Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice

This course provides students with a broad overview of enduring topics and emerging issues in criminology and criminal justice. It also explores the history and role of criminology as an academic discipline and criminal justice as an institutional system in American society.

This course covers the policy process as it relates to crime legislation, criminological theory and implications for public policy.

This course is an examination of criminological theory for the advanced student. The focus is on critical analysis of both contemporary and historical criminological theories. In order to aid in the development of a critical understanding of theory, beyond understanding the content of central theories, the class focuses on discussion of theory development and testing. In addition, the class focuses on an understanding of the relationship of one theory to another as well as the state of empirical evidence surrounding each theory.

This course examines the linkages between social characteristics and crime. The course concentrates on what we know about the impact of gender, age, race and social class on crime and criminal justice.

This course teaches multivariate statistical techniques to train criminal justice researchers and policy makers to explore the causes and consequences of crime and criminal justices policies. Although the exact statistical techniques covered may vary, they will typically include multiple regression, multiple discriminate analysis, logistic regression, factor analysis, cluster analysis and path analysis.

The central goal of this graduate seminar is to enable students to create and critique qualitative research designs focused on contemporary issues in criminology and criminal justice. A number of qualitative approaches will be covered including field observational research, focused interviews, case studies and content analysis. The seminar explores techniques, strengths and limitations of these varied qualitative methodologies.

This course explores advanced statistical techniques commonly used in research on crime and justice. The major focus of the course will be hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), a diverse set of techniques that extend standard multivariate analysis to accommodate nested data. Other advanced techniques will also be covered: event history/survival models, time series, etc.

This course provides students with advanced understanding of issues in criminology/criminal justice research including: history, philosophy, sociology, epistemology, politics and ethics of social science research; methodological questions of reliability, validity, conceptualization, operationalization, scale construction, data collection methodologies, sampling.

This course examines the links between social structures and institutions, and justice at the individual, neighborhood, city, state and country levels. Students explore the ways in which structures and institutions are both agents of social control and facilitators or initiators of crime. Emphasis will be placed on theories, methodologies and empirical assessments.

This course provides a foundation of the most important theories and research relating to residential communities and crime. The casual linkages between features of neighborhoods and social disorder will be explored in the context of criminological theories. Students will emerge with sufficient knowledge to develop a class or design a significant research project.

This course explores crimes of the state from a sociological and criminological perspective by examining historical and current cases of governmental crime. This will cover the history, theory and method of the field; controls of and constraints on state crime; and cases of state crime.

Students will develop original research projects on the criminal justice system, police, courts and /or corrections. Projects will be designed to culminate in a publishable paper.

This course is designed to introduce graduate students to life-course perspectives for understanding crime and deviant behavior. Students discuss the various methodologies, both quantitative and qualitative, most commonly found in studies of the life course today.

Topics vary by semester

Supervised independent study arranged with instructor and approved by graduate program director.

This course provides students with a broad overview of enduring topics and emerging issues in criminology and criminal justice. It also explores the history and role of criminology as an academic discipline and criminal justice as an institutional system in American society.

To familiarize students with the policy process as it relates to crime legislation, criminological theory and implications for public policy.

This course is an examination of criminological theory for the advanced student. The focus is on critical analysis of both contemporary and historical criminological theories. In order to aid in the development of a critical understanding of theory, beyond understanding the content of central theories, the class focuses on discussion of theory development and testing. In addition, the class focuses on an understanding of the relationship of one theory to another as well as the state of empirical evidence surrounding each theory.

This course examines the linkages between social characteristics and crime. The course concentrates on what is known about the impact of gender, age, race and social class on crime and criminal justice.

This course teaches multivariate statistical techniques to train criminal justice researchers and policy makers to explore the causes and consequences of crime and criminal justices policies. Although the exact statistical techniques covered may vary, they will typically include multiple regression, multiple discriminate analysis, logistic regression, factor analysis, cluster analysis and path analysis.

The central goal of this graduate seminar is to enable students to create and critique qualitative research designs focused on contemporary issues in criminology and criminal justice. A number of qualitative approaches will be covered including field observational research, focused interviews, case studies and content analysis. The seminar explores techniques, strengths and limitations of these varied qualitative methodologies.

