The Criminal Justice Certificate is an interdisciplinary certificate in which you take courses from a variety of departments. Please refer to the list below for the most accurate list of courses offered that fulfill certificate requirements. If a course appears below and is not listed on your dars report, please email cjcp@ssc.wisc.edu.
Criminal Justice Courses During Other Semesters
Group 1: Criminal Justice System
Legal Studies/Sociology 131: Criminal Justice in America
Group 2: Theories of Crime and Deviant Behavior
Psychology 526: The Criminal Mind
Sociology 421: Processes of Deviant Behavior
Sociology 441: Criminology
Sociology 446: Juvenile Delinquency
Group 3: Crime and Justice/Operations of the Justice System
Legal Studies 135: Disability and the Criminal Justice System
Legal Studies/Ed Pol 250: Incarceration and Education (dars exception needed)
Legal Studies/GWS/Soc 425: Crime, Gender, Justice
Legal Studies 426: History of Punishment
**Legal Studies 400: Criminal Injustice in America
**Legal St. 400/Soc 496: Incarceration and Inequality
Legal St. 400/Soc 496: The Penitentiary in Global Perspective (dars exception needed)
Legal St/LIS 460: Surveillance, Privacy, and Police Powers
Political Science 401: Politics and Crime
Psychology 401: Psychology, Law, & Social Policies
Psychology 626: Issues in Prisoner Re-Entry (dars exception needed)
Group 4: Broader Psycho/Socio/Economic Processes Related to Criminal Justice
Legal Studies/English 160: Truth and Crime (Lit)
**History/Ed Pol 143: History of Race and Inequality in Urban America (Ethnic St) (Comm b)
**HDFS 474: Racial Ethnic Families in U.S. (Ethnic St)
Legal St. 400: Criminal Justice & Popular Culture
Legal Studies 444: Law in Action
Legal Studies 641: Sociology of Law
Psychology 405: Adult Psychopathology
Social Work 453 Substance Use Disorders
Social Work 462: Child Welfare
Social Work 623: Interpersonal Violence (dars exception needed)
Social Work 646: Child Abuse and Neglect
Group 5: Ethnography-Internship Prep
Counseling Psych 225: Intersectionalities, Self -Awareness, And Social Actions For Social Change (ethnic studies)
Counseling Psych 237: Mental Health, Self-Awareness, and Social Justice: Working in Diverse Communities (ethnic studies)
Counseling Psychology 620: Interviewing (dars exception needed)
Counseling Psychology 655: Clinical Communication Skills
Com Arts 260: Communication and Human Behavior (dars exception needed)
Com Arts 262: Argumentation and Debate (Comm B) (dars exception needed)
Com Arts 266: Theory and Practice of Group Discussion (Comm B) (dars exception needed)
Comm Arts 272: Introduction to Interpersonal Communication (Comm B) (dars exception needed)
Com Arts 565: Communication and Interethnic Behavior (Ethnic Studies)
History 300: History at Work
Inter-HE 202: Careers and Leadership Dev (SOHE Majors only)
Inter-LS 210: L&S Career Development (1 credit)
Inter-LS 215: Communicating about Careers (Comm B)
Social Work 441: Generalist Practice; Individuals, Families & Groups (SW Majors only)
Group 6: Fieldwork/Internship Seminar- All Internships must be Criminal/Juvenile Justice/Law/Policy Related
Legal St 694: Field Observation in Criminal Justice & Legal Studies
- 3 credits and offered every semester. Students are enrolled in legal studies 694 at the same time they are interning.
- In order to get permission to enroll in legal studies 694, students must participate in a pre-internship process. The Fall 2025 process began on March 14th. Please email cjcp@ssc.wisc.edu to be added to the process.
Legal Studies 400: Tribal Court of Appeals Project (Application required)
Legal St. 473: Health Impacts of Unmet Social Needs (Find more information & application here)
Below are opportunities in other departments that will fulfill the Group 6 requirement. Please refer to each program’s requirements for admission. Internships must be criminal/juvenile justice/legal/policy related.
HDFS 592: Research Experience in HDFS
Political Science 315: Legislative Internship (If you are interested in enrolling in PS 315, once you have an internship in place, please email Amy Gangl at agangl@wisc.edu with the name and email contact info of your internship office supervisor, the number of hours you will be working each week during the semester (a minimum of 7-9 hours required), and your campus ID number.
Pub Affr 327: Administrative Internship
Rehab Psychology & Special Ed 630: Internship in Rehabilitation or Special Ed (Contact Rebecca Bradbury, rebecca.bradbury@wisc.edu, for questions regarding requisites and course permissions.)
Social Work 400: Field Practice and Integrative Seminar I