Prison/Public Policy

[aaustin]

Hi all! 

 

Long-time guest viewer of The GradCafe.

I'm also cross-posting this thread from Criminology since some universities have criminology/CJ topics included under their sociology PhDs. 

A little about me - I'm currently getting both a Master's in CJ and a J.D. (from a T1 school) and I'll graduate in Dec 2017. My Master's GPA is currently 4.0 with a law GPA right around the top 1/3rd of the class (3.4ish). My undergrad was a BA in Psychology and I graduated summa. I've figured out, like a few others classmates I know, that I don't actually want to use my law degree to practice law, but it's too late to drop out. 

Law school has pushed me into an area of study (through summer positions) that I thoroughly enjoy. I would love to pursue this field within a PhD program and continuing academia ,but I've found a road block. I'm interested in prison policy - specifically prison healthcare policy and potential impacts of bad prison healthcare on the community.

So far, I've found very few PhD programs that have faculty in this area. After speaking to a mentor, he's pointed me toward focusing on public policy programs at schools that also have criminal justice/criminology faculty that have prison connections since this is an under-studied area. 

I've stumbled across one program so far that has faculty in their CJ department doing research in my area (George Mason). 

I guess I'm reaching out to you all to see if you've seen any similar areas of study in your search for a program or if you have any general tips about finding a PhD program. I have a list of all programs (I believe) that offer PhDs in CJ/Criminology, but adding in a public policy consideration aspect is a bit harder. I also haven't been able to nail down a list of universities that have sociology (but not CJ/Criminology) PhDs. 

 

-- aa

 0

 

[kris10mb]

Take a look at American University's Justice, Law, and Criminology program. I spoke with their graduate director during ASC and while I'm not sure if they have someone looking at health within the CJS, their program focuses heavily on issues within the CJS. I really liked their program but it isn't a good fit for my particular research interests. 

As far as a list of sociology PhD programs, this book was really helpful for me: http://asa.enoah.com/Bookstore/Reference-Materials/BKctl/ViewDetails/SKU/ASAOE702G15?_ga=1.163806143.1853031658.1484416231 . Thankfully, my chair had a copy that I borrowed so I didn't have to purchase it, but $50 isn't terrible considering how important this decision is for the future. 

Good luck!