{"id":2075,"date":"2026-10-13T09:07:45","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T09:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/?p=2075"},"modified":"2026-10-12T14:17:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T14:17:17","slug":"from-classroom-to-action-m-a-in-advocacy-and-social-policys-practicum-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/from-classroom-to-action-m-a-in-advocacy-and-social-policys-practicum-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"From Classroom to Action: M.A. in Advocacy and Social Policy\u2019s Practicum Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

The M.A. in Advocacy and Social Policy<\/a> (MAP) program takes learning beyond the classroom. Through practicum placements, students apply their knowledge alongside community partner organizations working in advocacy and social policy.<\/p>\n

Students spend six to eight hours weekly with partner organizations, applying classroom learning to real-world challenges while developing practical skills. They also present a poster about their practicum at Furman Engaged<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Shaniece Criss, director of Furman\u2019s M.A. in Advocacy and Social Policy program, works with students to ensure they are placed in areas that will support their professional growth and expand their skill sets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat’s most important to me is that they are able to get experience in the area that they want to get experience,\u201d Criss says.<\/p>\n

Students have completed practicums in a variety of areas, such as environmental, educational, and health advocacy, as well as academic publications.<\/p>\n

Every student\u2019s path is unique to their placement and goals. While some take on roles within organizations, others complete research projects that advance advocacy initiatives or provide content and insights for publications.<\/p>\n

For students who are already full-time employees, they can also propose a workplace project that meets practicum requirements.<\/p>\n

Students can complete two different practicum courses as part of the program, building a strong foundation of applied learning before graduation.<\/p>\n

For Mia Arter, the practicum stood out as a highlight of the MAP program. She partnered with Criss to explore a research question. For her practicum, she wanted to conduct academic research and test whether the field fits her career goals.<\/p>\n

Arter and Criss met weekly, with work consisting of reading journal articles and analyzing and writing a peer-reviewed manuscript. She gained skills in information synthesis, literature reviews, qualitative data collection and organization, and formal writing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I completed the data collection, looked across studies, and saw novel themes and insights emerge, it was very exciting and validating,\u201d Arter says.<\/p>\n

Arter co-authored the paper with Criss, and they submitted to a journal for possible publication. Going into the practicum, Arter had no plans to publish, but Criss helped her see the opportunity and guided her through the process.<\/p>\n

Tony Tanner completed his practicum at Spartanburg Initiative for Racial Equity Now (SIREN), where he served as legislative director and intern coordinator. He focused on a facilitation plan to explore potential collaboration between SIREN and the Upstate Action Alliance, two organizations with shared history in voting and racial equity work.<\/p>\n

Tanner says he has grown throughout the process. He conducted research on collaboration and cultures, delved into political action committees and mergers, and developed a plan for how to facilitate a meeting between two nonprofits.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat has been the key highlight for me was being able to see the boards really want this collaboration to happen,\u201d Tanner says. \u201cThey are currently test running it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Criss says practicums give students greater clarity about their interests and career goals, helping them make more informed decisions about their futures. For Arter, it inspired her to consider pursuing a doctorate.<\/p>\n

Criss wants the practicum experiences to continue providing valuable opportunities for future participants. She hopes it has such a lasting impact that alumni remain engaged and help mentor and support others in the program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The M.A. in Advocacy and Social Policy (MAP) program takes learning beyond the classroom. Through practicum placements, students apply their knowledge alongside community partner organizations working in advocacy and social […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":445,"featured_media":2077,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[80],"tags":[179,223,42,133],"class_list":["post-2075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advocacy-social-policy","tag-advocacyandsocialpolicy","tag-furman-innovation-lab","tag-furman-university","tag-graduate-studies"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/445"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2075"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2080,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2075\/revisions\/2080"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}