Program Overview

Introduction to the Criminal Justice Certificate

The Criminal Justice certificate offers a critical examination of the many facets of the criminal legal system, including law enforcement, courts, and corrections. This interdisciplinary certificate is based on the understanding that criminal justice consists of multiple, interdependent subsystems. Courses from several disciplines and an intensive fieldwork/internship/research experience provide students with the opportunity to learn about the dynamics of this field.

How to Get in

Any UW-Madison undergraduate may earn this certificate as part of their overall degree. Students may declare by completing a declaration form or by making an appointment with a Center for Law, Society, and Justice advisor.

Requirements

The Certificate requires a minimum of six courses and a minimum of 16 credits. The courses must be distributed as follows:

• Complete one course from each of the three defined groups and at least three additional elective courses.

Criminal Justice System

Course options include:

• LEGAL ST/SOC 131: Criminal Justice in America (3-4 credits)

Race and Justice Studies

At least one course in the certificate must have substantial content dealing with race and justice studies. Course options include:

• AFROAMER/GEN&WS 625: Gender, Race and the Civil Rights Movement (3 credits)
• HDFS 474: Racial Ethnic Families in the U.S. (3 credits)
• HISTORY/ED POL 143: History of Race and Inequality in Urban America (3 credits)
• LEGAL ST/AFROAMER 435: Civil Rights: Policing, Prisons, Voting, Housing, Employment (3-4 credits)
• LEGAL ST/CHICLA/SOC 440: Ethnicity, Race, and Justice (3-4 credits)
• LEGAL ST/CHICLA/SOC 443: Immigration, Crime, and Enforcement (3-4 credits)
• PUB AFFR 520: Inequality, Race and Public Policy (3 credits)
• SOC WORK 420: Poverty and Social Welfare (3 credits)
• SOC WORK 640: Diversity, Oppression and Social Justice in Social Work (3 credits)
• SOC/AMER IND/C&E SOC 578: Poverty and Place (3 credits)
• SOC 633: Social Stratification (3 credits)

Fieldwork/Internship/Research Seminar

The primary internship course administered by the program is LEGAL ST/SOC 694. Other course options include:

• CSCS 601: Internship (1-6 credits)
• GEN&WS 660: Internship in Gender and Women's Studies (3 credits)
• INTL ST 523: International Internship (1-3 credits)
• LEGAL ST 473: Health Impacts of Unmet Social Needs (3 credits)
• LEGAL ST/SOC 694: Criminal Justice Field Observation (3 credits)
• HDFS 592: Research Experience in Human Development and Family Studies (1-3 credits)
• HDFS 601: Internship (1-8 credits)
• POLI SCI 315: Legislative Internship (3 credits)
• POLI SCI 402: Wisconsin in Washington Internship Course (4 credits)
• PUB AFFR 327: Administrative Internship (3 credits)
• RP & SE 630: Internship in Rehabilitation or Special Education (2-6 credits)
• SOC 320: Research Practicum in Sociology (1-3 credits)
• SOC WORK 400: Field Practice and Integrative Seminar I (2-6 credits)

Electives

Students must take three additional courses to meet the six-course minimum and to reach at least 16 credits. Course options include:

