Criminology and Criminal Justice Major at Shady Grove

The Universities at Shady Grove
9636 Gudelsky Drive
5105 Camille Kendall Academic Center (Building III)
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: 301-738-6307
ccjsusg@umd.edu
http://shadygrove.umd.edu/academics/degree-programs/ba-criminology-and-criminal-justice/

Program Director: Wendy Stickle, Ph.D.

The Major

Criminology and criminal justice encompasses the study of both the causes of, and responses to crime.  It involves studying individual, group, and mass behavior, as well as the institutions, professions, and laws that exist to detect, control, and ameliorate the effects of crime.  As a discipline, criminology and criminal justice is situated at the nexus of other social science disciplines such as sociology, psychology, and government, in addition to public policy and legal studies.

The University of Maryland, College Park offers its Bachelor of Arts in Criminology & Criminal Justice at the Universities at Shady Grove.  Students transfer into this Program after completing their freshman and sophomore years elsewhere, typically at a junior college. Through this Program, students complete their junior- and senior-year coursework at USG with the option to attend full- or part-time. Upon completion of this Program, students are awarded a University of Maryland, College Park B.A. degree.

Program Learning Outcomes

Having completed the CCJS degree program, students should have acquired the following knowledge and skills:

1. Students will demonstrate basic knowledge of major criminology and criminal justice content areas.
2. Students will demonstrate a basic knowledge of descriptive and inferential statistics appropriate to the social sciences.
3. Students will demonstrate competence in basic social science research methods.

Chair: R. Brunson

Shady Grove Program Director: W. Stickle

Lecturers: T. Alexander, A. Drew, R. Harris, L. Morlier, E. Pallas, N. Romeiser, R. Shusko, W. Sollod, J. Trusty, C. Woodward

The CCJS major is comprised of 36 credit hours of coursework in the CCJS department and either MATH107 (formerly MATH111) or STAT100. A calculus class (MATH120, MATH130, or MATH140) with a grade of C- or higher may be substituted for MATH107 or STAT100.

¹

Courses of Choice must be completed using one or a combination of the following ways:

• Complete additional CCJS courses that are not required (i.e., CCJS325, CCJS360, CCJS418)
• Complete 1 Independent Study for credit (max 3 credits)
• Complete 1 Internship for credit (max 3 credits)

Note: Two CCJS Courses of Choice must be at the 4xx-level.

²

A calculus class, MATH120 (formerly MATH220), MATH130 or MATH140, with a grade of C- or higher may be substituted

Please keep the following information in mind:

• No grade lower than a C- may be used toward the major
• Students must achieve a combined grade point average of a 2.0 in the CCJS major

OTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR

The CCJS Department enforces all prerequisites and does not oversubscribe students to courses that are closed.

Roadmaps for all four-year plans can be found here. Select the College of your major to find the corresponding roadmap.

For more information on developing a four-year academic plan, please refer to the Student Academic Success-Degree Completion Policy section of this catalog.

All majors are strongly encouraged to see an advisor at least once each semester. Advising is available by appointment in the Camille Kendall Academic Center (Building III), room 5105. Students must complete all course prerequisites and obtain department permission from the Program Director to enroll in most CCJS classes. Call 301-738-6307 or email ccjsusg@umd.edu.

Internships

The internship must be a learning experience involving work in a criminal justice or criminological setting. Interns are expected to gain valuable information which will add to their overall understanding of the field of criminology and criminal justice. Internship positions must center around gaining new material over the course of the semester and are expected to involve some degree of ongoing training/learning for the intern. Internship placements are subject to the approval of the Internship Director.

Internship Eligibility

Interns must meet the following criteria:

• Interns must be CCJS majors
• Interns must have completed a minimum of 56 credits at the time of application
• Interns must have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 at the time of application
• Interns must work 45 hours per credit over the course of the semester
• A maximum of 6 internship credits per semester and a total of 12 internship credits overall will be permitted
• Internship credit will not be approved for current or previously held jobs

Interns must register themselves for the internship prior to the end of the semester's schedule adjustment period. Obtaining departmental approval for the internship does NOT register the student for the class. Additional information about internships can be picked up from the CCJS advising office in Building III, room 5105 or found on the CCJS@USG blog.

Student Societies and Professional Organizations

There are two student societies available for membership for CCJS majors: the Criminal Justice Student Association (CRIMSA) and Alpha Phi Sigma Honor Society (APS).

The Criminal Justice Student Association (CRIMSA) is dedicated to supplementing our members' academic experience by providing extracurricular opportunities to further explore critical issues involving criminology and criminal justice. Through a regular program of speakers, agency demonstrations, and community service projects, the CRIMSA provides students with valuable information for making decisions about career choices, further graduate level study, and law school. CRIMSA provides students with opportunities for academic and social interaction, and access to criminology and criminal justice researchers, teachers, and practitioners representing a variety of government, academic and commercial corporate and non-profit organizations. All Universities at Shady Grove students, regardless of home institution or major, are eligible for CRIMSA membership. CRIMSA meetings and programs are held at least monthly during the Fall and Spring semesters.

Alpha Phi Sigma (APS) is a National Criminal Justice Honor Society founded 1942 and membership is open to CCJS majors who have completed at least 40 total credits with at least 12 credits in CCJS courses. Undergraduate applicants must have an overall GPA of at least a 3.2 and a major GPA of at least 3.4. Graduate student applicants must have a 3.4 overall GPA. Applicants must fill out an application, submit an official or unofficial transcript, and a check (personal check is fine) made out to Alpha Phi Sigma for $55. The local chapter's name is Omega Iota. Completed applications, check, and transcripts should be submitted to Dr. Stickle in Building III, room 5105. Applications are processed throughout the academic year. You will be notified when you have been officially accepted. Applications are available from Dr. Stickle or at http://ccjs.umd.edu.

Awards and Recognition

Each year the department selects the outstanding graduating senior for the Peter J. Lejins award. A graduating senior is also selected for the Shady Grove Academic Achievement Award and is eligible to receive the USG Student Leadership Award.