CCJ Departmental Mission Statement
The Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice seeks to provide its students with the theoretical, practical and ethical foundations for understanding crime and the criminal justice system in its social context. The faculty is committed to excellence through development of focused and relevant scholarship. Through excellence in research and teaching in the areas of law creation, crime and deviance, and societal response to law violation, students develop a greater understanding of social control and its dynamic processes. Participation in research and internships assures relevance to current practice and further prepares students to apply their knowledge in the field, to conduct critical analyses of the system, and to undertake policy development and implementation. Students at the graduate level receive advanced instruction in research design and theory, helping students focus their skills for direct employment or more advanced studies. Rigorous commitment to peer-review and collegiality help assure that an ethic of continuous-improvement and self-reflection govern all departmental processes.