Criminology and Justice Studies

Introduction to Criminology and Justice Studies provides an overview of the fields of criminology and criminal justice, the relationship between the two fields, and how both influence each other. Both traditional and contemporary approaches to justice will be explored, including alternatives and system reform. Furthermore, students will critically examine the purpose, components, and processes of …

Prerequisite: Criminology and Justice Studies major. This course is designed to introduce students to descriptive and inferential statistics used in criminology and justice studies. Specifically, students will learn the essentials of probability, estimation, and confidence intervals using data, examples, and situations relevant to the fields of criminology and criminal justice. Students will also learn methods …

This course provides an introduction to key perspectives, principles, institutions, actors, and issues in the field of criminology and criminal justice. This course takes a critical perspective on current issues and controversies surrounding the attempts to understand the causes of crime as well as the criminal justice response to it. The impact of crime and …

Prerequisite: SOC 250 or CJS 102 or CJS 302 or permission of instructor. This course provides an analysis of the historical and philosophical foundations of the juvenile justice process and system. Special attention is given to legal and administrative issues, reforms, and controversies. Additionally, the course will include the study of the emergence of youth subcultures …

Prerequisite: SOC 250 or CJS 102 or CJS 302 or permission of instructor. This course creates a foundation in criminal law and legal procedure as applied to the criminal justice field. Rationales for punishing criminals, elements of crimes and defense of the accused are covered. In addition, this course examines tensions between various state statutes, the …

Preparatory: CJS 102 or CJS 302. This course introduces the field of victimology including the extent, types, theories, and effects of crime victimization and trauma at multiple levels of the social ecology. This course explores the influence of identities such as race, ethnicity, indigeneity, class, religious affiliation, disability, sexuality/sexual orientation, immigration status, gender/gender identity, and …

Preparatory: CJS 102 or CJS 302. This course explores human diversity, including but not limited to race, indigeneity, class, gender/gender identity, dis/ability, mental illness, sexuality/sexual orientation, immigration status, and their intersections in connection to crime perpetration, victimization, and the criminal justice system. Students enrolled in this course will explore disproportionate contacts with the criminal justice …

This course provides a foundation for the understanding of U.S. law enforcement and security including its historical origins as a colonial institution of social control. Students will explore police culture, the organization and operations of law enforcement, contemporary issues in law enforcement, and major and emerging theoretical traditions in the field of law enforcement and …

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. This course provides a foundation for the study and application of ethics in criminal justice decision making and policy analysis.  Students will demonstrate the ability to apply ethical practice in research and applied situations through writing. (Available for General Education, E Lifelong Learning.)

Prerequisite: SOC 250 or CJS 102 or CJS 302 or permission of instructor. Offers social-scientific examination of the field of corrections, both substantively and critically. Includes patterns and trends in incarceration rates; police and judicial processes resulting in incarceration; climate and culture of correctional facilities; and gender/diversity issues in corrections. Discussion of correctional facilities and supervision including …

Prerequisite: SOC 250 or CJS 102 or CJS 302 or permission of instructor. This course provides a foundational understanding of criminological theory, including its historical development and application to contemporary issues in crime and justice. Students will explore the diverse theoretical traditions underpinning the field, including established and emerging biosocial, control, learning, strain, conflict, life …

The course provides the groundwork for professional socialization into the roles, norms, expectations and requirements for careers in the criminal justice system. Special attention will be given to the ways in which local agencies interview, hire and train new criminal justice employees and how internships feed into those professional expectations by these agencies. Students are …

This course provides a foundational understanding of the development, organization, and process of the police, law and the courts, and corrections from a systemic perspective and their interactions with other social institutions. Course content addresses the historical origins, development, purpose, and goals of the U.S. criminal justice system from colonial institutions of social control to …

