I. Foundational Courses
These courses provide a breadth of exposure to criminal law topics. The concentration requires that students take all three of the following courses, which are also required for the diploma privilege:
- Introduction to Criminal Law and Procedure OR Introduction to Substantive Criminal Law
- Introduction to Criminal Procedure OR Criminal Procedure: Investigation OR Criminal Procedure: Adjudication
- Evidence
II. Advanced Courses
These courses provide for intensive learning experiences about substantive areas of criminal law, the processes of lawyering, and exploration of lawyers professional responsibility to clients. Students must take a minimum of 15 credits in this category distributed among at least two courses, one of which must be experiential, such as clinical courses.
Elective Courses in Law
- Special Problems in Criminal Justice Administration: Sentencing & Corrections
- Legislation & Regulation
- Mental Health Law
- Race & the Law
- Immigration Law
- Domestic Violence
- Human Trafficking
- Law & Forensic Science
- Advanced Criminal Procedure: Representing the Criminal Appellant (course component of Criminal Appeals Project)
- Special Problems in Criminal Justice Administration: Federal Criminal Appeals (course component of Federal Appeals Project)
- Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice (course component of Prosecution & Defender Projects)
- Defense Function (course component of Defender Project)
- Prosecution Function (course component of Prosecution Project)
Elective Courses in Other Departments
Up to 6 credits can be counted toward concentration; most courses require permission of instructor to enroll.
Relevant courses not listed below (such as "special topics" classes) may count toward the concentration with the approval of the concentration adviser.
- Psych 526: The Criminal Mind: Forensic and Psychobiological Perspectives
- Soc 441: Criminology
- Soc 421: Processes of Deviant Behavior
- Soc 425: Crime, Gender & Justice
- Soc/Chicla/Legal Studies 440: Ethnicity, Race, and Justice
- Soc 441: Criminology
- Soc 443: Immigration, Crime, and Enforcement
- Soc 446: Juvenile Delinquency
- Soc 496: Policing
- Ed Psych 506: The Education & Psychology of Forgiveness
- Soc Work 523: Family Violence
- Soc Work 627: Sex Trafficking and Sex Trading
- Soc Work 643: Social Work & Delinquency
- Soc Work 646: Child Abuse and Neglect
Experiential Learning Requirement
Remington Center Projects
- LAIP (Legal Assistance to Incarcerated People Project)
- Criminal Appeals Project
- Wisconsin Innocence Project
- Restorative Justice Project
- Oxford Federal Project
- Federal Appeals Project
- Prosecution Project
- Defender Project
- Constitutional Litigation, Appeals & Sentencing Project (CLASP)
Economic Justice Institute Projects
- Government & Legislative Law Clinic (counts if 50% or more of the works relates to criminal law or criminal justice system actors and institutions as certified by supervising attorney)
- Immigrant Justice Clinic
Externships
- DOJ Externship Project (if placed in a criminal justice unit)
- Law Externship Course (if placement is focused on criminal law or criminal justice, including law enforcement and community supervision)
III. Community Engagement and Service Learning
Although not required to earn the concentration, students are encouraged to enrich their educational experience through community service and policy engagement. Listed below are community organizations that serve those involved in the criminal justice system as victims or offenders, or returning to the community after serving a criminal sentence.
- JustDane (offers a number of re-entry programs)
- Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA)
- Domestic Abuse Intervention Services
- Rape Crisis Center
- Rainbow Project
- Voices Beyond Bars
- Parental Stress Center Dane County (hosts parenting classes and offers therapy groups for perpetrators and survivors of family violence and familial sexual abuse)
- National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Dane County
- The Beacon (day shelter for the homeless)
Additional Requirements
GPA Requirement: To obtain the criminal law concentration, students must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA in all concentration-eligible classes.
Honors: Students earning a 3.5 cumulative average in courses fulfilling Criminal Law Concentration requirements (foundational and elective courses combined) will receive Honors in the Concentration. If you believe you qualify for honors in the concentration, you need to submit along with your transcript a calculation of your GPA in the courses fulfilling the concentration, showing that your cumulative GPA in those courses is 3.5 or higher.
Questions with respect to the above Concentration requirements should be sent to Professor Cecelia Klingele at cecelia.klingele@wisc.edu.
