Criminal Justice Degree Online

The Mount offers a new Criminology concentration within the Sociology major as of Fall 2008.

Students within Sociology who select the Criminology concentration will take courses in a wide range of areas including victimology; hate crimes; drugs and society; violence and the community; conflict and resolution; and, comparative criminology.

Students will be required to take courses that provide them with an introduction to the discipline of criminology; an analysis of social problems in the United States; an examination of the creation of laws and reaction to crime by society; various aspects of criminal victimization; and, exposure to criminal justice systems across the world.

This concentration will prepare students for scholarly careers in sociology, criminology and social deviance, as well as such professional careers in corrections, law enforcement, youth programming, rehabilitation, victim services, insurance and financial fraud counseling, private investigation, and the judicial court system.

Learning outcomes specific to the Criminology concentration include:
Understanding the structure, function, and interactions of the main components of the criminal justice system including law enforcement, courts, corrections, and juvenile justice.
Describing the historical milestones in the development of justice, crime and punishment within their legal, social and political contexts. Identifying and assessing the main theories in criminology that help to explain the nature and extent of crime, the causes of crime and criminality, the behavior of criminals, and criminal victimization.
Examining the causes and responses to social injustice.
Exploring society’s role in law creation.
Understanding the role of research in sociology/criminology.
Examining policies and programs related to crime, criminology, and criminal justice.

For more information on the Criminology concentration, please contact Dr. Jenifer Lee-Gonyea at jlgonyea@msmc.edu or 845.569.3322 or go to the MSMC Undergraduate Catalog.

The B.A. in Philosophy with social justice emphasis forms in our students the habit of critical and positive reflection on the questions that challenge humanity today. Within the discipline of philosophy there are many subdisciplines, of which Social Justice is one of the most ancient and yet most relevant to our own day and the University’s Mission.

The social justice emphasis has a distinctive theoretical-plus-applied character. The philosophy department already offers a significant number of strong undergraduate courses in this area, including not only various foundational studies in the nature of justice, but also the workings of justice in contemporary social and political contexts. The courses for this program will be offered in a carefully planned sequence and the faculty who teach them will make a conscious effort to highlight the Social Justice dimensions of their respective subject matter. For example, the program will have as its anchor course a special section of PHIL 321, Ethics and Society, modified to include a service learning component along the lines of the Magis program, and offered primarily for philosophy students who have declared a major with this emphasis. Also, the scheduling of the capstone seminars required of all philosophy majors (392-399) will ensure that an appropriate number are devoted to justice issues, for philosophy majors specializing in Social Justice.

The Mount offers a new Criminology concentration within the Sociology major as of Fall 2008.

Students within Sociology who select the Criminology concentration will take courses in a wide range of areas including victimology; hate crimes; drugs and society; violence and the community; conflict and resolution; and, comparative criminology.

Students will be required to take courses that provide them with an introduction to the discipline of criminology; an analysis of social problems in the United States; an examination of the creation of laws and reaction to crime by society; various aspects of criminal victimization; and, exposure to criminal justice systems across the world.

This concentration will prepare students for scholarly careers in sociology, criminology and social deviance, as well as such professional careers in corrections, law enforcement, youth programming, rehabilitation, victim services, insurance and financial fraud counseling, private investigation, and the judicial court system.

Learning outcomes specific to the Criminology concentration include:
Understanding the structure, function, and interactions of the main components of the criminal justice system including law enforcement, courts, corrections, and juvenile justice.
Describing the historical milestones in the development of justice, crime and punishment within their legal, social and political contexts. Identifying and assessing the main theories in criminology that help to explain the nature and extent of crime, the causes of crime and criminality, the behavior of criminals, and criminal victimization.
Examining the causes and responses to social injustice.
Exploring society’s role in law creation.
Understanding the role of research in sociology/criminology.
Examining policies and programs related to crime, criminology, and criminal justice.

For more information on the Criminology concentration, please contact Dr. Jenifer Lee-Gonyea at jlgonyea@msmc.edu or 845.569.3322 or go to the MSMC Undergraduate Catalog.

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The Mount offers a new Criminology concentration within the Sociology major as of Fall 2008.

Students within Sociology who select the Criminology concentration will take courses in a wide range of areas including victimology; hate crimes; drugs and society; violence and the community; conflict and resolution; and, comparative criminology.

