The Center’s signature initiative, the Program on Domestic Violence (PDV), exists to create transformative leaders for today’s domestic violence movement through a broad array of academic offerings. As the first graduate program of its kind in the nation, the PDV serves a national audience of leaders with a unique course curriculum that combines online learning with intensive periods of study (called “intensives”) at the University of Colorado Denver.
The PDV’s academic programs are:
- A Master of Public Administration or a Master of Criminal Justice degree with a specialization in Domestic Violence Organizational Management and Policy Development.
- Two stand alone graduate level academic certificates are also available, one in Domestic Violence Studies and the other in Interpersonal Violence and Health Care.
- A PhD program is available for an even deeper experience in the study of domestic violence.
The PDV focuses on both organizational management and public policy, helping service organizations integrate grassroots social justice work with good administrative practice. It addresses the needs of individuals in organizations that serve victims of abuse and those who wish to enter the field, including new college graduates as well as professionals looking for a career change. It includes:
- Graduate level academic programs designed to prepare a workforce with the knowledge and ability to reduce, treat, intervene and prevent domestic violence.
- A purposeful response to a nationally recognized need to develop transformative leaders for today’s domestic violence movement.
- A curriculum that challenges violence by creating vehicles through which law enforcement officials, healthcare providers, direct service professionals, survivors, and public policy advocates can gain the skills and credentials necessary to succeed at leadership positions.