Bachelor of Arts in Justice and Community Engagement

Program Contact: Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox 203-582-6414

Justice and Community Engagement is a major designed for students who are interested in learning what justice means both inside and outside of the classroom. Our new and exciting major is grounded in the humanities and social sciences, and it explores the nature, function and application of justice in both historical and contemporary contexts. The major engages students both inside and outside of the classroom by asking them to not only understand the foundations of justice and how systems and institutions inform equality and inequality, but also to spend a considerable amount of time working alongside community partners in order to understand what justice means to people in their everyday lives. Our major draws from fields such as law, criminal justice, sociology, psychology, history and philosophy. The major prepares students for many career paths and also cultivates transferable skills, ethical awareness and civic engagement that will help students at work and in their communities. The curriculum in Justice and Community Engagement emphasizes justice at the local, national and international levels and features sustained experiential opportunities. 

Students majoring in Justice and Community Engagement must complete:

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
University Curriculum 1		46
Modern Language Requirement		3-6
Required Core Courses:		18
CJ 101	Crime and Society	3
JS 101	Introduction to Justice Studies	3
JS 201	Justice in the Community	3
JS 301	Global Justices	3
JS 401	Justice & Comm. Engagement Internship	3
LE 101	Introduction to the American Legal System	3
Take 6 credits of Domestic Justice Electives:		6
CJ 271	Public Order Crimes	3
CJ 370	Constitution, Ethics and Policing	3
HS 210	Contemporary America	3
LE 225	Alternative Dispute Resolution	3
LE 370	Negotiation	3
PL 101	Introduction to Philosophy	3
PO 387	Women and Public Policy	3
PS 210	Human Sexuality	3
PS 261	Social Psychology	3
SO 244	Race, Gender and Class: Social Inequalities	3
SO 302	Sociology of Sexualities	3
SO 304	Sociology of Gender	3
WGS 302	Sociology of Sexualities	3
WGS 304	Sociology of Gender	3
WGS 387	Women and Public Policy	3
Take 3 credits of Global Justice:		3
DR 270	World Theater History and Dramatic Literature I	3
EN 235	Literature by Women	3
ENV 226	Environmental Ethics	3
ENV 355	Environmental Law	3
LE 317	International Law	3
LE 318	Human Rights Law and Global Justice	3
LE 355	Environmental Law	3
PL 226	Environmental Ethics	3
PO 317	International Law	3
Take 6 credits of Community Action Electives:		6
CJ 275	Sexual Violence Victim Advocacy	3
CJ 360	Inside-Out Prison Exchange Seminar	3
MCI 100	Negotiation for Success	1
MCI 101	Health, Aging and Intersectionality	1
MCI 102	Octavia Butler: Black Feminist Sci Fi Pioneer	1
MCI 103	Higher Education in Prison: Past, Present and Future	1
MCI 104	Women and Body Image in the Age of Social Media	1
MCI 105	Intro to Judaism	1
MCI 106	Questioning Mother Culture	1
MCI 107	The Case for Race:The Role of the Courts in American Racial History	1
MCI 108	Why No HBCUs in Connecticut	1
MCI 110	Race: A Dangerous Symbol	1
MCI 111	Banned" Book Club	1
MCI 112	Human Rights & Genital Cutting	1
MCI 113	Abortion: Activism and Ethics	1
MCI 114	Inside-Out Prison Exchange: Weekend Semi	1
MCI 120	Intergenerational Dialogues	1
MCI 150	Queering the Screen: LGBTQ Representation in Movies	1
MCI 190	Special Topics	1
WGS 275	Sexual Violence Victim Advocacy	3
Free Electives		38-41
Total Credits		117-120

1. All students must complete the University Curriculum requirements. 

Upon completion of the program, students will demonstrate the following competencies:

• Social and Emotional Intelligence: This major introduces students to both the theoretical foundations and the applied contemporary challenges of justice at the local, national and global level. It will provide students with frameworks, tools and practical skills necessary to analyze and develop a deeper understanding and practical knowledge of social justice and civic engagement as applied in different community contexts. Students will understand the nature of power and privilege, and the role of institutions, individuals and communities in empathetically addressing the needs of vulnerable communities. It will engage students in a broader understanding of social and global justice, and community action, by addressing various dimensions of and approaches to justice, and asking students to collaborate with organizations committed to this work.
• Intercultural Citizenship and Responsibility/Recognition of Differences and Equity: ​​The major requires students to learn about the diverse social, political, historical and economic conditions that inform approaches to justice, human rights and global ethics. Students will also consider the role of individuals, institutions, communities and diverse global actors in shaping conceptions of justice and human rights and addressing the needs of vulnerable communities. Students will be asked to create a community action plan addressing the intersecting dimensions of social justice and individual responsibility impacting a local, national or global community.
• Critical Thinking and Reasoning/Critical and Creative Thinking: The major will require students to critically examine the historical, political and cultural conditions that inform the establishment of domestic and global institutions and instruments of justice, and the construction of different narratives on issues such as social justice, global justice, community organizing, human rights and institutional responsibility. For example, students will consider the limits of a universalized discourse on human rights and justice and will study both Western and non-Western conceptions of justice by considering different epistemologies informing the construction of such concepts.
• Inquiry and Analysis: The major will take an interdisciplinary approach to the study of global ethics and human rights by asking students to consider the methods used by different disciplines, including law, criminal justice, sociology, politics, history and philosophy, to address questions of social justice, community action and global ethics. Students will read articles from multiple fields of inquiry to address the complexity and intersecting dimensions of individual, community and global responsibility in a more holistic fashion. 

The requirements for admission into the undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences programs are the same as those for admission to Quinnipiac University.

Admission to the university is competitive, and applicants are expected to present a strong college prep program in high school. Prospective first-year students are strongly encouraged to file an application as early in the senior year as possible, and arrange to have first quarter grades sent from their high school counselor as soon as they are available.

For detailed admission requirements, including required documents, please visit the Admissions page of this catalog.

Shown below is one of many possible paths through the curriculum. Each student's individual academic plan is crafted in consultation with their academic adviser.