2007-2008 Justice Studies (JUST)

Requirements | Academic Major | Academic Minor | Course Descriptions

Director: Allan Patenaude

Program Objectives

The cornerstones of the academic enterprise of justice studies are the capacity for critical thinking and effective communications. Justice Studies provides students with skills to effectively practice, think about, and contribute to the work of criminal and social justice, students must be prepared for challenges of justice at the national and international levels. The Justice Studies program accordingly locates its curricula within a broad-based liberal arts education, grounded in the principle that equal portions of its classes shall focus on American and international criminal justice. Students completing the degree program in Justice Studies will have been introduced to the core knowledge that describes the field, and will also have been acquainted with the cultural, social, political, ethical, and psychological contexts from which issues of justice emerge. Justice Studies is a writing-intensive program at Westminster College.

Program Requirements

The Justice Studies program offers a Bachelor of Science in Justice Studies as an academic major and provides for an academic minor in Justice Studies. The Justice Studies academic major requires completion of 67 semester hours of credit selected from Justice Studies’ coursework and related classes in the social sciences and selected other coursework. Thirty-two of those hours must be in Justice Studies and related courses numbered 300 or above. Students must maintain a cumulative 2.5 GPA or better in the academic major and minor.

For course prerequisites, please refer to the course description.

Academic Major

Justice Studies Related Coursework

ANTH 355 Indian Peoples in the United States
COMM 310 Professional Writing
COMM 360 Race, Gender, Class and the Media
PHIL 206 Introduction to Ethics (required for the major)
PLSC 303 Public Administration and Bureaucracy
PLSC 355 Constitutional Law
PSYC 301 Child Development
PSYC 305 Adolescent Development
PSYC 316 Social Psychology
PSYC 362 Abnormal Psychology
SOC 305 Contemporary Issues
SOC 350 Gender in Society
SOC 372 Race, Ethnicity, and Class

Academic Minor

To fulfill the requirements for an academic minor in Justice Studies, students must complete a minimum of 20 semester hours in Justice Studies or related coursework. Twelve of these hours must be in coursework numbered 300 or above.