The Program

The Criminology and the Criminal Justice System 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 (advising@soc.umass.edu) and may be submitted by e-mail (advising@soc.umass.edu), or mail CJ Certificate Program, Sociology Department, 200 Hicks Way, Amherst, MA 01003.

Degree-seeking University of Massachusetts students should expect to possibly take 2 or more CJ content courses on-line through Continuing and Professional Education (CPE): https://www.umass.edu/cpe/.

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.

Criminology and the Criminal Justice System Certificate Courses (Five required)

Recommended (though not required):

  • Sociol 103, Social Problems

Required:

  • Sociol 241 Criminology 

Choose one course from the following:

  • Sociol 248 Conformity and Deviance
  • Sociol 323 Sociology of Law, or
  • Sociol 342 Deviance and Social Order

Choose three upper-level (200+) Sociology / CJ electives:

(Courses offered vary by semester; some are offered only online.)

  • 242 Drugs & Society
  • 248 Conformity and Deviance
  • 293M Intro to Human Rights
  • 323 Sociology of Law
  • 342 Deviance and Social Order
  • 343 Hate Crime
  • 344 Gender and Crime
  • 345 Juvenile Delinquency
  • 346 Communities and Crime
  • 347 Corporate Crime
  • 349 Race, Class, and Crime
  • 350 Policing and Surveillance
  • 391M Serial Mass Murder (online through CPE)
  • 392J Race & Policing
  • 394F Crime & Forensics (online through CPE)
  • 394S White Collar Crime (online through CPE)
  • 395AP American Police (online through CPE)
  • 395K: Domestic Violence (online through CPE)
  • 397AM Asylums, Madness, and Mental Illness (online through CPE)
  • 397CL Criminal Legal System (online through CPE)
  • 397A Probation & Parole (online through CPE)
  • 397D Delinquency & Juvenile Justice (online through CPE)
  • 397K Youth and Social Inequality: Rebellion, Risk, Resistance
  • 397MC Mass Incarceration in the US
  • 397PA Probation and Parole
  • 497C Survey of Criminal Justice Fields
  • 497S Surveillance and Society

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.)

  • Anthro 297MR Forensics: Myth and Reality
  • Educ 297A School-to-Prison Pipeline
  • 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

Students are strongly encouraged to pursue a Criminal Justice-based internship or practicum in order to apply the skills they will develop in their coursework. Practica credits do not count toward total certificate credits/requirements.