Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology

About

Be a part of one of the highest ranked Criminal Justice and Criminology programs in the nation!

Faculty recently recognized as the 4th most productive researchers in the country provide foundational courses to develop your skills in reasoning and analysis. Focus on the special needs of crime victims, careers in law enforcement or corrections. Or continue your education as a criminal justice researcher by exploring the Master's or Ph.D. program in Criminology and Criminal Justice. Do all this and more in Sam Houston State University’s Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, one of the largest and most prestigious criminal justice programs in the nation.

As a Criminal Justice major at SHSU, the opportunities are endless:

• Learn from faculty who conduct research in all aspects of the criminal justice system
• A top ranked Doctoral program
• Training institutes that draw law enforcement and correctional professionals from around the world
• Research Institutes in Law Enforcement, Corrections, Victims, and Legal Studies
• Large course selection including online and evening courses
• Courses offered at The Woodlands Center during the day and evening
• Active Honor societies and Student Associations
• Affordable living
• Scholarship and graduate student assistantships

Chair
Gaylene Armstrong, Ph.D.
garmstrong@shsu.edu
936.294-4735

Faculty
Gaylene Armstrong, Todd Armstrong, Danielle Boisvert, Jeffery Bouffard, Leana Bouffard, Brian Boutwell, Joan Bytheway, Steven Cuvelier, Magdalena Denham, Jerry Dowling, Jim Dozier, Jasmine Drake, Cortney Franklin, Travis Franklin, David Gangitano, R.L. Garner, Jurg Gerber, Howard Henderson, Larry Hoover, Sheree Hughes-Stamm, Sarah Kerrigan, William King, Kelly Knight, Kathleen Latz, Dennis Longmire, Phillip Lyons, Scott Menard, Holly Miller, Lisa Muftic, Janet Mullings, Matt Nobles, Will Oliver, Erin Orrick, John Payne, David Pyrooz, Ling Ren, Mitchel Roth, Ryan Randa, Sam Souryal, Raymond Teske, Victoria Titterington, Michael Vaughn, Bill Wells, Steve Young, Jorn Chi-Chung Yu, Yan Zhang, Jihong Solomon Zhao, Vincent Webb

Mission
The College of Criminal Justice is committed to providing students with a quality liberal arts education. Students will gain an appreciation of their role as criminal justice professionals and as contributing members of society. The College also is committed to producing high quality research and to providing public service and technical assistance to communities and criminal justice agencies.

Contact Information
Doris Pratt
pratt@shsu.edu
936.294.3637

Academic Programs

The Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology offers several graduate degrees, a doctoral program, and a certificate for Criminal Justice Leadership and management.

The college also offers online criminal justice programs for a range of prospective students.

Graduate Degrees

• Criminal Justice, MS
• Criminal Justice and Criminology, MA
• Criminal Justice Leadership and Management, MS
• Victim Services Management, MS

Doctoral Degrees

• Criminal Justice, PhD

Certificates

Criminal Justice Leadership and Management, Certificate

Highlights

SHSU’s College of Criminal Justice has been consistently ranked among the top criminal justice programs in the nation in both value and quality by U.S. News & World Report, the Journal of Criminal Justice, and many other publications.

Student Organization and Activities

Graduate Student Organization (GSO):
The mission of GSO is to bring together graduate students at the College of Criminal Justice; to facilitate and encourage research and theory development related to criminal justice; to encourage appropriate and effective teaching techniques and practices for criminal justice courses; and to serve as a resource network for and to encourage interaction among the various entities within the College of Criminal Justice

Internships

An integral part of all degree offerings is the opportunity for field placement experience. The internship program is designed to provide students valuable work experience, on-the-job training, and an opportunity to develop a professional networking base for the future. Students in this program are offered unparalleled opportunities to participate in one of the nation's leading internship programs in the field of criminal justice.

Scholarships

Scholarship opportunities, assistantships, and financial assistance are available. Student assistantships and scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis based upon academic performance, GRE scores, letters of recommendation and previous laboratory experience.

Financial awards are available, including out-of-state tuition waivers. University policy requires all students to pay in-state tuition.

Information on specific scholarships available in the College of Criminal Justice are available through Cutty Gilbert (cutty@shsu.edu) at 936.294.3755.

Please see the College of Criminal Justice section for information on college and university level scholarships.