Department of Crime and Justice Studies

Administrative Assistant

Rebecca Leverett
https://www.umassd.edu/directory/rleverett/

Faculty

Lisa Marie Alatorre, Lecturer

Tammi Arford, Associate Professor
https://www.umassd.edu/directory/tarford/

Aneesa Baboolal, Assistant Professor
https://www.umassd.edu/directory/ababoolal/

Brian Broadrose, Assistant Professor
https://www.umassd.edu/directory/bbroadrose/

Jennifer E. DeBarros, Lecturer

Erin Katie Krafft, Assistant Professor
https://www.umassd.edu/directory/ekrafft/

Susan Krumholz Professor Emeritus
https://www.umassd.edu/directory/skrumholz/

C. Lipou Laliemthavisay, Esq., Lecturer
https://www.umassd.edu/directory/claliemthavisay/

Eric Larson, Associate Professor
https://www.umassd.edu/directory/elarson/

Vanessa Lovelace, Assistant Professor
https://www.umassd.edu/directory/vlovelace/

Toniqua Mikell, Assistant Professor
https://www.umassd.edu/directory/tmikell/

Jean Robertson, Lecturer
https://www.umassd.edu/directory/jrobertson/

Ashley Ruderman-Looff, Lecturer & Assistant Director for Advocacy and Education in the Center for Women, Gender and Sexuality

Viviane Saleh-Hanna, Professor
https://www.umassd.edu/directory/vhanna/

Heather Turcotte, Department Chairperson and Associate Professor
https://www.umassd.edu/directory/hturcotte/

Tryon Woods, Associate Professor
https://www.umassd.edu/directory/twoods/

Department of Crime and Justice Studies Mission

The department of Crime and Justice Studies brings together the academic fields of criminology, criminal justice and justice studies while bridging the social sciences, humanities and sciences. We offer a multi-disciplinary program that specializes in the study of the criminal justice system’s policies and procedures to analyze the nature of structural, institutional, and transnational violence while providing students with the critical histories and skills they need to transform unjust conditions and improve society and their communities.

CJS provides teachings and research on the context, history, media, politics, policy, powers and responsibilities of the criminal justice system and the multiple agencies that engage with its work throughout society. The multi-disciplinary nature of the CJS program engages students with various alternative models of justice including restorative and transformative justice, conflict resolution and mediation, and abolitionism. Starting in our classrooms, students learn cross-agency skills and teachings that allow them to work within and across various ideologies and applications of criminal justice, law enforcement, and the legal system. Our students have graduated to work in the fields of law enforcement, courts, corrections, public administration, social services, youth services, non-profits agencies, corporate settings and community organizations. CJS students also have gone on to complete their graduate degrees in law, master’s, and various doctoral programs.

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 CJS faculty 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.

Student Learning Goals

Discipline-specific:

Study the working dynamics of the Criminal Justice System and how it crosses over with other governmental agencies and various communities;
Study systems of justice, inequality and the dynamics of local and global distributions of power;
Study the constructed and institutionalized natures of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality and culture;
Study basic theoretical arguments in criminology, criminal justice, justice studies and related fields;
Develop a critical understanding of social scientific approaches to research, sound research requirements, mixed method research designs; and
Develop abilities to apply knowledge from discipline-specific research and theory to issues in their lives, communities and work environments.

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.