Oct 04, 2024  
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

Crime and Justice Studies Major


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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 “crime” and “justice” 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 accountabilities 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, education, and community organizations. CJS students also have gone on to complete their graduate degrees in law, master’s, and various doctoral programs.

Bachelor’s of Arts in Crime and Justice Studies (CJS)

Students can choose from two types of Bachelor’s of Arts degree in CJS: an in-person/day school format OR a fully online format in the CJS online program.  CJS Majors and CJS Online Majors have the same program requirements and the same 39 credit course requirements listed below.  CJS faculty teach courses in both the in-person/day school program and in the fully online program. CJS Majors and CJS Online Majors receive CJS advising with CJS faculty.

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 should contact the Chair of the Crime and Justice Studies Program for questions about the program, to discuss the program requirements, and to arrange for a CJS faculty advisor.

Requirements


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.

Crime and Justice Studies Electives - 12 credits


Students must take at least four (4) 300- or 400-level CJS electives.

Pre-Law Concentration


Crime and Justice Studies offers a pre-law concentration for majors who are interested in legal analysis, law or graduate school, or careers in the legal professions. All course requirements within the CJS pre-law concentration fall within existing CJS major, college, and university studies requirements. Students within the CJS pre-law concentration choose their required four (4) CJS electives within any of the three CJS prelaw concentration areas of focus: critical legal studies, policy and procedure, or transnational legal studies (see below and in the BHE Undergraduate Program Curriculum Outline).

Students can declare a CJS pre-law concentration at any time. Prerequisites for CJS core and elective required classes are identical to the CJS major.

All foundations courses are identical to the CJS major and students must complete all thirteen (13) CJS core requirements to complete the pre-law concentration. However, instead of taking their four (4) 300+ elective courses from the above list of CJS electives for general CJS majors, students in the CJS pre-law concentration must complete their four (4) required CJS 300+ elective courses with offerings from the list of CJS pre-law concentration courses (below). Students can choose all four of the electives from one area within the pre-law concentration or take electives in any of the concentration areas. 

CJS Pre-Law Concentration Elective Areas (complete four (4) elective course from any of the CJS pre-law concentration areas):

Total Credits: 39


Note


Work experience or internships outside of the department may not be substituted for CJS 450 Internship. A limited number of Experiential Learning Credits (CJS 298) and Field Inquiry Credits (CJS 407; CJS 408) may apply toward overall credits with additional faculty supervised and reflective academic work.

As part of the articulation agreement with the Massachusetts Community Colleges, it is anticipated that students arriving with an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice or a closely related field may have satisfied the requirements for CJS 190 Introduction to Crime and Justice Studies. We cannot transfer 300-level requirements from 2-year institutions (with the exception of 3 credits for CJS 370 completed through 6 credits at the 200 level. All 4 year CJS elective transfer requests must be approved by CJS chairperson. Current or future confirmed employers cannot be used as placements for the CJS 450 Internship requirement.

University Studies Requirements


In addition to the requirements in the major, students will be required to complete the University Studies requirements. For more information: http://www.umassd.edu/generaleducation/universitystudies/universitystudiescurriculum/.

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