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Bachelor of Arts
Major
Students come here to change how justice works, not only to study it.
Goshen College’s Criminal Justice and Restorative Justice major examines the justice system through a restorative lens, working toward healing, accountability, and systemic change rather than punishment alone.
You’ll have hands-on opportunities from the start. An internship is required for the major, and during May Term you can study inside a local jail alongside incarcerated people through the Inside-Out program. Both put you in the systems you’re learning to change, early and in person.
Build a working knowledge of law enforcement administration, history, and practice, grounded in social theories of crime, criminal investigation, and society. Restorative and transformative approaches to justice are at the heart of our curriculum, and you”ll explicitly focus on marginalized communities and the societal factors our current system tends to neglect.
Because the program views criminal justice through a restorative lens, you graduate fluent in the newer theories and practices reshaping the field, including how restorative practices work in schools, workplaces, and at a societal level.
View the complete program requirements in our catalog.
Gisel (Gisel Altamirano, class of 2026, completed her senior internship with Elkhart County Jail Ministries) was a great addition to the Jail Ministry. Her care for both individuals and larger systems was evident as she interacted with participants and helped with programming. Gisel added value to our team by integrating content from her classes with the real-life people and situations she witnessed firsthand in the Jail Ministry’s work.
Karen Hochstedler
Chaplain - Elkhart County Jail Ministries
Scholarships make up a large share of Goshen financial-aid packages, which average almost $26,000 per student (not including work-study or loans). That aid is meant to make a rigorous, hands-on justice education reachable, not aspirational. Reaching out to the financial aid office is the best way to take your first step into a affordable higher education. To see your own price after aid, run the net price calculator, or explore your options at the financial aid and scholarships pages.
A lot, and early. You begin engaging the community in your second semester with partners like Elkhart Jail Ministries and Elkhart County Drug Court, complete a required internship with organizations such as the Center for Community Justice and Indiana Legal Services, and can study inside a local jail through the May-term Inside-Out program. Our Study Service Term will also open you up to real service locally or abroad that showcase how different cultures and communities experience the both similar and unique justice systems.
Yes. Many CJRJ graduates continue to law school or to graduate study in criminal justice, social work, or conflict transformation. The major builds the writing, analysis, and ethical reasoning graduate and professional programs look for, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics rates the field’s outlook as strong.
Start your application at the Goshen College apply page, or request information first if you’d like to talk through your experience before committing. You can also schedule a visit to sit in on a class and meet faculty. There’s no separate application to declare the CJRJ major beyond admission to Goshen.
Professor of Criminal Justice and Sociology
Associate Professor of Religion and Sustainability
Scholar Activist Fellow
Professor of Peace
Justice
and Conflict Studies
