Justice Studies Dual Major

The justice studies dual major is an interdisciplinary area that blends topics from humanities departments (e.g., philosophy), social science departments (e.g., psychology, sociology, women's and gender studies), departments that include both humanities and social science faculty (history, political science), and professionally oriented departments (education, family studies, social work). Topics studied include courts, family violence, rights, substance abuse, juvenile justice, school law, children as witnesses, hate crimes and community policing. Students will be required to choose a first major before they will be able to declare justice studies as a second major. The goal is to produce graduates who have a higher level of knowledge about law and justice in American society and in the world so that they will mature into more knowledgeable and effective citizens. The justice studies dual major is intended for students who are looking for careers in the justice system or who seek graduate training in law or social sciences and humanities related to the law.

Students are strongly encouraged to contact the Justice Studies Office and to declare the dual major as soon as they develop an interest in majoring. Once a student has been accepted to the JS dual major, they will be assigned an advisor.  

Degree Requirements

All Major, Option and Elective Requirements as indicated.
*Major GPA requirements as indicated.

Justice Studies Dual Major Requirements

The dual major in justice studies requires students to take a minimum of eight courses (32 credits), each completed with a grade of a C- or better. Students are required to have a grade-point average of a 2.5 or better before they can be accepted into the program. The dual major cannot be declared until after a first major has been declared. Students can count no more than two courses for both the first major and dual major, and students are not allowed to take more than two courses from any one department (except for JUST). An unlimited number of dual major courses can be used to satisfy Discovery requirements.

The required minimum overall GPA in major coursework is 2.5.

¹

 This course fulfills the program capstone requirement.

Elective Courses

This list is approved and published yearly by the Justice Studies Executive Committee.

²

Bill of Rights and Law & Society are allowed to count as the JS SOC/POLT requirement.

Candidates for a degree must satisfy all of the University Discovery Program requirements in addition to satisfying the requirements of each individual major program. Bachelor of arts candidates must also satisfy the foreign language proficiency requirement.

Students who are interested in a dual major in justice studies will need to officially declare in Webcat (my.unh.edu). Program offices are located in Hamilton Smith Hall and are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, please contact Molly Dorsey at (603) 862-0703, e-mail marion.girard.dorsey@unh.edu; or Deb Briand at (603) 862-1716, e-mail deborah.briand@unh.edu. 

• Demonstrate knowledge of fundamental theoretical approaches and key disciplinary concepts of Justice Studies. 
• Demonstrate understanding of justice studies methods of research design, data gathering, and analysis. 
• Exhibit critical thinking skills in evaluating justice studies research, including the background assumptions, appropriateness of methods used and the strength of explanatory evidence. 
• Communicate justice studies knowledge in appropriate oral, written and graphic forms. 
• Experience justice studies either in the real world through an internship or in a research lab through a research internship.