Crime, Prisons, Education, and Justice Minor

College of Arts and Sciences

Program Website

Minor Requirements

To satisfy the requirements of the minor, a student must:

  • Earn a minimum of 15 credits and complete 5 qualifying, interdisciplinary courses. Since this minor is interdisciplinary, students may not take all five courses from the same department.
  • Submit an enrollment application to the Undergraduate Field Coordinator, Danielle O'Connor in the Government Department.
  • Successfully complete GOVT 3121 Crime and Punishment, GOVT 3141 Prisons (Distance Learning course), or GOVT 3152 Prisons, Politics and Policy Prisons, Politics and Policy.
  • Successfully complete GOVT 3142 Incarceration, Policy Response, and Self-Reflection Incarceration, Policy Response, and Self-Reflection, EDUC 3142 Reflecting on the Intersections of Education and Prison Systems , or another class that includes an opportunity for extended reflection on the complexity of working with people who are justice-involved, subject to approval by the minor’s Faculty Director. 
  • All students must complete an engagement requirement. Participation in any of the following programs can fulfill this requirement: Teaching Assistant for the Cornell Prison Education Program (must be 21 years old to participate); participation in the Cornell University Parole Initiative; or participation in other Cornell-based projects or a project designed by the student, subject to approval by the faculty director.
  • Earn a minimum grade of C+ on all classes to be used toward the minor.
  • Obtain final approval from the Minor's Faculty Director, Joe Margulies.

Students may tailor the minor for their particular academic and career goals. For a list of courses that may be taken to complete the minor, please see the qualifying courses.