Contact the Graduate Coordinator
Graduate student life
The Graduate Student Association at NAU invites CCJ criminology students to join us
In the program, graduate students participate in activities led by the departmental graduate student association (GSA). The GSA organizes social gatherings for students, sometimes on their own as students and other times with faculty to get to know each other outside of the classroom. The GSA also helps to coordinate workshops for students, such as planning a program of study or a thesis workshop. The criminology GSA also organizes and participates in community projects depending on the interest of its members.
Northern Arizona University MS Criminology capstone projects
Students apply their advanced knowledge and skills about contemporary crime and justice issues through completion of an independent capstone project focused on research, teaching, or a justice agency. Through this experience, students work with expert faculty to develop a unique project while preparing for their chosen profession or career.
The following examples illustrate the kinds of capstone projects completed by some of our recent criminology master’s students.
Recent capstone projects from students in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Thesis projects Accordion Closed
2026
Olive Aiello: The Grass Isn’t Greener: A Comparative Study of Safety and Well-being within Flagstaff Parks
Marie Blackwell: From Columbine to Santa Fe: Shifts in Media Coverage of School Shootings
Kelcie Cervelli: A Comparative Study of the Juvenile Super Predator Myth and Contemporary Immigration
Kathleen Davis: The Gendered Nature of Perceived Maltreatment in Youth Athletic Participation: A Quantitative Analysis
Ellie Faley: Big Trucks & Plated Guns: A Political Economy of Violence and Juvenile Mexican Cartel Recruitment
Natalie Castro: An Analysis of Roommate Conflict as Domestic Violence
Destiny Kelln: Assessing Gender-Responsive Reentry Programming for Formerly Incarcerated Women in Arizona
Megan Marshall: Disability and the Criminal Justice System: Bridging the Gap Through Integration, Education, and Reform
Kathleen Davis: The Gendered Nature of Perceived Maltreatment in Youth Athletic Participation: A Quantitative Analysis
2025
2024
Internship projects Accordion Closed
2026
Kayla Hill: Understanding Student Engagement and Behavior to Inform Educational Programming in Juvenile Detention
Kaitlyn Johnson: Bridging Education with Experience: Creating a Red Cross Internship
Skylar Kartchner: Victim Witness Services Internship: Examining Intersectional Approaches to Service Provision
Emma Wason- Emotional Regulation in Criminal Justice- Involved Youth
2025
2024
Teaching capstone projects Accordion Closed
Ralph Garcia (2017) Inspiring Student Engagement and Collaboration Using Critical Pedagogy Across Three Different Modalities
Jaimee Limmer (2013) It’s Your Education, Be in It: Enhancing Success for First Year Criminal Justice Students
Jason Tabor (2010) Seven Tools of Teaching
Margaret Bentzen (2009) Teaching Crime and Justice: A Pedagogical Recommendation for the Classroom and the Field