Justice Systems Concentration

The Justice Systems Concentration within the Justice Studies major prepares students for graduate study or for careers in the justice system. The last twenty-five years have seen a substantial growth in the field of criminal justice education. Prior to that time, it was unusual to find criminal justice professionals with college degrees in any field, let alone in job-specific fields. Now criminal justice agencies prefer, and increasingly expect, new recruits to have university degrees and routinely provide funds for their employees to seek further education.

The Justice Systems concentration emphasizes the relationships among law, the justice system, and society. This takes the form of an inquiry into how the system is constructed and how people within its different branches (a) produce meaning, (b) make decisions, (c) interact, and (d) are socialized into their working roles. A major curricular theme, then, is how the occupational subcultures attached to the system are affected by, and deal with, issues of race, ethnicity, class, and gender--issues that workers increasingly face and for which they are seldom prepared. In addition, students will learn to use interpersonal techniques for the practical application of this knowledge, e.g., sociodramatic and psychodramatic role-playing exercises in the classroom as well as the development and the application of mediation techniques. We also expect to work closely with community service and law enforcement agencies in the surrounding area. Indeed, we expect to be using these agencies as field work sites and for internship programs.

Students in the Justice Systems concentration will be able to pursue either a traditional Criminal Justice program (which includes courses that focus specifically upon all areas prescribed in the Minimum Standards for Criminal Justice Education of the Association of Criminal justice Sciences Committee on Education and Standards) or more focused areas of interest such as Juvenile Justice or Empirical Perspectives in Justice Systems. In contrast to the Criminal Justice major available at many other institutions in New Jersey, this program is a concentration within a wider multidisciplinary program in Justice Studies.

The Justice Systems Concentration will therefore prepare students for a variety of careers, including: research analyst, social worker, probation officer, police officer and/or administrator, corrections officer/supervisor/ administrator, and management
consultant.

Criminal Justice is also available as an undergraduate minor.

Major in Justice Studies With Justice Systems Concentration :

REQUIRED COMMON CORE: 15-16 CREDITS

(All courses are 3 credits except for JUST240)

JUST200 Perspectives on Justice Studies I
JUST201 Perspectives on Justice Studies II
JUST221 Research in Justice Studies: Social Science Perspectives
JUST312 Research in Justice Studies: Legal Perspectives
JUST497 Senior Seminar and Field Experience in Justice Studies (Externship)
*Variable credit allowed up to 8 credits.  Credits above 3 credits are free electives, not included in the                            semester hours toward the major.

CONCENTRATION: 25 CREDITS

I. Additional Required Courses: 10 credits

SOCI101 Criminology
SOCI232 Introduction to Criminal Justice
JUST240 Statistics for Social Research (4 cr.)

II. Choice of 5 courses from among the following: 15 credits

A. Students must include at least three courses from this group:

SOCI202   Racial and Ethnic Relations
SOCI203   Organized Crime
SOCI238   Research Methods in Criminal Justice
SOCI315   Social Stratification
SOCI321   White Collar Crime 
SOCI322   Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice
SOCI325   The Sociology of Police
SOCI351   Juries and Justice
SOCI353   Sociology of Corrections
SOCI405   Deviance and Social Control
SOCI420   Sociology of Law
SOCI430   Sociology of Gender
SOCI230   Sociology of Conflict and Violence OR
ANTH230 Anthropology of Conflict and Violence

B. Students must include at least one Legal Studies or Psychology course from this group:

LSPR301 Criminal Law and Procedure OR
POLS321 Law in Society: Criminal Law
POLS323 American Constitutional Law: Civil Rights and Liberties OR
LSLS360  Rights, Liberties, and American Justice
POLS304  State and Local Government
LSLW315 The Mediation Process and Its Applications 
LSPR317  Evidence
PSYC224 Children' Rights and Child Advocacy
PSYC248 Psychology and Law (prerequisite: PSYC 101)
PSYC330 Forensic Psychology
PSYC430 Contemporary Issues in Child Advocacy
PHIL206  Philosophical Issues in Law and Justice
JUST499  Selected Topics in Justice Studies


*With departmental permission, students may substitute up to two courses at the 500 level.


TOTAL CREDIT HOURS FOR JUSTICE STUDIES MAJOR WITH                                               CONCENTRATION IN JUSTICE SYSTEMS: 40-41 CREDITS