About the Program

The justice studies curriculum integrates knowledge and skills acquired in disciplines such as sociology, psychology and political science with a range of justice subjects including crime and delinquency, law enforcement, courts, corrections and law. The program provides an opportunity to understand the foundations and problems of the contemporary criminal and juvenile justice processes and suggests approaches to the solution of these problems. The program prepares its graduates for professional roles in the varied fields of criminal and juvenile justice and for graduate study or law school. One special feature is the combined B.A./M.A. ­program. Undergraduate students with outstanding academic records as juniors or seniors can complete these two degrees simultaneously and can apply up to 12 hours of graduate work toward B.A. degree requirements.


Faculty

The justice studies faculty has received national and international recognition. Many of the members have completed research projects, written books, published in prestigious journals, served as editors of journals and held offices in criminal justice professional associations. A number of the faculty have won or been nominated for teaching awards.

Computer and Research Facilities

Students can make use of the departmental computer lab, which has available Internet and e-mail access, statistical software and word processing, to name a few. Students also have access to the Kent State Library, with its extensive collection of more than two million volumes.

Program Requirements for the B.A.

All students pursuing bachelor’s degrees at Kent State University complete a series of Liberal Education Requirements. Justice studies majors take courses in English composition, mathematics or logic, foreign language, humanities, fine arts, social sciences and basic sciences.
Each justice studies major completes 24 semester hours of core requirements and chooses 21 semester hours of major elective coursework in the areas of policing, corrections and law and justice (15 hours of which must be upper division).
The following eight courses are the core requirements for the justice studies major:

· Introduction to Justice Studies
· Police Role
· Corrections
· Criminology
· Law and Society
· Research Methods in Justice Studies
· Court Functions, plus either
· Minorities in Crime and Justice or
· Women in Crime and Justice

Of the remaining 21 hours of major elective coursework, 12 hours must be JUS courses, and the other 9 hours of electives can be selected from courses in the JUS curriculum or from specified courses in psychology, political science, sociology and philosophy.

Special Departmental Programs

The Department of Justice Studies offers special internship and field placement programs. In cooperation with local, state and national criminal justice and related agencies, students gain invaluable experience, as well as academic credit. These placements sometime include financial compensation by the host agency and can mean permanent employment with that agency upon graduation.
Cooperative programs with several state and federal agencies have also been formalized, and Kent State has developed a program for students pursuing criminal justice involving planned, on-the-job training. Internship programs have been established with federal, state and county juvenile and adult criminal justice agencies.

Minor in Justice Studies

The justice studies minor requires 24 hours of coursework. A minor can be completed in conjunction with any other Kent State (non-justice studies) major.