Certificate for Applied Data Ethics, Law, and the Social Good Program
Develop the applied skills and knowledge needed to support data use in policy and practice that is legal, ethical, and focused on the social good.
Program Overview
The University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) offers a Certificate in Applied Data Ethics, Law, and the Social Good to students enrolled in a graduate or professional degree program at Penn.
The certificate will support the development of skills and knowledge needed to enable applied data use for policy and practice that is legal and ethical. This certificate is focused on the praxis of civic data (data held by government agencies and nonprofit organizations) for the social good, meaning, that the data can be used to improve the lives of individuals and communities to work towards equity and social good.
Certificate Requirements
The Certificate uses a multidisciplinary lens to interrogate issues related to the praxis of ethical data use through four courses relating to applied data ethics, law, and the social good. To support this multidisciplinary lens, one course must be outside of your program. All Certificate recipients are required to take SSPP 6020: Applied Data Ethics, Law, and the Social Good, which is offered Summer I as a full virtual option and in the Spring in a hybrid format. The other three courses may be completed as one of the course units required for your graduate or professional degree program.
- Pre-requisite: demonstrate conceptual understanding of social science research, program and policy analysis, and evaluation (i.e. SWRK 6150, MSSP 6290, PUBH 5020, EDUC 5760, or GAFL 6110)
- Foundational Course (SSPP 6020: Applied Data Ethics, Law, and the Social Good)
- Core course in ethics
- Core course in law
- Core course in applied use of data for social good, through policy and practice
Application
If you are interested in applying for the Certificate for Applied Data Ethics, Law, and the Social Good, please fill out the application form and the Director will be in contact.
Completion Form
Once the requirements are met and the Certificate Completion Form is processed, the Certificate of Applied Data Ethics, Law, and the Social Good will be granted by the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice.
MSW Certificate Requirements
One course must be outside of your program. The other three courses may be completed within the sixteen credits required for the MSW.
Course requirements
- Foundational course: SSPP 6020: Applied Data Ethics, Law, and the Social Good, (fulfills an MSW Elective and is outside of the MSW program)
- Core course in Ethics: SWRK 6030: American Racism and Social Work Practice
- Core course in Law: TBA with approval by Certificate Director and Advisor (fulfills an MSW elective)
- Core course in Applied Use of Data: TBA with approval by Certificate Director and Advisor. Could include:
- SWRK 7430: Action Research
- SWRK 7440: Direct Practice Research
- SWRK 7740: Program Evaluation
- SWRK 7810: Qualitative Research (in Social Work Practice)
Completion
Students pay the SP2 per-course tuition rate and must complete all courses before graduating from the MSW program.
Students in the full-time and part-time programs take SWRK 6030 in the fall of the first year. It is suggested that students in the full-time program take the core course in Applied Use of Data in the fall semester of the second year. It is suggested that students in the part-time program take the core course in Applied Use of Data in the summer of the first year. Students in the advanced standing program take SWRK 6030 and the core course in Applied Use of Data in the summer of the first year.
MSSP Certificate Requirements
The Certificate is open to students in the full- and part-time MSSP program. MSSP+DA students are not eligible to complete the Certificate.
One course must be outside of your program. The other three courses may be completed within the ten course units required for the MSSP.
Course requirements
- Foundational course: SSPP 6020: Applied Data Ethics, Law, and the Social Good (fulfills an MSSP Elective or MSSP Theory Elective with advisor approval)
- Core course in Ethics: TBA with approval by Certificate Director and Advisor
- Core course in Law: MSSP 6310: Law and Social Policy (MSSP core course)
- Core course in Applied Use of Data: TBA with approval by Certificate Director and Advisor. Could include:
- MSSP 6280: Policy: Analysis of Issues, Strategy and Process
- MSSP 6070: Practical Programming for Data Science
- MSSP 6080: Practical Machine Learning Methods
- MSSP 6300: Quantitative Reasoning/Social Statistics
- MSSP 7100: Democratizing Data? Critical Data Studies in Algorithmic Governance
- MSSP 7980: Qualitative Methods in Policy Research
Completion
Students pay the SP2 per-course tuition rate and must complete all courses before graduating from the MSSP program.
NPL Certificate Requirements
One course must be outside of your program. The other three courses may be completed as one of the core course units required for the NPL.
Course requirements
- Foundational course: SSPP 6020: Applied Data Ethics, Law, and the Social Good (fulfills an NPL Elective and can be a non-NPL Penn elective, one of two allowed). Offered virtually each Summer I Session.
- Core course in Ethics: NPLD 5890: Ethics and the Pursuit of Social Impact (NPL core)
- Core course in Law: NPLD 7620: Nonprofit Law (NPL core) or TBA with approval by Certificate Director and Advisor (fulfills an NPL Elective)
- Core course in Applied Use of Data: TBA with approval by Certificate Director and Advisor. Could include:
- NPLD 7200: Data Analysis for Social Impact (NPL core)
- NPLD 7830: Field Exercise in Social Impact Measurement (NPL elective)
- NPLD 5940: Nonprofits and Urban Revitalization: The Philadelphia Story (NPL elective)
Completion
Students pay the SP2 per-course tuition rate and must complete all courses before graduating from the NPL program.
