Criminology & Criminal Justice

Criminology & Criminal Justice Program Highlights

Foundational Knowledge

Classroom and real-world experience in social, behavioral andpolitical sciences, law, and ethics will provide you with a foundation for understanding, explaining and preventing crime, as well as informing criminal justice policies and practices.

Real-World Experience

The cornerstone of a Keuka Collegeeducation is experience outside the classroom. Your four Field Period™ experiences will give you the chance to work with criminal justice professionals, and explore different professions and career paths while you're still in school.

Career Flexibility

Research and investigative learning opportunities in the classroom and the field will help prepare you for multifaceted roles in government agencies, courts, law enforcement, and human services.

Explore Criminology & Criminal Justice

Program Overview

If your interests extend beyond simply learning about the components of the criminal justice system, Keuka College’s criminology and criminal justice (CCJ) program will be an excellent academic home for you. We believe a smart approach to crime control essentially requires a blend local knowledge and experience with scientific evidence.

Classroom and real-world experience in social, behavioral and political sciences, law, and ethics will provide you with a foundation for understanding, explaining and preventing crime, as well as informing criminal justice policies and practices.

Our well-established Field Period™ and semester-long internship program offers you a wide range of opportunities for creating personalized field experiences throughout your academic career

Whether you are are planning a career in law enforcement, corrections, law, advocacy, social services or an auxiliary field, we’ll train you to be a thinking professional.

Program Requirements

The Faculty

Keuka College’s professors bring much more to the classroom than a passion for teaching and top academic credentials—they also bring an array of professional and research experience in a variety of areas, including adult and juvenile corrections, offender restoration, treatment courts, urban planning, police misconduct, white collar and corporate crime, domestic violence advocacy, community education, organizational deviance, and restorative justice.

Faculty in the Division of Basic and Applied Social Sciences

Dr. Carolyn Balzer

Assistant Professor Psychology

Dr. Janine Bower

Professor of Criminology/Criminal Justice

Dr. Angela Graves

Associate Professor of Political Science

Dr. Nicholas Koberstein

Associate Professor of Child & Family Studies and Psychology

Dr. Melis Kural

Assistant Professor of Sociology

Dr. Christopher Leahy

Professor of History

Dr. David Pak Leon

Associate Professor of Political Science

Dr. Jessica MacNamara

Associate Professor of Sociology

Dr. Richard Martin

Associate Professor of Criminal Justice & Leadership

Dr. Thomas Tremer

Division Chair of Basic & Applied Social Sciences

Digital Literacy

As a student in our criminology and criminal justice program you will develop an ePortfolio(an electronic collection of your significant, meaningful academic and field work) to show your achievements and growth over time. The ePortfoliowill help communicate your achievements and interests to prospective employers, graduate program search committees, and peers. Other digital opportunities include:

We require you to complete a course in computer applications, giving you hands-on experience using software and applications you are likely to encounter in the field.
Use a host of online data sets and data analysis tools to describe crime patterns, test criminology theories, and consider implications for policy and practice. You’ll practice and demonstrate your learning while developing products that showcase your innovative and technological skills, such as e-posters, blogs, web pages, and online surveys—just to name a few.

Extracurriculars

Become actively involved in the Criminology and Criminal Justice Club, which organizes and hosts events throughout the academic year. Recent events have included:

K-9 demonstrations featuring police dogs and their handlers.
Annual Law Day celebrations, featuring keynote speakers such as the Honorable Craig Doran, Ontario Supreme and County Court judge and supervising Family Court judge for the 7th Judicial District, and Rochester City Court Judge John Schwartz and Judge Richard Wesley, with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.
Film night, where students across the campus are invited to watch and discuss a current film of criminological significance.
A training program for a local public defender’s office, where our students participated as jurors in a mock jury selection process.
Meet with alumni and others working in the field by attending alumni events, career expositions, and other events.
Become a member of the college student judicial panel.
Join other students in our program who have volunteered with local agencies serving victims of intimate partner violence or those in need of emergency services.
Attend or present your scholarship at professional conferences.

Pi Gamma Mu

Pi Gamma Mu is the International Honor Society in Social Science. Each year Social Sciences Faculty members nominate junior and senior students for membership in recognition of their scholastic success in social science courses and overall.

Award Opportunities

Senior Award in Criminology

The Senior Achievement Award in Criminology and Criminal Justice was established to recognize superior accomplishments by a senior student majoring in this discipline. Selection is based on the following criteria: Academic excellence in the major and overall, superior performance in the internship and junior and senior field periods, and the demonstration of maturity, leadership and critical thinking.

Experiential Learning

Direct experience in the field helps you develop knowledge and skills for using information and technology as crime-fighting tools. In the course of your Field Period™ experiences and internships, you can gain first-hand experience using latent fingerprint analysis tools, criminal history arrest information systems, firearm and other training simulations, and accident reconstruction programs.

In addition, many of our students engage in original research, where they collect information, create charts and graphs, and publish reports for stakeholders. Others use the Internet to assist their organization with web design and community relations, criminal investigation, and database development.