Providing further expertise for those working within the criminal justice system
About The Program
Northern’s Behavioral and Justice Studies Graduate Certificate will allow you to gain further expertise for working with populations involved in the criminal justice system, such as in a prison, in community corrections, juvenile detention, the state or federal government, or those who are victims of crimes.
This graduate certificate is meant to be a stand-alone credential option for students not seeking a master’s degree. It can also be an entry point for the NSU Counseling Master's Degree. Completing this graduate certificate will earn you 12 credits toward the master’s degree.
For more information, contact the NSU Office of Graduate Studies at gradstudies@northern.edu or 605-626-2558.
Our Faculty
Ph.D., Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
Dr. Brownfield joined the NSU faculty in 2015. Her current research looks at deviance and “bad behavior” in online forums devoted to support networks. She recently has published articles on depictions of prisons in film and rural policing on television.
Research Interests/Areas of Expertise
Popular culture
New media research methods
Online phenomena
Race/class/gender
Social psychology, identity, narrative, and deviance
Chair, NSU Institutional Review Board
Ph.D., M.A., Wichita State University
M.S., Fort Hays State University
B.A., Washburn University
B.S., Kansas State University
Dr. Jeffrey Howard joined NSU's faculty in 2009. He received a Ph.D. degree in human factors psychology from Wichita State University, Wichita, Kan., in 2007; an M.A. degree in experimental psychology from Wichita State University in 2004; an M.S. degree in clinical psychology from Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kan., in 2001; a B.A. degree in psychology from Washburn University, Topeka, Kan., in 1999; and a B.S. degree in radio/TV journalism from Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., in 1990.
Research Interests
Music cognition
Stimulus perception in…
Ph.D. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
M.Phil. Martin Luther Christian University
M.S. Mahatma Gandhi University
B.S. Mahatma Gandhi University
Dr. Shalini Mathew is an assistant professor, field coordinator and Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) liaison for the master’s in counseling program. She is a National Board of Certified Counselors nationally certified counselor. She is serving as a site visit team member on the CACREP team of site visitors.
Dr. Mathew earned a doctor of philosophy degree in rehabilitation counseling and counselor education from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (2019), a master of philosophy degree in school counseling from Martin…
Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University, 2002
M.A., Idaho State University, 1993
B.A., University of Calgary, 1989
Dr. Pamela Monaghan-Geerneart has been a member of the faculty in the department of history and social sciences at Northern State University since the fall of 2019.
Courses Taught
SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology
Soc 261 Human Sexuality
Soc 423 Social Stratification
Soc 491 Medical Sociology
Soc 350 Race and Ethnic Relations
INDG 404 Contemporary Issues in Native and Indigenous Communities
INED 411/511 South Dakota Indian Studies
Research Interests
Home health care …
Ph.D., Sociology, University of Michigan, 2016
B.A., Sociology, Indiana University, 2010
Dr. Christopher Near joined Northern State University in 2020 as an assistant professor. He taught previously at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Courses Taught
CJUS 201 Introduction to Criminal Justice
CJUS 203 Policing in a Free Society (online)
CJUS 380 Research/Data Analysis in Criminal Justice
CJUS 401 Law and Society (online)
CJUS 433 Criminal Procedure (online)
SOC 351 Criminology
SOC 455 Juvenile Delinquency (online)
Research Interests
White-collar crime and corporate wrongdoing
Family structure and children's behavior problems
Recent Publications…