This course focuses on the methodological, practical, and theoretical considerations involved in designing interview-based or ethnographic research studies. Practical in its approach, students will leave this course with the necessary skills, competencies, and instruments/protocols necessary to complete data collection for an interview-based or ethnographic project.

This course explores advanced statistical techniques commonly used in research on crime and justice. The major focus of the course is hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), a diverse set of techniques that extend standard multivariate analysis to accommodate nested data. Other advanced techniques are also covered: event history/survival models, time series, etc.

This course provides students with advanced understanding of issues in criminology/criminal justice research including: history, philosophy, sociology, epistemology, politics and ethics of social science research; methodological questions of reliability, validity, conceptualization, operationalization, scale construction, data collection methodologies, sampling.

This course examines issues surrounding jail and prison environments in the U.S. Topics include the philosophy of incarceration, inmate rights, inmate (mal)adaptation, misconduct, inmate and correctional officer safety and well-being, classification, rehabilitative programming, and evidence-based solutions and scholarly opportunities aimed at improving the experience of both inmates and staff.

This course examines the links between social structures and institutions, and justice at the individual, neighborhood, city, state and country levels. Students explore the ways in which structures and institutions are both agents of social control and facilitators or initiators of crime. Emphasis will be placed on theories, methodologies and empirical assessments.

This course provides a foundation of the most important theories and research relating to residential communities and crime. The casual linkages between features of neighborhoods and social disorder will be explored in the context of criminological theories. Students will emerge with sufficient knowledge to develop a class or design a significant research project.

This course provides a systematic introduction to the study of queer communities in criminology and criminal justice, while still drawing from diverse academic disciplines, such as sociology, history, and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. We will first explore the contexts of LGBTQ individuals’ criminalized conduct across time and space, as well as our guiding theoretical lens. We will critically interrogate existing literatures on queer peoples’ victimization as well as their offending. Finally, we will explore emerging public health and education concerns.

This course explores crimes of the state from a sociological and criminological perspective by examining historical and current cases of governmental crime. This course covers the history, theory and method of the field; controls of and constraints on state crime; and cases of state crime.

Students develop original research projects focusing on the criminal justice system, police, courts and/or corrections. Projects are designed to culminate in a publishable paper.

This course is designed to introduce graduate students to life-course perspectives for understanding crime and deviant behavior. Students discuss the various methodologies, both quantitative and qualitative, most commonly found in studies of the life course today.

This course provides a systematic introduction to the study of gender and crime. We first explore theories, trends, patterns, and pathways, which include gendered contexts of risk, victimization, and offending. We also explore the role of the state, such as in regulating reproduction or in furthering criminalization and surveillance through institutions such as schools, the crimino-legal system, and carceral settings. Other topics, including the experiences of women in criminal justice occupations, are also discussed.

This course enhances the process of professionalization of students by supporting ongoing dissertation progress as well as preparing the student for publishing, grant writing, and the job market.

Topics vary by semester.

Supervised study arranged with an instructor and approved by the graduate program director.

Dissertation hours.

This course is a pass/fail course for master's students in their final semester. It may be taken to fulfill the registration requirement necessary for graduation. All master's students are required to be registered for at least one graduate credit hour in the semester of their graduation.

This course is a pass/fail course doctoral students may take to maintain active status after successfully passing the candidacy examination. All doctoral students are required to be registered for at least one graduate credit hour every semester until their graduation.

In this course students grapple with issues concerning war, gender roles, and gender inequality. The course addresses gender roles in war throughout history, globally and across cultures. However, the United States military and military involvement in the 20th and 21st century will remain the primary focus areas. Discussions include how social norms and ideals of masculinity and femininity shape, and in turn are shaped by, images and realities of war, including gendered aspects of nationalism and just war theories. The military involvement of men, women (and children) in war and in peacetime, as participants and observers, perpetrators and victims, supporters and opponents of war is also discussed.

A sociological analysis of the field of child welfare. Topics include social inequality as it applies to children as a group in the U.S. and globally; understanding violence against children within the global context of children's rights; examining data on the degree to which policies, programs and research in the field fail to protect children and why; prevalence, causes and consequences of child sexual, physical and emotional abuse and neglect; evaluation of programs like 'family preservation' and placement in 'substitute' care, i.e. foster care, adoption, institutionalization; changes that would protect and advance the interests and rights of children at the parent-child, agency and societal level.

