What We Do

The Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology is housed within the College of Criminal Justice at SHSU, one of the oldest academic Criminal Justice programs in the United States. The Department is committed to providing students with a quality liberal arts education and conducting exceptional research that has a positive impact on society.

  • The Department serves over 3,000 undergraduate majors and nearly 350 graduate students
  • Courses are available on-line and on-campus in Huntsville
  • College of Criminal Justice advisors provide outstanding services to students
  • Diverse internship opportunities are available to students
  • Over 30 full-time faculty members conduct research in all aspects of the criminal justice system, including corrections, policing, victimology, and criminology
  • The Department's On-Line graduate programs were ranked #3 in 2018 by U.S. News and World Report
  • Faculty in the Department are the most productive criminal justice and criminology researchers in the United States (Kleck & Mims, 2016)
  • Students present research findings at local, regional, and national conferences
  • Assistantships and scholarships are available for well-qualified graduate students
  • The Department is home to several student organizations:
    • Alpha Phi sigma
    • Lambda Alpha Epsilon
    • National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice
    • Crime Victim Services Alliance
    • Society of Forensic Science
    • National Association of Hispanics in Criminal Justice
    • Phi Alpha Delta Pre law chapter
  • Dual Degree Program with Zhejiang Police College in Hangzhou, China
    • We are celebrating our 12th year of student exchanges with Zhejiang Police College.
    • It began as a study abroad to SHSU in 2008, grew into a year-long exchange program in Fall 2009, and our first dual degree cohort arrived in Fall 2011.
    • We have since hosted well over 200 students through the program and about 100 students have completed all requirements for the dual degrees.
    • To the best of our knowledge it is the only dual degree program involving an American university and a Chinese police university.
    • It allows students to learn about policing in the US and the opportunity to earn a degree from ZPC and SHSU over the four-year program.
    • The first exchange/dual degree students are now about 30 years of age and are moving up the career ladder in Zhejiang Province.