alpha Phi Sigma, the Criminology and Criminal Justice Club, and the CCJ Graduate Student Committee. The School of Social Work hosts organizations including the American Indian Social Work Student Association, Compassion for Her, Macro Social Work Student Network, Phi Alpha Honor Society, and campus-specific groups such as the Social Work Advancement Team and Social Work Student Organization.
You also have opportunities to participate in undergraduate research and other initiatives that deepen your engagement with current scholarship in sentencing, advocacy and criminal justice policy.
Curriculum
This graduate degree includes courses focused on a specialized topic, so you can advance your skills for further professional opportunities. Explore all courses below:
15 credit hours
Required Core (9 credit hours) Electives (6 credit hours) Additional Curriculum Information
CRJ 513 Seminar in Courts and Sentencing (3)
SWG 528 Presentence Investigations (3)
SWG 529 Alternatives Penal Sanctions (3)
For electives, students should see the academic unit for the approved course list.
What you'll learn
The following learning outcomes highlight some of the knowledge and skills you'll develop to support your future success.
- Apply professional evidence-based interventions when working with offenders in the criminal justice system.
- Demonstrate ability to write a Presentence Report from information provided, including police reports, victim statements and interested parties.
Apply professional evidence-based interventions when working with offenders in the criminal justice system.Admission requirements
Here are the admission and application details
All students are required to meet general university admission requirements.
U.S. applicants (opens in new window) | International applicants (opens in new window) | English proficiency (opens in new window)
Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions. Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree in social work, criminology, criminal justice or a related field, or if they are currently enrolled in the master of criminal justice program. Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program or a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program. All applicants must submit: Additional Application Information This program does not require admission examinations.
An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of their current residency.
Application deadlines
| Session | Modality | Deadline | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session A/C | Online | 07/01 | Final* |
| Session B | Online | 09/01 | Final* |
| Session | Modality | Deadline | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session A/C | Online | 12/01 | Final* |
| Session B | Online | 02/01 | Final* |
| Session | Modality | Deadline | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session A/C | Online | 04/01 | Final* |
*A final deadline means that all applications and application materials must be received by Admission Services by the deadline date. Applications that are incomplete may not be considered after the final deadline. Applications that are submitted past the final deadline may not be considered.
Explore expanded study opportunities
Students can complete two graduate certificate programs and combine them into a Master of Advanced Study degree, giving ultimate flexibility to build their own master's degree. Interested students can learn more about MAS requirements and the admission process.
Paying for college
Use our calculator to estimate your full-time or part-time tuition fees for this program prior to any financial aid. Keep in mind that most of our students receive financial aid, which can reduce out-of-pocket costs.
Get an estimateCareer opportunities
Careers this criminal sentencing and sentencing advocacy graduate certificate prepares you for
Social workers, criminal justice professionals and recent graduates of psychology and other social and behavioral sciences programs perform a number of roles in the disposition and sentencing of public offenders. They also provide support for victims of crime during the criminal justice process.
Career examples include:
- mitigation specialist
- presentence investigator
- probation professional
- sentencing advocate
- victim advocate
Contact information
Use the contact information below to get in touch if you're a current student or have general questions.
Prospective students should fill out the Request for Information form.
School of Social Work
|
UCENT 800
sswgradcerts@asu.edu
602-496-0800
Frequently asked questions about degree programs
Accelerated programs allow students the opportunity to expedite the completion of their degree.
Accelerated master's
These programs allow students to accelerate their studies to earn a bachelor's plus a master's degree in as few as five years (for some programs).
Each program has requirements students must meet to be eligible for consideration. Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master's during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Interested students can learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply.
Concurrent degrees allow students to pursue their own personal or professional interests, earn two distinct degrees and receive two diplomas. To add a concurrent degree to your existing degree, work with your academic advisor.
Joint programs, or jointly conferred degrees, are offered by more than one college and provide opportunities for students to take advantage of the academic strengths of two academic units. Upon graduation, students are awarded one degree and one diploma conferred by two colleges.
ASU adds new programs to Degree Search frequently. Come back often and look for the "New Programs" option.
ASU Online offers programs in an entirely online format with multiple enrollment sessions throughout the year. See https://asuonline.asu.edu/ for more information.
The Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP) provides a reduced tuition rate to non-resident graduate students who qualify. Visit the WRGP/WICHE webpage for more information: https://graduate.asu.edu/wiche.
