Department of Crime and Justice Studies

Faculty and Fields of Interest

Tammi Arford

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

Susan Krumholz (Chair) 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

Viviane Saleh-Hanna 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

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

About the Department

Crime and Justice Studies is an innovative new major, grounded in the liberal arts tradition. In the study of Crime and Justice we encourage broad theoretical inquiries on issues of social and criminal justice. These include both questions of critical inquiry (what is crime, what is law and what is justice) as well as comprehensive analyses of structural, institutional, and state violence. This necessitates the study of racism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism and classism as they relate to the criminal justice system’s policies and practices.

This is an interdisciplinary program that draws on a range of resources across the university and provides rigorous intellectual challenges. The program will focus on the social and ethical considerations unique to the field of crime and justice, with the goal of giving students new opportunities to combine a university education with enhanced avenues for career advancement and public service.

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

Students entering the major must maintain a 2.75 GPA in the major
Maintain a minimum of a 2.0 overall GPA
Meet the CJS major requirements
Complete 30 credits at the 300/400 level (this includes courses in the major, excluding Experiential Learning)
Complete a minimum of 120 credits with at least 45 at UMass Dartmouth
Complete University Studies requirements of the university
Complete the distribution requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences

Admission into the Major

Students seeking admission into the Crime and Justice Studies major must have earned a minimum of 30 credits with a minimum overall GPA of 2.75. Students interested in majoring in Crime and Justice Studies must see 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.

Student Learning Goals

Discipline-specific:

Understanding concepts of culture and society;
Understanding systems of inequality and the dynamics of local and global distributions of power;
Understanding the constructed nature 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 and coherent arguments both orally and through written essays
Understand and critically evaluate social-scientific work
Ability to assemble relevant published background research, critically evaluate the research, and integrate it into an argument.

BA/MPP Accelerated Program

Department of Crime and Justice Studies
Department of Public Policy

Program Description

The BA/MPP accelerated program offers exceptional undergraduate students in Crime and Justice Studies the opportunity to complete both a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and a Master of Public Policy (MPP) in an accelerated 5-year program.

Normally, students who meet eligibility criteria apply to the program after achieving 45 credits. Successful applicants are provisionally accepted into the program, allowing them to take POL 500 in the first semester of their junior year. Students who successfully achieve a 3.0 (B) or higher in POL500 and maintain a minimum overall gpa of 3.2 are fully matriculated into the BA/MPP accelerated program. Students who fail to achieve a 3.0 or higher in POL 500 and do not maintain an overall 3.2 gpa are generally not matriculated into the accelerated program.

In addition to courses prescribed for their specific undergraduate program, matriculated students complete a sequence of MPP courses in their junior and senior years. Students receive credit for the POL courses in both the undergraduate (BA) and graduate (MPP) programs. Upon successful completion of undergraduate requirements, students receive an undergraduate degree. If they have followed the prescribed schedule of courses, they will have only one additional year of full-time study in the MPP program to complete the additional requirements and receive a Master in Public Policy. This program allows students to complete their undergraduate and MPP degrees in 5 years of full-time study, rather than the normal 6.

Admissions Criteria

Applicants must meet the following admission criteria to apply to the program:

Have completed a minimum of 45 credits of towards their undergraduate degree prior to the semester in which they plan to apply to the accelerated program. Students should normally be in their second semester of their sophomore year of full-time study when applying to the program.
Have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.2 in the credits being used to meet the 45-credit minimum described above.
Have a letter of support from a sponsoring faculty member in the Department of Crime and Justice Studies detailing the student’s aptitude for the program and recommending them.
Have a personal statement outlining the reason(s) why the student is applying to the program, stating their career goals, and explaining how the Master of Public Policy degree with specified concentration (education, environment, public management) can help to achieve their objectives.

Application Process/Timeline

Students who meet the above admissions criteria apply to the program directly through the Graduate Admissions Office (GAO). The deadline for submitting complete applications is March 1^st of each calendar year.
The GAO will assembles all admissions information and forwards complete applications to the Department of Public Policy for review. Applicants will be notified of their status no later than April 1^st of each calendar year.
Successful applicants will be invited to take POL 500 the following fall semester. Applicants receiving a minimum of a 3.0 or higher in POL 500 and maintaining a minimum of a 3.2 overall gpa will receive full admission to the BA/MPP Accelerated Program and will begin taking courses in the MPP program in spring of the following semester. Students admitted into the program are guaranteed a space in MPP designated courses in subsequent semesters.

Note on Minimum Grade Requirements for MPP Courses

Students who take POL designated MPP courses must achieve a minimum grade of 3.0 or higher in each course in order for for it to be counted toward the MPP degree. POL courses with a 1.7 (C-) or higher will be acceptable if those courses are counted towards the undergraduate degree requirements. Students should speak with advisors to understand the impact of grades in individual courses in the accelerated program.