The Graduate Certificate in Victim Studies

UMass Lowell's Online Graduate Certificate Program in Victim Studies provides specialized knowledge of crime victim issues, crime victim rights, and formal responses to victims so that students may apply that knowledge within their own professional context. Students will gain the background necessary to better understand the strengths and limitations of current crime victim responses. Completion of the certificate program will better prepare students to participate in initiatives and programs that prevent crime victimization, to engage in research and evaluation focused on crime victim issues, and to respond effectively to victims of crime in a culturally appropriate manner.

Students are required to take a core course in Victimology, plus one course that focuses on a specific type of victimization, and then they may customize their program by choosing two courses from a list of skills and knowledge electives.

Audience

Individuals who are interested in gaining a better understanding of crime victims, especially those who provide direct services to victims or those who supervise victim programs, are ideal candidates for this program. Examples may include victim advocates, prosecutors, health services workers, law enforcement and corrections personnel, youth services workers, social workers, journalists, and first responders.

Program Outline

The Graduate Certificate in Victim Studies is a 4-course graduate program consisting of one required course, one victimization elective and two skills and knowledge electives. Each of the courses in this program is worth 3 graduate credits, and the program is a total of 12 credits.

Required Courses (1):

1. 44.522 Victimology - Available Summer 2012!

Victimization Electives - Choose 1:

1. 44.522 Victimology - Available Summer 2012!
2. 44.560 Gender, Race and Crime
3. 44.622 Intimate Partner Violence - Available Summer 2012!

Skills and Knowledge Electives - Choose 2:

1. 47.509 Psychological Approaches to Child Maltreatment
2. 44.503 Administration of Criminal Justice - Available Summer 2012!
3. 44.513 Crisis and Emergency Management
4. 44.521 Criminological Theory - Available Summer 2012!
5. 44.560 Gender, Race and Crime
6. 44.573 Law and Public Policy
7. 44.575 Criminal Homicide - Available Summer 2012!
8. 44.590 Research Methods in Criminal Justice - Available Summer 2012!
9. 44.622 Intimate Partner Violence - Available Summer 2012!
10. 44.623 Responding to Child Maltreatment

Note: 44.560, 44.622 or 47.507 can not be used as skills and knowledge electives if they have been used as the victimology elective.

Additional electives are available in the traditional on-campus format. Please contact cjgradadvisor@uml.edu for information on availability of on-campus electives in the Victim Studies program.

Admission Requirements

Applicants should have:

1. An earned Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year institution.
2. A minimum undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 2.8 or higher.
3. Two copies of a complete and official transcript from each undergraduate and/or graduate institution attended. Please note, if the degree is from an international institution, then the transcripts may need to be evaluated.

An interview may be requested by the Graduate Admissions Committee. In addition, University regulations do not allow the transfer of class(es) from another institution for the graduate certificate program. The graduate criminal justice courses in this certificate program (those with a 44.xxx course number prefix) may count towards both the certificate program and UMass Lowell's Online Master's Degree in Criminal Justice; however, the same course cannot be used for two different certificate programs.

To Apply into the Certificate Program

To apply into this certificate program, download the Application Form in .pdf file format. You do not have to be accepted into the program prior to registering for your first course.

Please note: Graduate students will be assessed a "First Year Student Services Fee" upon matriculation into a graduate degree or certificate program. Please see the Accounts Receivable website.

Registering for Courses

New Students: Print and complete the Non-Degree Course Registration Form (pdf) and fax it to 978-934-4076 or mail it to: University of Massachusetts Lowell, Enrollment Services/Continuing Studies, Dugan Hall, Room 102, 882 Broadway Street, Lowell, MA 01854-5104.

Certificate Completion

Once you have completed all the courses in this graduate certificate program, please complete and either mail or fax the Graduate Certificate Clearance Form to the UMass Lowell Registrar's Office at:

University of Massachusetts Lowell
Registrar's Office
883 Broadway Street - Dugan Hall
Lowell, MA 01854-5130
Fax: (978) 934-4076

Course Descriptions

44.503 Administration of Criminal Justice

An examination of the administration of federal, state and local criminal justice agencies in the United States, including a focus on criminal law and procedure. 3 credits.

44.513 Crisis and Emergency Management

This course will provide a broad introduction to the critical challenges of disaster management. The course will address past and present strategies for reducing and responding to hazards posed by both manmade and natural disasters. Emphasis will be placed on what we can learn from the history of disasters, and on how we can apply those lessons to the management of future events. 3 credits.

44.521 Criminological Theory

A detailed examination of the best known and most influential theories of crime causation. Topics include: (1) theory construction, (2) hypothesis testing, (3) theory integration, and (4) the links among theory, research, and policy. 3 credits.

44.522 Victimology

An examination of the characteristics and life styles of crime victims and the impact of their victimization. The treatment of victims by the criminal justice system is examined along with possible reforms in approach. 3 credits.

44.560 Gender, Race and Crime

The implications of criminal laws, criminal justice practices and programs. Focus on inequalities based on gender, race and class. 3 credits.

44.573 Law and Public Policy

This course is designed to provide an in-depth investigation of the interrelationship between law and public policy and the role that values play in establishing law and public policy.  An examination is conducted of the function of both criminal and civil law in achieving societal objectives. 3 credits.

44.575 Criminal Homicide

course will provide students with a survey of the nature, extent, and distribution of criminal homicide. There will be five main components: (1) statutory definitions of homicide; (2) theories of homicide; (3) homicide rates over time and across jurisdictions; (4) trends and patterns in homicide characteristics; and (5) cross-cultural comparison. 3 credits.

44.590 Research Methods in Criminal Justice

Students are introduced to the essential elements of criminal justice research, including criminal justice data sources, conceptualization and measurement, the use of experimental and quasi-experimental designs, survey research, document studies, and ethnographies. The use of computers as a research tool is covered. 3 credits.

44.622 Intimate Partner Violence

Examines the causes and consequences of intimate partner violence as well as the latest research regarding the criminal justice response. 3 credits.

44.623 Responding to Child Maltreatment

Introduction to empirical findings and theoretical perspectives concerned with the maltreatment of children and youth. Includes an examination of prevalence rates, risk factors, consequences, and system responses. 3 credits.

44.624 Violence in America

This course provides students with an in-depth analysis of the causes, context, and control of a wide range of violent crimes. 3 credits.

47.509 Psychological Approaches to Child Maltreatment

The course addresses the painful topic of Child Maltreatment in the context of research on optimal, typical, and unacceptable treatment of children, as maltreatment cannot be considered apart from acceptable and even optimal treatment. The impact of maltreatment on the development of the child from the first growth of physical organs in the prenatal infant through the development of moral reasoning in the adolescent is addressed. Both theories and research will be discussed. 3 credits.

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