Students will be required to take courses that provide them with an introduction to the discipline of criminology; an analysis of social problems in the United States; an examination of the creation of laws and reaction to crime by society; various aspects of criminal victimization; and, exposure to criminal justice systems across the world.

This concentration will prepare students for scholarly careers in sociology, criminology and social deviance, as well as such professional careers in corrections, law enforcement, youth programming, rehabilitation, victim services, insurance and financial fraud counseling, private investigation, and the judicial court system.

Learning outcomes specific to the Criminology concentration include:
Understanding the structure, function, and interactions of the main components of the criminal justice system including law enforcement, courts, corrections, and juvenile justice.
Describing the historical milestones in the development of justice, crime and punishment within their legal, social and political contexts. Identifying and assessing the main theories in criminology that help to explain the nature and extent of crime, the causes of crime and criminality, the behavior of criminals, and criminal victimization.
Examining the causes and responses to social injustice.
Exploring society’s role in law creation.
Understanding the role of research in sociology/criminology.
Examining policies and programs related to crime, criminology, and criminal justice.

Careers in Criminal Justice

Students majoring in Criminal Justice may anticipate careers in a wide variety of criminal justice and other agencies that participate in the scientific study and application of law and social science to the social phenomena of crime and delinquency, including agencies that focus on the definitions, causation and prevention of crimes, the adjudication of guilt or innocence, and the apprehension, punishment, treatment and rehabilitation of criminals in our society. Employment opportunities within the traditional police, courts, and corrections areas are being expanded with opportunities in private business, security and many global opportunities. Some possible job titles for Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice degree holders are Drug Enforcement Agent, Secret Service Agent, Foreign Service Officer, Criminal Investigator, Policy Analyst and Social Worker. Many students go on to obtain a graduate degree and these students obtain a range of possible job titles from Coroner to Prosecutor, and Criminologist to FBI agent.
CJ Dual Degree

There is considerable overlap in the populations served by the criminal justice system and various human services agencies. This overlap is particularly apparent when working with survivors and perpetrators of domestic violence, substance abusers, as well as in some forms of youth work. Knowledge of the criminal justice system and systems of social intervention deepens the knowledge and skill base of a researcher or practitioner. Leadership positions in either type of agency will require individuals who have a firm understanding of how cultural, social, economic and political contexts affect both types of agencies. A dual major in Human Services and Criminal Justice will present students with an opportunity to gain both a theoretical and practical understanding of these agencies through classroom work and co-op experiences. This dual major will provide students with a specialized interdisciplinary undergraduate experience focused on the intersection of the social and legal systems.
Co-op Experience

During her first week on co-op, at Mass Office for Victim Assistance (MOVA), Heather was scheduled to meet with each of her co-workers one-on-one, giving her the opportunity to get to know them and ask them questions about their work at MOVA and their career path. Heather was excited to learn that everyone in the office has a different background and different experience in the criminal justice system. Every career that she has considered has been done at one time by someone in the office. Along with administrative work, Heather is attending trainings and conferences across the State. She has already been to a conference on Human Trafficking and a seminar at the MA Victim Academy where she registered all of the students who were participating in the week-long training. She was allowed to go to one of the classes where students asked questions about what services they offer to their clients/victims. According to Heather this exchange tied the real world into what she has been learning at Northeastern. She is also going on a site visit to the Worcester County DA’s Office where they will be talking about long term funding and grant issues. In addition, Heather will participate in the organization of a very large, annual conference that MOVA holds at the state house. She will likely have a chance to meet many dignitaries from around the state, including district attorneys, state representatives, victim advocates, and former victims. MOVA has given Heather the opportunity to learn about criminal justice from the victim’s perspective as well as to network with some very interesting people.
Human Trafficking Project

In October, 2005 The Institute on Race and Justice was awarded a grant from the National Institute of Justice to provide a comprehensive assessment of the current state of law enforcement responses to human trafficking. Trafficking in persons has become a critical human rights and law enforcement issue in the 21st century. As one of the world’s fastest growing criminal enterprises, local law enforcement officials must help prevent international and domestic trafficking. Building on previous research around police recognition and reprioritization of new types of crimes (e.g., domestic violence, stalking, bias-motivated crime), this project seeks to understand how police identify, report and investigate trafficking incidents. This project will provide information to law enforcement agencies, investigators, prosecutors and service providers about the quantity and quality of current law enforcement responses to trafficking and identify successful models for recognizing, reporting and intervening in situations of human trafficking.