Department of Crime and Justice Studies

Faculty and Fields of Interest

Viviane Saleh-Hanna (Department Chairperson) Black music, sociopolitical liberation movements and resistance, penology, criminological theories and the history of punishment, socio-structural analyzes of institutional racism, classism and (hetero)sexism

Tammi Arford

Heather Donovan (Full Time Lecturer) crime and justice studies, family violence, juvenile justice

Beenash Jafri

Susan Krumholz crime and justice; theories of crime, law and society; domestic violence; women’s studies

Eric Larson

Dennis Roderick (Full Time Lecturer) crime and justice studies, sexual assault, victimization, forensic psychology

Heather Turcotte

Tryon Woods critical race; gender, and sex studies; African diaspora; punishment and policing; political and symbolic economies of structural violence and globalization

Part Time Lecturers

Nasheba Barzey

Mia Rowland

Department of Crime and Justice Studies Mission

Crime and Justice Studies is an innovative department with teachings that are at the cutting edge and always up-to-date with recent events, trends, struggles and developments. The program provides national and international studies on issues of criminal justice, social justice, restorative justice and transformative justice, genocide and war crimes. These include questions of critical inquiry (what is crime, what is justice and how is it pursed) as well as comprehensive analyses of structural, institutional, and State violence.

The major is interdisciplinary and draws on a range of resources across the University while providing rigorous intellectual challenges. Our students study the social ethical considerations unique to the fields of crime and justice. Our education goal is to provide students with new opportunities to combine a university education with enhanced avenues for intellectual development, career advancement and public service and social service.

Admission into the Major

Students seeking admission to Crime and Justice Studies must have a minimum overall GPA of 2.0.

Students interested in majoring in Crime and Justice Studies must schedule an interview with the Chair of the Crime and Justice Studies Program for permission to enter the program, to discuss the program requirements and to arrange for a permanent advisor.

Minimum Requirements for Graduation:

To successfully complete the program for graduation, all students must:

Maintain a minimum of a 2.75 GPA in the major
Maintain a minimum of a 2.0 GPA overall
Meet the CJS major requirements listed below
Complete 30 credits at 300/400 level (including all courses in the major except Experiential Learning)
Complete a minimum of 120 credits with at least 45 at UMass Dartmouth
Complete the University Studies requirements
Complete the distribution requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences
All courses counting for the major must be completed with a C- or higher
Complete all required CJS core courses, 4 CJS electives within the Crime and Justice Studies department.

To successfully complete the program for graduation through the pre-2012 requirements [this is only available to students who were registered in the program before Fall 2012], students must:

Maintain a minimum of a 2.75 GPA in the major
Maintain a minimum of a 2.0 GPA overall
Meet the CJS major requirements listed below
Complete 30 credits at 300/400 level (including all courses in the major except Experiential Learning)
Complete a minimum of 120 credits with at least 45 at UMass Dartmouth
Complete the University Studies requirements
Complete the distribution requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences
All courses counting for the major must be completed with a C- or higher
Complete all required CJS core courses, 3 CJS electives within the Crime and Justice Studies department and 4 interdisciplinary courses in the social sciences or humanities

Student Learning Goals

Discipline-specific:

Understanding systems of inequality and the dynamics of local and global distributions of power;
Understanding the constructed and institutionalized natures of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation and culture;
Understanding basic theoretical arguments in crime and justice studies;
Critical understanding of social scientific approaches to research, sound research designs and basic social scientific research methods; and
Ability to apply knowledge from discipline-specific research and theory to issues in their lives and communities.

General skills:

Present organized, coherent arguments through developed public speaking and academic writing skills
Understand and critically evaluate social-scientific work
Ability to assemble relevant published background research, critically evaluate the research, and integrate it into an argument.

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