Justice, Law, and Society Minor

The Justice, Law, and Society Minor draws from the academic fields of anthropology, business management, criminology, philosophy, and political science and provides students with national and global perspectives on justice and law issues.

Criminology is a sub-discipline of sociology. Students study complex societal issues associated with violent street crimes as well as white collar offenses. Students have a selection of courses available to them in criminology and social welfare areas that explore causes of crime, victimology, offender behaviors, and punishment in juvenile and adult systems. Students pursuing the minor also take associated social science and humanities courses to complete the minor.

The use of geospatial technologies to map crimes and layer other useful data with the geographic information provides new and powerful ways to understand community crime patterns. Here at the College, students are involved in constructing crime maps and learning that mapping guides data driven policy making for crime control strategies. The Washington College Geospatial Innovation Program provides both training and internship opporutnities.

Students can explore firsthand the administration of justice issues. Students interested in victimology have opportunities to conduct service learning with victim service providers or with agencies using restorative justice models. Courses in juvenile justice and social welfare provide fieldwork internships.