The Program

Criminal Justice Certificate

The Criminal Justice Certificate attracts students planning or continuing careers in the criminal justice system—from law enforcement to probation, courts, or corrections. Our graduates and certificate holders have served the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Federal government, and other agencies as police officers, probation or parole officers, special agents, paralegals, criminal defense lawyers, and district attorneys.

Declaring Completion of the Certificate:

When a student has enrolled in the final class for the certificate, they must fill out a Completion Form and submit an unofficial transcript. These forms are available online or via email (CJCert@soc.umass.edu) and may be submitted by e-mail (CJCert@soc.umass.edu), fax 413-545-3204, or mail CJ Certificate Program, Sociology Department, 200 Hicks Way, Amherst, MA 01003.

Degree-seeking University of Massachusetts students admitted into the program should expect to possibly take 2 or more CJ content courses on-line through Continuing and Professional Education (CPE): http://www.umassulearn.net.

Certificate students who are not currently matriculated at the University of Massachusetts Amherst normally take all of their courses online through CPE.

Note: To receive the Criminal Justice Certificate, a minimum 2.0 GPA must be maintained across courses applied to certificate requirements.  

  
Criminal Justice Certificate Courses (Five required):

Recommended (though not required):
Sociol 103, Social Problems

Required:
Sociol 241 Criminology 

Choose one course from the following:  

Sociol 323 Sociology of Law, Sociol 342 Deviance and Social Order, or 391D Conformity and Deviance

Choose three upper-level (200+) Sociology / CJ electives: 
(Courses offered vary by semester; some are offered only online.)

242 Drugs & Society (online through CPE)
293M Intro to Human Rights
343 Hate Crime
344 Gender and Crime
345 Juvenile Delinquency (online through CPE)
346 Communities Crime
347 Corporate Crime
391B Black and Orange: A Critical Look at the Criminal Justice System
391M Serial Mass Murder (online through CPE)
392J Race & Policing (online through CPE)
394F Crime & Forensics (online through CPE)
394S White Collar Crime (online through CPE)
395A Probation & Parole (online through CPE)
395N Criminal Networks: from Al Capone to Al-Qaeda (online through CPE)
397D Delinquency & Juvenile Justice (online through CPE)
397K Youth and Social Inequality: Rebellion, Risk, Resistance
497C Survey of Criminal Justice Fields

One course from a department outside of Sociology may be used toward the certificate:
(Alternative courses may be substituted but must be approved by the Sociology Chief Undergraduate Advisor.)

Legal 250 Intro to Legal Studies
Legal 333 Law & Culture in America
Polsci 163 Intro to Civil Liberties
Polsci 360 Constitutional Law
Psych 355 Adolescent Psychology
Psych 380 Abnormal Psychology
Cmpsci 391LI Computer Crime Law