Prerequisite: CJS 102 or CJS 302. Preparatory: CJS 280. Note: CJS 380 and 380L are corequisite classes. CJS 380/L is designed to give students a working knowledge of basic research methods and data used in the study of criminology and criminal justice. The seminar portion of the course is designed to highlight the research process, …

Prerequisite: SOC 250 or CJS 102 or CJS 302 or permission of instructor. This course provides a core foundation for the study of gangs and gang control in a historical and contemporary perspective. Gang definitions, types, social organization, and control are included in this class as well as an examination of the social, political, and economic conditions …

Prerequisite: SOC 250 or CJS 102 or CJS 302 or permission of instructor. The course examines the historical and contemporary views of gender/gender identity and criminality, victimization, crime perpetration, and societal responses to crime and public policy. In addition, this course examines the scientific study of gender/gender identity and crime by examining intersectional social factors such  as …

Prerequisite: SOC 250 or CJS 102 or CJS 302 or permission of instructor. This course will explore various types of white collar crime committed in the United States and abroad, including fraud, perjury, obstruction, computer crime, identity theft, bribery and corruption, embezzlement, tax evasion, conspiracy, RICO, and organizational (entity) crime. It will examine criminal procedure, including search …

Prerequisite: SOC 250 or CJS 102 or CJS 302 or permission of instructor. This course will provide a foundation for understanding the interactions between alcohol, drugs, and crime. Included in this foundation are the nature, effects, theories, interventions, and prevention of substance abuse both for individuals and society. Students will engage in a critical examination of the …

Prerequisite: SOC 250 or CJS 102 or CJS 302 or permission of instructor. This course will explore the values, ethics, and ideologies underlying the current justice system and social justice responses, with special application given to the role of sex, gender, gender expression, and gender identity. The course will explore gender and justice beyond the …

Prerequisite: SOC 250 or CJS 102 or CJS 302 or permission of instructor. This course studies the role of community corrections within the U.S. correctional system. Specifically, this course includes topics including pretrial diversion, community-based sentences and treatment, and parole supervision. Critical issues in the field including offender reentry, managing offenders in a community setting, and instituting …

Prerequisite: SOC 250 or CJS 102 or CJS 302 or permission of instructor. This course explores the various forms of domestic violence including the prevalence across different social dimensions, including but not limited to gender/gender identity, race, indigeneity, ethnicity, class, immigration status, sexuality/sexual orientation, and their intersections. Domestic violence will be discussed from various theoretical perspectives to …

Prerequisite: SOC 250 or CJS 102 or CJS 302 or permission of instructor. The purpose of this course is to give students an introduction to criminology and criminal justice from a global perspective. Students in this course adopt comparative and cross-national approaches to crime in order to examine a number of subject matters in international criminal law, …

Prerequisite: SOC 250 or CJS 102 or CJS 302 or permission of instructor. Special seminars in selected topics in criminology offered based on student interest and faculty expertise. Examples of topics include in-depth study of such specialty areas as terrorism, sexual victimization, cybercrime, or profiling. Available for graduate credit.

Prerequisite: SOC 250 or CJS 102 or CJS 302 or permission of instructor. Special seminars in selected topics in criminal justice offered based on students interest and faculty expertise. Topics involve in-depth study of such specialty areas of criminal justice as restorative justice, terrorism and criminal justice, deadly force, or police discretion. Available for graduate credit.

Prerequisites: SOC 250 or CJS 102 or CJS 302; CJS 430/L or GEOG 306/L; or permission of instructor. This course will provide students applied research experience either in a criminal justice-related agency or with crime data. The course will focus on the practice of research in the field of criminology and justice studies, the development …

Prerequisites: CJS 102 or CJS 302; CJS 430/L; senior standing; permission of instructor. CJS 494A-E and CJS 494AA-EE are corequisite classes for an internship experience relating to one of these five areas: law enforcement (494A and 494AA), law and courts (494B and 494BB), corrections (494C and 494CC), victim services (494D and 494DD), and community based …