This volunteer experience requires a minimum of 30 hours in the community. The human service agency setting is selected by the instructor and the students in the course. Graded CR/NC.

This course will introduce students to the theories and scientific methods that sociologists use to explain human behavior and describe the organization of society. Students will acquire a sociological perspective to analyze how individuals are products of their social environments. Students will also examine the social patterns that comprise systems of social inequality and major social institutions within contemporary American society. Prerequisite: any 100-level VUSM course or transfer student placement. LDW, SS

Social psychology is a scientific area in the discipline of psychology that seeks an understanding of how people think, feel, and behave in social situations. This course will focus on gaining an understanding of social psychological explanations for social influence and to improve understanding of common research methodologies utilized in social psychological research.

Independent reading and/or research under the supervision of a criminal justice faculty member. Refer to the academic policy section for independent study policy. Independent study contract is required. Prerequisite: 150. May be repeated for credit.

Non-classroom experiences in the field of criminal or juvenile justice. Placements are off- campus, and may be full- or part-time, and with or without pay. Credit for experiences must be sought prior to their occurance, and learning contracts must be submitted before the end of the first week of the semester. Police certification training may count as internship credits for interested students. See advisor and/or director of internship programs for details. Senior standing required. Graded CR/NC.

Courses on topics of interest to criminal justice students offered on the basis of need, interest, or timeliness. Prerequisite: 150. Restricted to students with junior standing or higher. May be repeated for credit. For specific section description, click to the Section Details in VitNet.

This course is an examination of ethical theories and issues that confront criminal justice practitioners, including law enforcement, courts, corrections, and professionals working in policy and research. It will explore the conceptsw of morality, ethics, values, moral/ethical frameworks and dilemmas in the criminal justice field. Students will examine case studies of ethical issues and moral debates they may encounter as practitioners and in their everyday lives.

This course will take an applied approach to explore material directly related to assessing and managing offenders; theories and research on evidence-based practices utilized by practitioners in community justice, corrections, and policing to promote offender change will be explored. Students will have a strong foundation in assessment and management, as well as rehabilitation of offenders of all socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds and orientations. In addition, students will examine successful approaches to working with offenders and victims by using a strength based perspective.

This course provides an historical and sociological examination of the models, practices and rationalizations for community based punishment and incarceration. It includes an overview of early punishment and modern day incarceration, treatment, reform, and rehabilitation of criminal offenders. The course explores the historical movement towards and away from mass incarceration to the development of probation and parole systems, de-incarceration, community corrections, and the control of criminal offenders within our society.

In this course, students will explore common scholarly ideas and concepts that inform work with communities and how these are applied in a criminal and community justice setting. This unit further explores the methods and principles of community participation, capacity-building, community needs assessment, and resilience. Students will plan and execute a community building project and present on their chosen topic. Students will be expected to identify and analyze micro to meso level community aspects and interests in their own communities.