Justice Studies Overview

The mission of the Justice Studies program is to analyze issues of justice and injustices within the societal contexts of human behavior in complex societies. Using interdisciplinary perspectives students critically examine the manifestation of this behavior through a Criminology or a Peace & Conflict perspective. Students are expected to develop an ethical awareness and the aptitude to decisively research a broad base of knowledge on issues of justice, crime, and the law.

The mission of the Criminology concentration is to offer a curriculum that seeks to understand the social nature of crime so as to develop rationale policies. In addition to studying courts, corrections, and law enforcement, students are expected to examine the law as a social product affected by cultural values, race, gender, class, or sexuality. They are expected to critically examine and assess the consequences of criminal behavior through the victim's and community's lenses, as well as the offender and the judicial system.

The mission of the Peace & Conflict concentration is to teach students how to analyze conflict, design peace building strategies, and work toward societal transformation. Students are expected to critically examine harmed relationships from multiple perspectives with ethically awareness. They are also expected to construct social justice advocacy projects based on human rights and human needs theories.

Intellectual Standards Established for New Major

In our new program in Justice Studies one can concentrate in Criminology or Peace & Conflict. Oklahoma City University's Department in Criminal Justice has followed the national evolution of the academic discipline. Overtime we have moved from the uncritical exploration of courts, corrections, and law enforcement to a more in-depth evaluation of these infrastructures to an even broader evaluation and analysis of the justice system. Our students are exposed to cutting edge research, knowledge, and practices in the field. Moreover, we have added the academic analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of how conflict and harmed relationships can result in violence or crime through the concentration in Peace & Conflict. Therefore, students can study one or both aspects of conflict, violence, and harmed relationships in contemporary society. We continue to be rigorous in our pursuit of knowledge and use the following principles for our academic programs:

Fair-mindedness, Intellectual Courage, Intellectual Integrity, and Reflection.