Criminal Justice Studies Minor

SSH PEAK

The Criminal Justice Studies (CJS) minor offers a distinctly liberal arts approach to the burgeoning field of criminal justice studies. This program offers students the opportunity to investigate the field from a number of disciplinary perspectives. The Prison Experience capstone course, during which students visit a variety of adult and juvenile facilities, provides direct contact with prisons, insights into prison life, and the means by which students can enter the field. The internship option provides additional valuable experience in regional facilities, forging connections for future employment.

15 credits

Minor Requirements

IND-368	The Prison Experience	3 credits
SOC-330	Criminology and Deviance	3 credits

Choose 9 credits from the following:

ATH-202	Cultural Diversity	3 credits
EDU-300	Schools and Society	3 credits
POE-241	Introduction to Public Policy	3 credits
PSY-404	Abnormal Psychology	3 credits
PSY-407	Legal Psychology	3 credits
SOC-299T	Special Topics in Sociology	3 credits
SOC-340	Cultural Criminology	3 credits
SOC-349	Social Stratification	3 credits
SOC-497	Internship	1-3 credits
SOC-399T	Special Topics in Sociology	3 credits

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this minor, students will be able to:

1) Describe criminal justice system structures and functions, including police, courts, and corrections;
2) Debate contentious criminal justice policy issues, such as police use of force, sentencing guidelines, and prison reform;
3) Analyze the connections between criminal justice systems and the societies in which they operate;
4) Use criminology and deviance theories to evaluate cases;
5) Explain justice-involved-individual rehabilitation and desistance practices, such as the risk-need-responsivity model and the evidence-based practices movement; and
6) Discuss why criminology and criminal justice are often considered "rendezvous disciplines."