Undergraduate Certificate in Victims and Victim Services

Program Details

The Undergraduate Certificate in Victims and Victim Services applies a multi-faceted approach to higher education that enhances analytical thinking and inclusive, relevant approaches to learning and the development of professional skills; and focuses on specific, yet comprehensive, substantive areas of law enforcement that students can apply to their current or future careers in the field.

Students completing the certificate program will have the knowledge and skills to evaluate, manage and respond to a variety of situations and issues that professionals in fields related to victims and victim services face. Specifically, they will possess technical, analytic, substantive and ethical proficiencies that will facilitate their professional interactions and development. They will understand the different environments and contexts in which victim advocates and other professionals in this field, and related ones, carry out their responsibilities.

Program requirements

• The Undergraduate Certificate in Victims and Victim Services requires 18 credit hours of coursework.
• No more than 6 credit hours of transfer coursework may apply to the certificate.
• Students must receive a minimum C grade in each undergraduate course applied to satisfy the certificate.

Required courses

Students must complete all of the required courses below, totaling 12 credit hours. All course descriptions can be found in the Undergraduate Academic Catalog.

• CRJU 1000: Criminology and Criminal Justice: An Overview (3 credit hours)
• CRJU 2041: Criminological Theory (3 credit hours)
• CRJU 3285: Trauma in the Criminal Justice System (3 credit hours)
• CRJU 4170: Victimology (3 credit hours)

Elective courses

There are two elective categories, Victims Focus and Professional Setting. The Victims Focus elective allows the student to learn about an area of violence in a more in-depth capacity. The Professional Setting elective allows the student to hone skills related to service delivery.

Students must complete one course (3 credits) from the Victims Focus list below:

• CRJU 3250: Violence in Society (3 credits)
• CRJU 3280: Trauma Among Correctional Populations (3 credits)
• CRJU 3520: Juvenile Justice (3 credits)
• CRJU 4140: Domestic Violence and Crime (3 credits)
• CRJU 4150: Sex Offender and Offenses (3 credits)
• CRJU 4600: Special Topics in Criminology and Criminal Justice (Fatal Violence Against Indigenous Women) (3 credits)
• CRJU 4600: Special Topics in Criminology and Criminal Justice (Human Trafficking) (3 credits)
• HDFR 1080: Lifespan Issues in Family Violence (3 credits)
• HIST 4308: Crime, Policing, and Justice in American History (3 credits)
• PSCI 4807: Political Violence (3 credits)
• PSYC 3611: Psychology of Women (3 credits)
• SOCY 4460: Hate Groups and Group Violence (3 credits)
• SOCY 4780: Violence in Relationships (3 credits)

Students must also complete one course (3 credits) from the Professional Setting list below:

• CRJU 4310: Leadership Roles in Criminal Justice (3 credits)
• HDFR 4003: Leadership and Organizations (3 credits)
• HDFR 4004: Family and Comm. Prog. II Grant Writing/Fundraising (3 credits)
• HDFR 4090: Helping Profession Skills in HDFR (3 credits)
• HDFR 4260: Family Systems and Social Justice (3 credits)
• HDFR 4860: Trauma Informed Care for Diverse Populations and Co-occurring Disorders (3 credits)
• PUAD 3002: Program Design, Evaluation, and Decision-Making (3 credits)
• PUAD 3110: Seminar in Nonprofit Management (3 credits)
• PUAD 4002: Leading and Engaging for the Public Good (3 credits)
• PUAD 4003: Strategic Communications for Public Engagement (3 credits)
• PUAD 4009: Human Service Organizations (3 credits)
• PUAD 4220: Human Resource and Talent Management (3 credits)
• PUAD 4628: Social Problems and Policies in the Urban Environment (3 credits)