Our interactive approach to learning fosters an understanding of crime and the principles of social scientific research. Youll assess how illegal behavior is defined, with special attention to how social inequalities of race, class, gender, sexuality, and age influences what is seen as crime and what is seen as justiceand how they intersect. Throughout your studies, youll also develop concrete policy analysis and research skills built on a social justice framework. Youll learn to produce research projects and other creative works that address pressing real-world social or criminological problems. Our curriculum emphasizes the intersectionality of criminal justice and social justice. Youll gain a solid understanding of the American criminal justice system within its broader historical and institutional contexts, and consider how its procedures create or exacerbate inequalities based on characteristics such as race, class, and gender. Your courses will also explore the theories behind crimewhat constitutes a crime and who gets to decide its definitionwhile giving you a strong foundation in social research methodologies and techniques.