Online Criminal Sentencing & Sentencing Advocacy Graduate Certificate

The criminal sentencing and sentencing advocacy graduate certificate provides you with the skills and credentials necessary to enter or advance your career in a variety of positions within criminal defense and the administration of justice.

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Quick facts

Next start date:

Next start date: 05/16/2024


Total classes:

Total classes: 5

Weeks per class:

Weeks per class: 7.5

Total credit hours:

Total credit hours: 15

Degree questions, answered.

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Earn your certificate in criminal sentencing advocacy

Sentencing advocacy is an area within criminal defense that focuses on promoting rehabilitative, restorative and client-centered outcomes. Sentencing advocates create sentencing plans for criminal defendants based on their case and social history, and serve as an ally for their clients. They communicate with attorneys, act as a liaison between office and government social services and may advocate for rehabilitation as opposed to imprisonment.

What will you learn about criminal sentencing in this graduate certificate?

 

In this program, you’ll gain specialized skills in criminal sentencing and a comprehensive overview of the roles played by various sentencing professionals in the adult criminal justice system.

Upon graduation, you’ll have the knowledge needed for a variety of roles within the social work and criminal justice field and possess a deep understanding of the critical areas needed to succeed in criminal sentencing and sentencing advocacy, including:

  • Best practices for writing reports and assessing offenders.
  • Court processes.
  • Ethical standards governing the performance of investigations.
  • Methods of investigating cases.
  • Mitigation.
  • Principles of justice.
  • Sentencing schemes.

Social workers and other criminal justice professionals perform a number of roles in the disposition and sentencing of various offenders and in the provision of services to victims. The certificate provides social workers with the kinds of knowledge and skills required to practice as mitigation specialists.

This is a burgeoning area of practice in the field of social work. It also provides criminal justice majors with exposure to classes on topics dealing with treatment alternatives and mental health concerns that aren’t currently available to students in many traditional criminal justice programs.

Who is the criminal sentencing and advocacy certificate for?

 

This criminal sentencing advocacy certificate is ideal for students interested in criminal defense and court services. This includes criminal justice careers, such as private-presentence investigator, presentence investigator in probation departments, sentencing advocate in criminal defense settings, specialty court liaison, victim services advocate and mitigation specialist in capital and noncapital cases.

What is a mitigation specialist?

 

Many students who pursue this criminal sentencing and sentencing advocacy certificate follow a justice career as a mitigation specialist. Mitigation specialists speak on behalf of those who have committed the most serious of crimes and provide judges and juries with insight into a defendant's culpability, including the defendant's mental health and other relevant information.

The demand for professionals with sentencing advocacy skills is growing in the U.S. legal system in state and federal courts.

Does my criminal sentencing degree say 'online'?

No, Arizona State University’s diplomas don’t specify whether you earn your degree online or in person. All diplomas and transcripts simply say “Arizona State University.” That’s because ASU Online students learn from the same faculty and receive the same course content as in-person students receive.

Criminal sentencing and sentencing advocacy courses

As part of this sentencing advocacy program, you’ll complete courses in pre-sentence investigations, race/ethnicity, victimization and more. Upon graduation, you’ll have the training and credentials needed to advance in the criminal sentencing field. Courses may include:


Required

Alternatives to Penal Sanctions


Required

Presentence Investigations


Required

Seminar in Courts and Sentencing


Elective

Seminar in Community Corrections


Elective

Seminar in Corrections


Elective

Seminar on Mental Health for Sentencing


Elective

Seminar on Mitigation in Death and Life Cases


Elective

Seminar on Race/Ethnicity and Crime Issues


What can you do with a certificate in criminal sentencing?

When combined with a relevant degree and work experience, a graduate certificate in criminal sentencing and sentencing advocacy can lead to career opportunities in courtrooms, forensic services agencies, the social work sector and more. Over the next 10 years, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts an employment growth of 9% in the field of social work and 6% for private detectives and investigators. 

Students can customize their program to fit their career interests. Several suggested tracks offer the opportunity to make the most of their experience and include Mitigation Specialist, Probation/private pre-sentence investigators, Sentencing advocates, and Victim services advocates.

Graduates with criminal sentencing and sentencing advocacy training can expect to find careers in many positions, including:

Mitigation specialist

Private presentence investigator

Probation officer

Problem-solving court liaison

Sentencing advocacy specialist

Social worker

Victim services specialist

Learn from professionals in the field of advocacy

The impressive faculty in the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions are inspiring the next generation of public service leaders through real-world solutions to issues around child welfare, safety, city management, human trafficking and water scarcity. Recent faculty highlights include:

  • Fellow of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
  • Fellow of the American Psychological Association.
  • Member of the National Academy of Public Administration.
  • Member of Blue-Ribbon Committee on Rethinking Criminal Violence in Law and Policy.

Learn from professionals in the field of advocacy

The impressive faculty in the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions are inspiring the next generation of public service leaders through real-world solutions to issues around child welfare, safety, city management, human trafficking and water scarcity. Recent faculty highlights include:

  • Fellow of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
  • Fellow of the American Psychological Association.
  • Member of the National Academy of Public Administration.
  • Member of Blue-Ribbon Committee on Rethinking Criminal Violence in Law and Policy.

Criminal sentencing and sentencing advocacy certificate requirements

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions.

Application requirements

Eligibility

Additional application information

Nationally recognized public service programs

The Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions is a comprehensive public service college dedicated to addressing social problems through teaching, research and service. Our public service programs, from public policy, to social work, to criminal justice, to emergency management, are designed to help prepare our diverse student body to make a difference in the community.

#1


best graduate homeland security and emergency management programs, according to U.S. News & World Report.

#2


in the U.S. and #7 in the world for hospitality, leisure, sport and tourism, according to the Center for World University Rankings.

Top 5


Master of Nonprofit Leadership and Management Programs in the nation, according to U.S. News & Report.

Top 10


best online master's in criminal justice programs for veterans, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Tuition calculator

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. Learn more.

Tuition calculator

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. Learn more.

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