Criminal Justice

Welcome to the Department of Criminal Justice

The Department of Criminal Justice is among the premier academic programs in the country. We offer degrees at the Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral levels, and we provide outstanding academic and practical learning experiences for students seeking employment in the criminal justice field. Both the Department and University emphasize academic excellence and integrity, and provide the necessary support for teaching, research, and practice at all levels. 

The faculty has more than doubled in size over the past ten years, and we have attracted scholars of national and international reputation. The most recent additions include Dr. Beth Sanders, who holds a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati and most recently held a position as Department Chair at Thomas More College; and Dr. Mitchell Chamlin, widely recognized as an expert in macro-level criminology and time series data analyses. The Department also features Dr. Marcus Felson, an internationally acclaimed routine activity theorist who recently joined us from Rutgers University and Dr. Kim Rossmo, the world's leading expert in geographic profiling. Dr. Mark Stafford also joined our faculty in recent years, departing from The University of Texas to direct our newly formed Ph.D. program. 

Because of our exceptionally diverse faculty, the Department offers concentrations in areas of study such as policing, corrections, law, juvenile crime, female offending, environmental criminology, criminological theory, and management and organization. We also offer a variety of specialized courses in crime analysis, statistics and quantitative data analysis. 

These recent additions to the faculty and curriculum, along with our tradition of excellence and our bright future, strongly position Texas State to produce the finest criminologists and criminal justicians in the country. 

I welcome you to the Department of Criminal Justice, a Rising Star at Texas State University.