Message from the Director

Welcome to the School of Criminal Justice and Criminology (SCJC) at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. There has never been a more critical time to understand the inner workings of the criminal justice system. Our school offers a variety of classes to equip our students to think critically and understand the complexities of the world around us, especially when it comes to the criminal justice system.

Our school was founded 1972 by the late Dr. Charles Chastain and has now become the flagship criminal justice program in Arkansas. As a part of the College of Business, Health, and Human Services (CBHHS), we offer five degree programs – Associate of Science in Law Enforcement, Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Arts, and Doctorate of Philosophy in Criminal Justice. Our school is comprised of faculty and staff who are dedicated to providing you with the best education through innovative teaching strategies, one-on-one mentoring, and community-engaged research.

Several of our degrees are offered both online as well as on-campus – Associate in Science in Law Enforcement (LEAS) Bachelor of Arts (BA), Master of Arts (MA), and Master of Science (MS). Our doctoral program, which is the only Ph.D. in Criminal Justice in Arkansas, teaches students to be well-rounded scholars in teaching, conducting cutting-edge research, and working with agency partners on grants and contracts. A lot of our grant work is conducted through the Justice Research and Policy Center (JRAP) which is the school’s center for research and evaluations. Our faculty often partner with agencies across the state to provide assistance in data collection and analysis, program evaluations, and recommendations on best practices in the discipline.

We also have two student organizations in Criminal Justice – the Criminal Justice Society and Alpha Phi Sigma, which is our national honor society. In these organizations, students and faculty work together to increase their understanding and training in criminal justice related issues.  We bring in guest speakers and engage in philanthropic events. These events are often supported by alumni, who work in a variety of local, state, and federal criminal justice agencies.  These are great networking opportunities for our students to communicate and network with practitioners in the field.

On behalf of the faculty and staff at the School of Criminal Justice and Criminology, I invite you to explore the different opportunities in our programs and join our school to understand how to work and improve our discipline.

Jim Golden, PhD
School of Criminal Justice and Criminology