Social & Criminal Justice

Why Social & Criminal Justice at Coe College?

To understand the justice system as a whole, it's important to experience it from all angles. The interdisciplinary social & criminal justice major allows students to examine different viewpoints and experiences, giving perspective to the entire criminal justice system that is both thorough and fair.

• Core courses in the major address multifaceted questions surrounding restorative, retributive, procedural and distributive justice. The social and criminal justice faculty teach topics within the major from varying perspectives and disciplines to introduce students to the ways in which matters of justice are at work in, and essential to, many areas of study.
• Real points of view are integrated into course material, including stories and thoughts from those in law enforcement and those who have been incarcerated.
• Social & criminal justice faculty are experts who hold terminal degrees in their field. You will learn from professors who have studied the social and psychological sources of criminal behavior, as well as trained lawyers and ethicists.
• Coe has the #18 Most Accessible Professors in the nation, according to The Princeton Review. We pride ourselves on the individual attention we provide through small classes and extra contact with faculty outside the classroom.
• As Iowa's second-largest city, Cedar Rapids creates valuable opportunities for internships and service learning close to campus. As a result, students have interned with federal courts, social services agencies, Cedar Rapids Police Department, Linn County Sheriff's and Attorney's Offices, public advocacy lawyers and federal probation officers. There are multiple opportunities to work with local non-profits who are striving to improve the lives of disenfranchised people.

Opportunities outside of class for social & criminal justice majors

• Justice Learning Initiative: Social & criminal justice majors are able to work with the community through Coe's JLI initiatives. The Justice Learning Initiative aims to educate the community about the impacts of incarceration through a series of events and simulations as we work towards a more just and equitable society.
• Washington D.C. Term: Social & criminal justice majors often participate in the Washington, D.C. Term for a chance to study and intern in the nation's capital in different environments like a U.S. Senator’s Office, a boutique law firm, or a national non-profit like the Human Rights Campaign. Participating in Washington Term also fulfills a student’s practicum requirement.
• Center for Health & Society: Students can visit the Center for Health & Society to understand how even a social & criminal justice major can lead to a career in the healthcare field, which is expected to grow by 2.6 million jobs by 2030.
• Wilderness Field Station: Located in beautiful Northern Minnesota, the Wilderness Field Station is a summer program where Coe students can spend a month learning field skills and exploring the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Social & criminal justice students who participate in the Wilderness Field Station often choose to take Environmental Justice: Race, Class, Power and Sustainability  to earn internship credit in the major. Participating in the Wilderness Field Station also fulfills a student’s practicum requirement.