Advising

On this page:

• About Advising
• Appointments
• Faculty Advisors
• Pre-Graduation Advising
• Tips for Successful Completion of the Crime and Justice Studies Major

About Advising

Social Sciences and International Studies majors have two advisors.

• Your college academic advisor can answer questions about CORE and college requirements (such as foreign language and methods of inquiry).
• Your faculty advisor offers guidance and mentorship within the major.

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Appointments

To schedule an advising appointment, email cola-advisors@wright.edu, call 937-775-2601 or stop in 106 Allyn Hall.

To schedule an appointment with your faculty advisor, contact your program directly.

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Faculty Advisors

Undergraduate Programs

If you have not yet received an assigned faculty advisor, please email SoSSIS@wright.edu.

Graduate Programs

• International and Comparative Politics: Vaughn Shannon, Ph.D., program director, vaughn.shannon@wright.edu
• Public Administration (MPA): Daniel Warshawsky, Ph.D., program director, daniel.warshawsky@wright.edu

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Pre-Graduation Advising

You are required to complete the College of Liberal Arts pre-graduation checklist. You should begin this process after you are registered for your final term.

To schedule an appointment to verify major requirements needed for graduation, please contact your faculty advisor.

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Tips for Successful Completion of the Crime and Justice Studies (CJS) Major

1. Meet with your CJS faculty advisor regularly. Advisors help prevent you from taking unnecessary courses and make sure the courses you take are counted in ways that best facilitate your progress towards graduation. They will also direct you to important university resources. They are here to help make sure you make the most of your Wright State experience. Call 937-775-2582 for information about scheduling an appointment.
2. Our curriculum offers you a strong foundation of core CJS courses while at the same time allowing you the opportunity for great flexibility and specialization within the program. Therefore, you will typically have two or more course choices that can be used to fulfill each of our program requirements. For example, you can take the required discipline overview course in the CJS core through political science (PLS 4420) or sociology (SOC 3710) or urban affairs and geography (URS 4280).
3. Not all courses are offered every semester, so it is a  good idea to get critical courses (e.g. your CJS core courses) completed before your senior year. 
4. Do not wait too long to take your COLA language requirement. The courses are sequenced and the sequence begins in the fall. So, if you get off track, it can be difficult to complete. For those interested in Spanish, Spanish 2110 and 2120 Spanish for Law Enforcement Personnel, are targeted for CJS majors and will substitute for the final two courses in the Spanish sequence (SPN 2010 and 2020). SPN 2110 will be offered fall semester only; SPN 2120 will be offered spring semester.
5. An internship in a criminal-justice related occupation is part of our core requirements. We generally recommend that you have completed a minimum of 15 hours in the major before taking the internship. Internships must be secured through one of our three core courses (PLS 4821, SOC 3000, or URS 4950) and you must begin the scheduling process at least two terms in advance. Federal internship planning should begin a year in advance. Detailed information about this process can be found on our Internship webpage. CJS minors are not required to complete an internship. 
   
   NOTE:  Background checks and drug/alcohol screenings will typically be required for placement. Given how strictly agencies screen applicants, if you have a previous record or dependency, discuss this with your advisor so that alternate arrangements can be made. (See details on our web page.)
    
6. In the semester prior to your graduation date (e.g. fall semester for spring graduation), you need to make an appointment to meet with the program director, Dr. Lahm (karen.lahm@wright.edu) to conduct a graduation check and exit interview. Once approved, the College of Liberal Arts advisor will enable you to electronically apply for graduation.  
7. Portfolio requirement: As part of our internal program assessment, we ask that you turn in copies of your term papers from three of your five CJS classes to the department before you graduate (SOC 3410 should be one of these three). CJS minors not applicable.
8. Email listing: This is the central communication tool that uses your Wright State email address. The program director, through the administrative support coordinator, sends emails about course listings, class availability, internship information, and job postings. As a new student, you will receive several Wright State emails, so be sure to check your Wright State email regularly so you do not miss any important information. These will be sent to you by crime-justice@wright.edu.