Master of Science in Applied Anthropology Program Begins in August 2008
The first class of graduate students in anthropology began their study in Fall 2008. This cohort includes Missouri State alumni Amanda Eatherton (2007), Jessica Gray (2006), Melissa Horak-Hern (2007), Brian Johnson (2004), Holly Mills (2007), Megan Scales (2006), and Jason Shepard (2008), as well as Justin Bartlett (from the University of Chicago) and Abraham Ledezma (from Minnesota State University).
There was an inaugural banquet for the program on October 23, 2008. Representatives from Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, the George Washington Carver National Monument, the Nathan Boone State Historic Site, the Ozarks African American Heritage Museum, the Discovery Center, Fort Leonard Wood, the History Museum of Springfield-Greene County, and the National Park Service attended. We are looking forward to partnerships with cultural heritage agencies from around the area who can provide internship and practicum opportunities for our graduate students. Click here for more information on the M.S. in Applied Anthropology.
Master of Science in Criminology Graduates First Two Students
At the December 2008 Commencement, Casey Cook and Jessica Corno (pictured) became the first two graduates of the M.S. in Criminology program, which began in the Fall of 2007. Casey will continue working at the Greene County Juvenile Justice agency as a program director and Jessica, who completed a graduate internship at the United States Probation Office in St. Louis, is looking for a position with a probation and parole agency. We are extremely proud of these students and wish them the best in their futures.
New Graduate Certificate in Homeland Security and Defense
Homeland Security is a rapidly growing multi-disciplinary field initiated after the events of September 11, 2001. In one of the largest goverment reorganizations ever, more than twenty-two federal agencies were brought together to form the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and all fifty states created homeland security offices and departments. The Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology, in collaboration with the Department of Political Science, began offering a graduate certificate in Homeland Security and Defense in August 2008. This program consists of twelve graduate-level hours (four courses) and is available completely online. The certificate is designed for individuals interested in learning more about the challenging field of homeland security, and is especially appropriate for people working, or desiring to work, in that field.
The sequence of courses provides a solid foundation in homeland security with a focus on policy formation and analysis, leadership education, and critical thinking skills for dealing with issues and problems associated with threats faced by both the global war on terrorism and consequences of natural disasters. In addition, these twelve hours may be used as elective hours in the Master of Science in Criminology, the Master of Public Administration, and the Master of Science in Administrative Sciences. Click here to learn more about this new graduate certificate program.
Faculty Member and Graduate Students Present Research at the American Society of Criminology Meetings
Brett Garland, along with criminology graduate students Angela Collins and Julie Hershberger, presented their research, "Prisoner Reentry in a Small Metropolitan Community: Preliminary Findings," at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology in St. Louis, Missouri. This project was funded by a College of Humanities and Public Affairs Incentive Grant and provides a tremendous opportunity for these graduate students to be mentored in the research process by a faculty member working on an original project.