Role Model Program Required Courses 

In the Role Model Program, there are 6 required core courses that each student must complete to qualify for an internship and ultimately, a Certificate in Juvenile Justice.  Role Model students are required to successfully complete each course with a grade of C or better. The following core courses may be taken in any order and are offered each semester:

CCJ 4938-15 Multicultural Perspectives on Adolescence & Development

       This course is designed to increase the student’s knowledge and understanding of adolescent behaviors, values and learning.  Students study social issues involving youth within a multicultural context.  Also from a multicultural perspective, students study the impact of culture on adolescent behavior, issues regarding minorities within the juvenile justice system, and how youth service providers can better meet the needs of youth.  This course includes a 20 hour community service component.

 CCJ 4938-10 Youth Management, Community Organizations & Advocacy

       This course is intended to provide students with practical skills related to working with delinquent children and youth, addressing issues related to one on one interaction, programming, and policy development and implementation.  The course is an introduction to the identification, prevention, and solution of individual, family, and community problems, while managing and setting policies for youth service agencies. Advocacy skills, mediation, and alternative dispute resolution techniques are studied. Students have the opportunity to explore issues related to working in an inter-agency environment.   This course includes a 20 hour community service component.

CCJ 4664 Minorities, Crime & Social Policy

The primary purpose and focus of this course is to explore the different viewpoints and positions about the current influence of racial and ethnic bias on the treatment of ethnic minority subgroups within America’s criminal justice system. Additionally, this course examines the relationship between stereotypical images of color and the realities of crime and punishment.  This course includes a 20 hour community service component.

CCJ 4520 Juvenile Justice

This course offers an extensive, systematic, and interdisciplinary examination of juvenile justice administration in the United States.  The origin of juvenile court is discussed as well as the philosophies underlying the ‘socialized’ and ‘constitutional’ approaches to the administration of justice for juveniles.   Students are introduced to the competing perspectives on the definition, prediction and explanation of delinquent behavior; the organization and operating processes of juvenile justice administration in the United States; and the critical philosophical, theoretical, legal and social issues confronting the administration of juvenile justice in the United States today. This course includes a 20 hour community service component.

CCJ 4938-14 Social Problems of Youth

This course is designed to address the wide array of social problems which plague our today's youth.   The issues are explored from an academic as well as practical viewpoint.  Different theoretical perspectives on social problems are also examined as students critically analyze and offer solutions for shaping a better future for youth. This course includes a 20 hour community service component.

CCJ 4700 Introduction to Research Methods

This course is designed to provide an introduction to social science research methods as applied to Criminology and Criminal Justice. Students are introduced to the research process, as well as a variety of different data collection techniques used in criminological research.  Students critically examine current research in the field as well as develop their own research ideas.