Contributing to more just, equitable, and safer communities.
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Welcome
The Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology has a long rich history. In 1935, the President of then, Washington State College, Dr. Ernest O. Holland, contacted the nation’s first ever FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover, for guidance in creating a program for the sole purpose of training law enforcement officers (September 18, 1935 Letter, October 3, 1935 Letter- Part 1, and October 3, 1935 Letter- Part 2). In 1941, under Dr. Vivian Anderson Leonard, the Department of Police Science was formed. Since then it has expanded beyond training police officers to touch on every aspect of the criminal justice system.
Combining a passion for scholarship with a keen understanding of practical applications, the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology offers students the opportunity to learn, explore and develop in a substantive and expanding field. The Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology is located on three campuses of Washington State University, at Pullman, Spokane, and Vancouver.
The department offers both graduate and undergraduate degrees; students may earn a minor, a bachelor of arts, a master’s degree, or a doctoral degree in criminal justice and criminology. We have degree options to suit today’s students, with our B.A. offered both on campus and online. With groundbreaking research, renowned professors, and students who are making a difference, WSU is an exciting place to pursue your education.
Undergraduate
Undergraduates benefit from a policy-focused curriculum that prepares them both for careers and future study, learning from leaders in the field.
Graduate
Graduate students work closely with faculty, pursuing a more comprehensive understanding of the field of criminal justice and developing as scholars and researchers.
Meet our faculty
Department faculty have a wide range of research and teaching interests, and the department is nationally and internationally recognized for its scholarship.
CJC in the News
- Determined to Find Out What Works and Why: An Interview with NACDP’s new director of research Dr. Jacqueline van Wormer
- Analysis: No Systematic agency bias in WSP traffic stops
- Presidential Security Award
- An American Dream
- Meet the new faculty of 2021
- Never say never
- Most read article
- City of Pullman Washington: News Release
- Focus on criminal justice reform
- Five faculty to join WSU in the fall through new cluster hire program
Past Events
- Big Herc
- From Where I Sit
- The Impact of incarceration on Black families
- Queer Abolition CFP
- IREO on Dr. Makin and Dr. James’ police research
- Xenophobia, Anti-Asian Racism, and Intolerance: How to support Students, Faculty, and Staff during COVID-19
- Hollaback – Bystander Intervention Training