Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

Courses-Group A

• CJUS-P 501 Proseminar: Criminal Justice I (3 cr.) Intensive introduction to the basic areas of criminal justice.
• CJUS-P 502 Proseminar: Criminal Justice II (3 cr.) Intensive introduction to theories of crime and delinquency.
• CJUS-P 512 Corrections (3 cr.) Reviews historical and philosophical bases of the correctional system and examines its components (community corrections, jails, and prisons). Focuses on the structure and functions of the correctional system with particular attention to the role of broader social forces on the development and operation of the system.
• CJUS-P 515 Police in Society (3 cr.) Covers the bases and impacts of recent changes in U.S. policing, particularly with respect to community-oriented policing. Changes are analyzed in terms of the organizational and political contexts in which they occur as well as from historical and cross-cultural perspectives.
• CJUS-P 517 Juvenile Justice (3 cr.) Examines the historical development of the juvenile justice system, the tradition of reform, underlying ideologies, and current debates.
• CJUS-P 519 Probation and Parole (3 cr.) Primary emphasis on the development and evaluation of probation, parole, and other systems of community corrections. Examines the theoretical and empirical underpinnings of community programs for offenders, and their policy implications.
• CJUS-P 602 Courts and Criminal Justice (3 cr.) Addresses the nature and operation of courts with respect to criminal cases: structure and administration of courts; recruitment and selection of major participants; and specific decisions in the processing of criminal cases, including the decision to charge, pretrial release, trials, plea bargains, and criminal appeals.
• CJUS-P 610 Law and Society (3 cr.) Study of the interaction between social forces and legal processes, focusing on the question of what shapes the law. Subareas to be examined include the courts, sentencing, police, crime, deviance, and community-based justice. Emphasis on the links between crime-related behavior as defined by the law, its social and cultural environments, and the individual.
• CJUS-P 619 Crime and Public Policy (3 cr.) Examines processes by which societies define crime and develop responses to crime. Particular attention is given to case studies of how particular policies were developed and implemented, and what effects these policies produced.
• CJUS-P 622 Criminal Careers (3 cr.) A small number of career criminals commit the majority of serious crimes. Seminar explores the major personal and typological dimensions of such criminals by exposing the student to the commonalities among diverse forms of criminal activity and the implications for crime theory development and crime control policies.
• CJUS-P 623 Violent Behavior (3 cr.) Critical analysis of current theory and research on violent behavior utilizing a multidisciplinary framework. Topics include concepts and methods in the study of violence, prediction of violence, family and sexual violence, institutional violence, drugs and violence, and prevention of violent behavior.
• CJUS-P 627 White-Collar Crime (3 cr.) Examines the data and research related to white-collar crime to understand issues of causation and social control of this particular form of crime. Places white-collar crime within the context of general theories of crime, and compares and contrasts the various legal mechanisms (civil, administrative, and criminal) available to control it.
• CJUS-P 629 Victimization (3 cr.) Covers current theory, research, and measurement issues concerning the nature, extent, causes, and effects of criminal victimization; evaluations of programs for crime victims; and political and ideological differences among varying views of victim rights.
• CJUS-P 633 Dispute Settlement (3 cr.) Examines the legal, social, and cultural factors that influence the development and use of diverse dispute settlement processes in Criminal Justice.
• CJUS-P 634 Sentencing Theory and Practice (3 cr.) Examines the theoretical and practical issues relating to the sentencing of criminals. In particular, it focuses on the aims of punishment and the construction of sentencing models and alternatives designed to achieve these aims.
• CJUS-P 637 Community, Crime, and Criminal Justice (3 cr.) Examines the role of community structure and function in the distribution of crime and the formal and informal responses to crime.
• CJUS-P 639 History of Criminal Justice in the U.S. (3 cr.) Examines the development of the American criminal justice system, with particular attention to courts, prisons, and the police. Examines how definitions of deviance and criminality have changed over time and the ways class, gender, and race have shaped law and justice.
• CJUS-P 670 Cross-Cultural Studies (3 cr.) Examines the significance of cross-cultural research to criminology/criminal justice, research practices, and problems, with emphasis on analysis of field experiences and findings.
• CJUS-P 671 Comparative Justice Systems (3 cr.) Engages students in comparative issues and research to reveal political, historical, and cultural factors that have influenced criminal justice and law in the United States. Develops student abilities to conceptualize crime and law without using official legal concepts for purposes of comparative social scientific research.
• CJUS-P 672 Ideas about Justice (3 cr.) Explores a school or related schools of thought and practice about what “justice” means and requires. Special topics for the course may vary, focusing for example, on feminist justice, “just desserts” theory, restorative justice, retributive justice, or utilitarian justice. May be repeated for credit.
• CJUS-P 675 Women and Crime (3 cr.) Provides a flexible forum for the discussion of a previously neglected topic in criminology/criminal justice: women and crime. Includes discussion and debate on the nature and extent of women’s criminality, processing of women through each step of the criminal justice system, and women working in criminal justice.
• CJUS-P 680 Seminar: Issues in Criminal Justice (3 cr.) Selected topics in criminal justice that will vary from semester to semester. May be repeated for credit.
• CJUS-P 682 Seminar on Law Enforcement and Minorities (3 cr.) Examines different issues of race and ethnicity as they relate to crime and the criminal justice system. Topics include racial and ethnic disparities related to law enforcement and sentencing and policy implications related to policing, probation, pre-sentencing and post-release issues.

Courses-Group B

• CJUS-P 594 Introduction to Research Methods (3 cr.) Research methodology in criminal justice. Research design, scientific methods, quantitative/qualitative applications, ethical questions, and the role of the criminal justice researcher.
• CJUS-P 595 Data Analysis in Criminal Justice I (3 cr.) Data analysis applied to criminal justice data, including measurement, tables, graphs, probability, nonparametric statics, matrix algebra, correlation and regression, and tests of significance.
• CJUS-P 596 Data Analysis in Criminal Justice II (3 cr.) Advanced topics in data analysis.
• CJUS-P 599 Research Practicum (1-6 cr.) Designed to provide guided experience in conducting research independently. The topic and scope of the student’s effort must be approved in advance by the professor.
• CJUS-P 694 Research in Criminal Justice (3 - 6 cr.) Individual study project under the guidance of a faculty member or a committee. May be repeated once for a maximum of 6 credit hours. The student is expected to make substantial progress toward the identification and/or completion of an eventual Master’s project. This course is eligible for a deferred grade.
• CJUS-P 751 Topical Research Seminar (3-12 cr.) Students are expected to demonstrate their skills in research design and data analysis on a topic agreed- upon with the instructor. The instructor may encourage team research for appropriate designs and topics. Students are encouraged to develop topics related to dissertation research.
• CJUS-P 794 M.A. Thesis (6 cr.) This course is eligible for a deferred grade.
• CJUS-P 851 Reading in Criminal Justice (1-6 cr.) Individualized readings on topics not covered in regular course offerings. This course is eligible for a deferred grade.
• CJUS-P 855 Research in Criminal Justice (1-6 cr.) Graduate standing in criminal justice or consent of instructor. This course is eligible for a deferred grade. The student is expected to make substantial progress toward the identification of an eventual dissertation project. This course is eligible for a deferred grade.
• CJUS-P 859 Ph.D. Thesis (arr.-30 cr.) This course is eligible for a deferred grade.
• CJUS-G 901 Advanced Research (1 cr.) To enroll, students must have completed 90 credit hours and all graduate degree requirements except for the dissertation. Six semesters max. This course is eligible for a deferred grade.