Analysis of the nature and causes of social change, major social movements, and their impact upon contemporary society.

A study of various definitions and forms of deviant behavior, theoretical explanations of causes of deviant behavior and the impact of deviant behavior on society and the individual.

An examination of women's experiences with health and illness and women's roles in the health-care system as patients and care providers from a feminist sociological perspective.

The study of the process of and responses to the oppression of racial, religious, ethnic, and national minorities in a variety of countries within a historical and comparative perspective. Special emphasis given to American minorities and especially African Americans.

This course takes an expansive and intersectional approach to studying various forms of gender-based violence, from the interpersonal to the systemic, institutional, and cultural. Prevalence, risk factors, theoretical explanations, and legal remedies related to topics such as intimate partner violence, sexual assault on college campuses, gender-based violence in the military, sexual violence against undocumented immigrants, commercial sexual exploitation, and racism and reproductive health will be examined.

The study of health, illness and society. After exploring how health is conceptualized by the prevailing allopathic medical model, an emergent alternative or "integrative" health perspective is examined with a focus on how wellbeing may be understood.

Topics include changes in the legal status of drugs, cross-cultural and historical variations in the control and use of drugs, and social epidemiology of drug use in contemporary society.

The advanced study of selected topics designed to permit qualified students to work on subjects of mutual interest which, due to their specialized nature, may not be offered regularly. These courses will appear in the course schedule, and will be more fully described in information distributed to academic advisors.

The advanced study of selected topics designed to permit students to work on subjects of mutual interest which, due to their specialized nature, may not be offered regularly. These courses will appear in the course schedule, and will be more fully described in information distributed to academic advisors.

Independent reading and study on a topic to be selected under the direction of an instructor. Conferences and papers as appropriate.

Independent reading and study on a topic to be selected under the direction of an instructor. Conferences and papers as appropriate.

The application of social science methods to practical problems. The topics of research design, measurement, scaling, sampling, data collection, and research organization are taught with reference to issues of reliability, validity and ethical concerns.

This course explores racial inequality in the United States. The course is organized by the question: “Why, in 21st Century United States, are there still different social outcomes for the descendants of American slaves and descendants of European immigrants?” Students are given a selection of materials from a variety of perspectives attempting to answer the question.

An examination of classical and contemporary sociological theories about the relations between the individual and society; the ways theory shapes and informs the study of social issues; and the relationship among theory, research and practice.

This course examines the many ways in which violence against women functions as an agent of social control. Violence is viewed on a continuum in order to determine how a variety of acts contribute to the subordination of women. Specific types of violence are explored including: wife assault, rape, incest, sexual harassment and pornography.

This course is a graduate-level introduction to social statistics as they may be applied to various practical problems. Students will learn the appropriate use of various statistical procedures through discussion and application.

This course is a graduate-level introduction to the use of the computer in problems of data management and analysis. Students will use existing software packages (e.g, SPSS, SAS) to build specified data files and carry out various statistical procedures.

This seminar integrates the skills needed to complete a master's thesis. Exercises include formulating research questions, developing a research design, and writing a publishable paper. Students practice these skills assignments in class and by completing their thesis proposal.

Students gain first-hand experience in professional settings which are deemed appropriate given their academic background and career objectives. Students will be required to complete a research project which corresponds to their specific internship placement.

Topics vary each semester.

Topics vary each semester.

Independent reading and study on a topic to be selected under the direction of an instructor. Conferences and papers as appropriate.

Independent reading and study on a topic to be selected under the direction of an instructor. Conferences and papers as appropriate.

Credit hours to continue thesis work.

Basic methods of demographic analysis. Topics include population estimation and projection and the measurement of fertility, mortality, and migration.

Topics vary by semester.

Independent reading and study on a topic to be selected under the direction of an instructor.

Topics vary by semester.

Independent reading and study on a topic to be selected under the direction of an instructor.

This course is a pass/fail course for master's students in their final semester. It may be taken to fulfill the registration requirement necessary for graduation. All master's students are required to be registered for at least one graduate credit hour in the semester of their graduation.

This course is a pass/fail course doctoral students may take to maintain active status after successfully passing the candidacy examination. All doctoral students are required to be registered for at least one graduate credit hour every semester until their graduation.