Graceland University Announces New Social Science Offerings

The Graceland University Board of Trustees has approved new social science degree programs to be offered beginning Fall 2017 on the Lamoni campus. The decision was in response to a proposed redesign of the criminal justice major and the addition of a concentration in criminology to the reintroduced sociology major by Graceland’s Division of Social Sciences.

Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Brian White, PhD, commented, “The new course and major offerings will provide students with a more robust and meaningful educational experience in the areas of criminal justice and sociology, which will lead to even more opportunities beyond graduation from Graceland University.”

In conjunction with these updates to the criminal justice and sociology majors, Graceland has hired Assistant Professor of Sociology Jessica Ziegler to begin Fall 2017. Ziegler comes from the doctoral program at Bowling Green State University. Her areas of concentration include violent victimization, neighborhoods and crime, corrections, substance use, families and crime, mental health, and quantitative methods and statistics.

Students majoring in criminal justice at Graceland will take courses on law and the justice system, psychology, sociology, criminology and social inequality, as well as options in policing in America, and juvenile delinquency and justice. Qualified students may also earn academic credit through internship opportunities.

Students who choose a sociology major with a concentration in criminology will take courses in sociology in everyday life, social inequality, and social research and theory, as well as environmental crime, studies of policing and community studies.

Information on the program of study for the criminal justice major may be found on Graceland’s website at https://www.graceland.edu/academics/academic-catalogs/undergraduate-catalog/educational-programs/criminal-justice/. The sociology major and criminology concentration  may be found at https://www.graceland.edu/academics/academic-catalogs/undergraduate-catalog/educational-programs/sociology/.

For additional information, please contact Graceland Admissions: 866.GRACELAND (866.472.2352) or admissions@graceland.edu.