Department of Criminal Justice

Mission Statement

Our Mission is to provide justice education, research, and service to students, practitioners, policymakers, and the community by creating an intellectually challenging environment that promotes collegiality and instills the highest level of ethical standards in the pursuit of informed justice policy and practice.

Vision Statement

The Department of Criminal Justice at UTSA will be a leading program recognized for excellence in justice research, innovative education, and policy relevant service to improve the quality of justice within society.

Faculty Feature

Texas Bar Foundation Award

Assistant professor Michael Tapia of UTSA's department of criminal justice has been awarded The Texas Bar Foundation's one-year, $20,000 grant to scholars in the Bank of America Child and Adolescent Policy Research Institute at The University of Texas at San Antonio to initiate a mentoring program for delinquent foster youth in San Antonio. The program, which explores the use of paid mentors, is expected to model delinquency reduction strategies for local youth by increasing their graduation odds and enhancing their college readiness.

OJJDP Research Award

Dr. J. Mitchell Miller (Department of Criminal Justice, UTSA) and Dr. Michael Karcher (Department of Counseling, UTSA) have received a grant for $283,987 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to identify best practices for youth mentoring as a form of delinquency prevention.

Forensic Science Summer Camp

We are now accepting applications for the 2013 Forensic Science camp!

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

The forensic science summer camp is a great opportunity for high school students to learn about careers in the field of law enforcement and justice policy. Parents will be required to drop off and pick up students everyday.

Giving

With alumni and community support we are able to provide funds for student scholarships, research fellowships, and faculty research support that is instrumental in creating new programs. Such capabilities benefit our students and the general public, support endowed chairs, and are a vital source of funds to benefit academic and research related programs.

Office Hours:

(DB) 4.112
Monday - Friday
8:00am - 5:00pm

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Student Information

Applying to the program

All undergraduate students, including new freshmen and transfer students, should refer to Undergraduate Admissions for details on applying to our program.

The Graduate School offers up to date information on how to apply and requirements for the program. Visit our Graduate program webpage for more information.

Alpha Phi Sigma

-GPA: 3.2+ (UG)/ 3.4+ (Grad)
-Criminal Justice Major or Minor
-Completed 3 semesters with 4 courses in CRJ (UG), completed 4 courses total (Grad)

Study Abroad

The CRJ study abroad program is hosted by the University of Miguel Hernandez in Alicante, Spain. Students who participate will receive course credit, along with the valuable experience gained from visiting local law enforcement agencies, judicial proceedings, university officials, and of course the beautiful Spanish landscape. For more information contact the department administrative offices @ 210-458-2535.