American University Catalog 2014-2015 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Justice, Law and Criminology
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Chair Richard Bennett
Academic Advisors Carl Cook, Shelley Morris
SPA PhD Program Director Laura Langbein
Full-Time Faculty
Professor Emeritus D.J. Saari, A.S. Trebach, R.I. Weiner
Professor R.R. Bennett, D. Dreisbach, B. Forst, J. Gould, R. Johnson, E. Maguire
Research Professor C. Cooper
Associate Professor Emerita D. Golash
Associate Professor L.A. Addington, D. Fagelson, D. Klusmeyer, J. Savage, J. Young
Assistant Professor C. Barron, B. Davies, M. Marr, J. Waters, T. Zeitoff
Professorial Lecturer T. Bacon, B. Bartholomew, J. Gumbrewicz
Instructor K.N. Kozey
Effective January 1, 2014, the Department of Justice, Law and Society (JLS) became the Department of Justice, Law and Criminology (JLC).
The department has one of the oldest programs in the field of justice in the United States. The full-time faculty in the department have educational backgrounds in law, criminology, criminal justice, philosophy, political science, sociology, psychology, and history. The department offers the Bachelor of Arts in Justice and Law and in Law and Society ; Master of Science in Justice, Law and Criminology and in Terrorism and Homeland Security Policy ; a dual Juris Doctor and Master of Science program with the Washington College of Law ; and the PhD in Justice, Law and Criminology .
The BA in Justice and Law, with concentrations in criminal justice or criminology, analyzes the foundations, functions, policies, and procedures of justice. Crime and deviance are serious public policy concerns in American society, and systems of justice are the main public policy responses for dealing with these problems. Cross-cultural and international perspectives are brought to bear when they shed light on the nature of crime and deviance in America or on the workings of American systems of justice. The BA in Law and Society, with concentrations in the humanities or social sciences, is an interdisciplinary program that examines the role of law in relation to social, political, and economic institutions. The complex relation of law and justice, broadly conceived, is the central consideration in this program of study. Drawing on the social sciences and humanities, this curriculum offers an historical and international perspective on legal issues. Both undergraduate majors can be considered prelaw majors.
The MS in Justice, Law and Criminology further elaborates on the central concerns of the undergraduate degrees offered in DJLC. The MS concentration in justice and public policy offers theoretical and applied grounding in criminology and criminal justice issues, including all levels of policing and corrections. Law and society is an interdisciplinary approach to the role of law in society including theoretical legal foundations and law as it relates to the social sciences and issues of social justice. The jurisprudence and social thought concentration emphasizes both philosophical and comparative perspectives on law and analytical thought.
The MS in Terrorism and Homeland Security Policy focuses on issues of national security from the perspectives of criminology and criminal justice. The program allows students to examine a variety of security issues and to develop strategic, policy-based solutions that federal, state and local governments can use to combat terrorism and prepare for future security threats.
The department’s programs prepare students for law school and further graduate study, as well as for entry-level positions and professional careers in the justice and security fields. Washington, DC provides a source of and internship placements, which often lead to challenging employment.
ProgramsMajorMinorMaster’s ProgramDoctoral Program
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