UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
CJ355- Juvenile Justice
This course covers the fundamentals of juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice. We discuss adolescent development, theories of delinquency, contextual factors associated with delinquency, and the juvenile justice system. Students gain an understanding of adolescent development and context as they relate to crime among juveniles; of the advantages and disadvantages of various theoretical approaches to studying delinquency; of the juvenile justice system, past and present; and of how research can be used to inform practical problems in juvenile justice.
Taught in the fall, spring, and summer. 3 credit hours. Open to students of all majors.
CJ491- Families, the Law, and Social Policy
This discussion-based course covers several areas of law and criminal justice that affect children and families (e.g., child maltreatment, adolescent reproductive rights, genetic testing, children’s rights in schools, juvenile delinquency, child custody). Students examine the competing interests of children, parents and the state that often need to be reconciled within legal contexts. We also investigate how theory and research from a variety of disciplines (e.g., psychology, criminology, law, sociology) can be applied to legal dilemmas facing children and families. Throughout the course, the underlying question is, How can research and theory inform the law and social policy in matters that relate to children and families?
Taught in the spring. 3 credit hours. Open to students of all majors.
GRADUATE COURSES
CJ887- Quantitative Methods
This is an introductory statistics course designed to build from an understanding of research methods to a conceptual and technical understanding of statistical techniques. First, we will cover descriptive statistics (e.g., measures of central tendency, sampling, variability, probability, hypothesis testing). Then, we will cover some basic inferential statistical techniques, (e.g., correlation, t-tests, χ2, ANOVA). Finally, we build to more advanced inferential techniques like regression and its variants (e.g., multiple regression, logistic regression).
Taught in the spring. 3 credit hours. Open to graduate students of all majors.