Concentration in Juvenile Delinquency
These courses are designed for students who intend to work with at-risk youth in community organizations, juvenile courts, group homes, and/or youth programs for high-risk youth. Potential careers include guidance counselors, probation officers, or youth program coordinators. Students will gain an understanding of:
- The theories, policies, and procedures of the juvenile justice system and
- The causes of delinquent behavior among adolescents as well as the adjustment problems and treatment of delinquent youth.
Students will have an opportunity to gain knowledge about:
- The development and perpetuation of gangs and adolescent subcultures,
- Social interactions and facilitation of small groups (especially for students who plan to facilitate youth group interventions),
- Drug and alcohol use and abuse (a common problem behavior among adolescents),
- The forms and processes of deviant behavior, or
- The political, social, and cultural factors associated with criminal justice administration and police-community relations.
Students who choose this concentration must take the required courses and then select two courses from the listed options.
Required Courses (6 units):
- CJA 444 – Juvenile Justice Process (3)
- SOC 369 – Juvenile Delinquency (3)
Select two courses from the following (6 units):
- CJA 340 – Criminal Justice and the Community (3)
- CJA 443 – Criminal Law and Justice Administration (3)
- SOC 306 – Program Evaluation (3)
- SOC 341 – Seminar in Small Groups (3) or PSY 367 – Effective Communication Skills (3)
- SOC 362 – Gangs and Adolescent Subcultures (3)
- SOC 363 – Sociology of Drug and Alcohol Use (3)
- SOC 365 – Deviant Behavior (3)