Graduate Student Courses
Calling all social justice innovators!
Innovation for Justice’s graduate-level classes embed students in active research teams.
All i4J course experiences are:
100% live virtual.
In our flipped classroom environment, students do class assignments and research on their own time, and come to class ready to engage with the research team to advance research efforts.
Project-based.
All classes are embedded in a real research project that aims to solve real-world problems.
Community-engaged.
All students broadly engage with system actors and community partners as part of the research process.
Advancing equal justice.
All classes apply design thinking and systems thinking methodologies to expose inequalities in the justice system, and design, build and test disruptive solutions to the justice crisis.
i4J teaches four graduate-level courses at the University of Utah and University of Arizona.
Innovating Legal Services, UX4Justice, and Legal Innovation for Policy Advocacy are our entry-level courses, and can be taken in any order. Students who have completed an entry-level i4J course OR can demonstrate prior experience with qualitative and/or quantitative research methods and/or project management, are eligible to apply for Leadership in Legal Innovation.
i4J also has opportunities for students from any university.
Students from any university and any field of study may apply for an i4J Student Externship.
Learn more about i4J’s courses and other opportunities for engaging with i4J below.
Graduate-level courses at the University of Utah and University of Arizona.
UX for Justice (3 Credits)
UA: LAW 697
UU: STRAT 6610
The legal system is designed for lawyers, but most court users represent themselves. In fact, 98% of low-income domestic violence survivors will experience a civil legal need this year, and 88% of them will receive inadequate or no legal help. Securing a protective order is a critical first step for many survivors exiting abuse, so courts across the nation are in the process of adopting new, online protective order petition processes that will work for court users who don’t have lawyers.
In Fall 2025, UX4Justice students will conduct community-engaged research with court and community members to iteratively co-design an online portal for e-filing protective orders. Using design thinking, systems thinking, and user experience (UX) research and design methodologies, students will develop data-driven UX recommendations that empower survivors to more easily and safely file petitions for protective orders online on their own.
No tech or design experience required!
Not offered Spring 2026. Check back for future offerings.
Projects produced by UX4Justice include:
UX4Justice is the Graduate Student course associated with i4J’s System Impact Area. For more information about our research in this area, visit System Impact Area.
Innovating Legal Services (3 Credits)
UA: LAW 672A
UU: STRAT 6600
Over 50 percent of rural counties are classified as legal deserts, where access to legal representation is severely limited due to a lack of attorneys in the area, distance to courthouses, poverty, limited English proficiency, and lack of internet access. This scarcity of resources exacerbates the challenges faced by individuals in these communities, making it difficult for them to navigate complex legal issues and protect their rights.
In this course, students will engage with a cohort of courts from across the U.S. to connect with the community members in their legal deserts and develop tailored solutions that enhance access to justice in underserved jurisdictions. Through participatory action research methods that center the perspectives of people experiencing unmet legal needs, students will work with courts and their communities to advance legal desert solutions and foster community trust in the legal system.
Class meets Mon/Weds 1:30PM AZ, and 2:30-4:20PM UT. Arizona Law and University of Utah David Eccles School of Business students may enroll for 3 graded credits. SJQ students may enroll as a field placement.
Past projects produced by this course include:
Innovating Legal Services is the Graduate Student course associated with i4J’s Service Impact Area. For more information about our research in this area, visit Service Impact Area.
Legal Innovation for Policy Advocacy (3 Credits)
UA LAW 672
UU UU STRAT 6620
Not offered Spring 2026. Check back for future offerings.
Effective systems-level change requires access to - and amplification of - accurate and usable information about social justice problems and their ripple effects. In this course, students work with and within community to co-create tools that aggregate the information advocates need to call for and advance disruptive change in their communities.
Projects produced by this course include:
Legal Innovation for Policy Advocacy is the Graduate Student course associated with i4J’s System Impact Area. For more information about our research in this area, visit Structure Impact Area.
Leadership in Legal Innovation
UA: LAW 672B
UU: STRAT 6850-094
Not offered Spring 2026. Check back for future offerings.
Leadership in Legal Innovation provides an opportunity for Students who have completed an entry-level i4J course OR can demonstrate prior experience with qualitative and/or quantitative research methods and/or project management, are eligible to apply for Leadership in Legal Innovation to advance their legal innovation skills. Leadership students play an active role within i4J as a member of a research team.
Opportunities to enroll in Leadership are shared with students in intro-level i4J courses during registration.
Graduate-level externships for students at any university.
i4J Student Externships
This is an interdisciplinary, project-based, and community-grounded externship that engages students in innovative practices and pathways for reimagining access and use of legal knowledge in the U.S. This is a fully virtual and potentially credit- and/or work-study-eligible externship opportunity for current graduate students across disciplines.
Graduate students from any university may apply for i4J Student Externships. Click the button below to learn more and apply.
Other opportunities for engagement
There are many ways to get involved with i4J courses.
i4J Paid Fellowships
i4J offers paid research and community engagement opportunities to students interested in supporting ongoing i4J projects both within and outside the classroom. Students interested in paid fellowships can inquire at info@innovation4justice.org.
i4J Alumni Coaches
i4J loves to welcome back past students to serve as alumni coaches in current i4J classes. Coaches co-teach and mentor students through research projects. i4J Alumni interested in coaching should inquire at info@innovation4justice.org.
Subject Matter Experts
i4J works with countless subject matter experts to guest lecture, speak on panels, provide feedback on student work, and more. If you’re interested in contributing to an i4J research project, please inquire at info@innovation4justice.org.