Our Mission

The mission of the Department of Criminal Justice is to offer quality undergraduate and graduate educational programming that provides students with valuable insights into the criminal justice system through a diverse and inter-disciplinary curriculum, experiential learning, and faculty-led research opportunities. Students will develop the skills necessary for successful careers in fields related to criminology and criminal justice. The department supports and encourages scholarly, experiential, and applied research endeavors, including those involving collaboration with local, state, and federal agencies dealing with crime, law enforcement, corrections, justice studies, law, juvenile justice, social justice, immigration, punishment and the borderlands.

Our Vision

The vision of the Department of Criminal Justice is to be one of the nation’s premier academic units specializing in crime and criminal justice issues, including those of the southwestern borderlands region. The curriculum shall continue to evolve to embrace this uniqueness toward supporting NMSU’s Federal Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), Minority Serving Institution (MSI), and Land Grant missions. We seek to promote interdisciplinary inquiry in our approach to education with real-world experience, and theoretical, policy- oriented, and applied research in criminology, law, social justice, juvenile justice, human trafficking, and corrections. The department seeks to prepare traditional and non-traditional students with the tools necessary to excel as future professionals and leaders in the field of Criminal Justice.