• AFROAMER/GEN&WS 625: Gender, Race and the Civil Rights Movement (3 credits)
• COUN PSY 237: Mental Health, Self-Awareness, and Social Justice: Working in Diverse Communities (3 credits)
• COUN PSY 531: Prevention and Intervention in Mental Health Across the Lifespan (3 credits)
• COUN PSY 655: Clinical Communication Skills (3 credits)
• HISTORY/ED POL 143: History of Race and Inequality in Urban America (3 credits)
• HDFS 474: Racial Ethnic Families in the U.S. (3 credits)
• LEGAL ST/RP & SE 135: Disability and the Criminal Justice System (3 credits)
• LEGAL ST/ENGL 160: Truth and Crime (3 credits)
• LEGAL ST/HISTORY 235: Prisons: From Antiquity to Supermax (3-4 credits)
• LEGAL ST/CURRIC/ED POL 250: Incarceration and Education (3 credits)
• LEGAL ST 400: Topics in Legal Studies and the Social Sciences (3-4 credits)
• LEGAL ST 409: Human Rights in Law and Society (3 credits)
• LEGAL ST/GEN&WS 422: Women and the Law (3 credits)
• LEGAL ST/GEN&WS/SOC 425: Crime, Gender and Justice (3 credits)
• LEGAL ST/HISTORY 426: The History of Punishment (3-4 credits)
• LEGAL ST/AFROAMER 435: Civil Rights: Policing, Prisons, Voting, Housing, Employment (3-4 credits)
• LEGAL ST/CHICLA/SOC 440: Ethnicity, Race, and Justice (3-4 credits)
• LEGAL ST/ELPA 442: Civil Rights Laws, the Courts, and Public Education (3 credits)
• LEGAL ST/CHICLA/SOC 443: Immigration, Crime, and Enforcement (3-4 credits)
• LEGAL ST 444: Law in Action (3 credits)
• LEGAL ST 450: Topics in Legal Studies and the Humanities (3-4 credits)
• LEGAL ST/HISTORY 459: Rule of Law: Philosophical and Historical Models (3-4 credits)
• LEGAL ST/L I S 460: Surveillance, Privacy, and Police Powers (3 credits)
• LEGAL ST/HISTORY 477: History of Forensic Science (3 credits)
• LEGAL ST/LAW/SOC 641: Sociology of Law (3-4 credits)
• LEGAL ST/L I S 663: Introduction to Cyberlaw (3 credits)
• POLI SCI 314: Criminal Law and Justice (3-4 credits)
• POLI SCI 412: The American Constitution: Rights and Civil Liberties (4 credits)
• SOC 421: Processes of Deviant Behavior (3-4 credits)
• SOC 441: Criminology (3-4 credits)
• SOC 446: Juvenile Delinquency (3-4 credits)
• PSYCH/GEN&WS 322: Sexual & Relationship Violence Research & Activism (3 credits)
• PSYCH 401: Psychology, Law, and Social Policy (3 credits)
• PSYCH 405: Adult Psychopathology (3-4 credits)
• PSYCH 526: The Criminal Mind: Forensic and Psychobiological Perspectives (4 credits)
• SOC/AMER IND/C&E SOC 578: Poverty and Place (3 credits)
• SOC 633: Social Stratification (3 credits)
• SOC WORK 420: Poverty and Social Welfare (3 credits)
• SOC WORK 453: Substance Use Disorders (3 credits)
• SOC WORK 462: Child Welfare (3 credits)
• SOC WORK 578: Housing Precarity and Social Policy (4 credits)
• SOC WORK 612: Psychopathology in Generalist Social Work Practice (2 credits)
• SOC WORK 623: Interpersonal Violence (3 credits)
• SOC WORK 627: Sex Trafficking and Sex Trading (2 credits)
• SOC WORK/AMER IND 636: Social Work in American Indian Communities: The Indian Child Welfare Act (3 credits)
• SOC WORK 640: Diversity, Oppression and Social Justice in Social Work (3 credits)
• SOC WORK 646: Child Abuse and Neglect (2 credits)
• SOC WORK 656: Child Welfare Practice in Foster and Kinship Care, Permanency, and Adoption (2 credits)

Residence and Quality of Work

• At least 8 certificate credits must be completed in residence.
• Minimum 2.000 GPA on all certificate courses.

Certificate Completion Requirement

This undergraduate certificate must be completed concurrently with the students undergraduate degree. Students cannot delay degree completion to complete the certificate.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the certificate, students will be able to:

1. Develop an appreciation for how the criminal justice system works and how it affects American society as a whole.
2. Develop and improve critical thinking and analytics in written and oral communication skills.
3. Develop an appreciation of mental health and substance abuse as they intersect with the criminal justice system.
4. Develop skills transferable to future professional, community, and educational pursuits.
5. Develop an understanding of the effects of race and minority status in the criminal legal system.

Advising and Careers

Students who earned the Criminal Justice certificate have secured jobs at law firms, nonprofit organizations, treatment providers, public defender offices, district attorney and prosecutor offices, community corrections providers, social justice agencies, legal clinics, law enforcement agencies, and programs providing services to persons impacted by incarceration.