About us and the Department

Our department is home to more than 600 undergraduate students and more than 50 graduate students and includes faculty and instructors with a wide range of experience and expertise in legal studies and policing, courts, and corrections in general in addition to teaching and scholarly interest in other substantive areas such as criminal justice, criminological theory, victimology, race and crime, homeland security (just to name a few). 

Offering majors in criminal justice and law studies, the Department of Criminal Justice & Legal Studies provides students with a critical understanding of the total system of justice and the society in which it functions. At the same time, as part of the School of Applied Sciences, the faculty members are committed to preparing students to move successfully into legal studies careers or graduate work as educated and intellectually mature men and women. In addition, the department is also home to the Center for Evidence-Based Policing & Reform (CEBPR), which was founded through a donation by actor Mr. Morgan Freeman and Dr. Linda Keena. For more information on the center please visit here. 

Our Mission

Our mission is to educate students in a learning environment conducive to excellence in meeting the complex challenges present in justice-related services. Our faculty’s role is to expand the knowledge base and to integrate cutting-edge information into the learning experiences of students. In addition, it is the mission of the Department of Criminal Justice & Legal Studies to extend service to our constituents in order to enhance learning, program development, research, and justice-related service in Mississippi, the region, the nation, and around the world.