John Jay College of Criminal Justice is a community of motivated and intellectually committed individuals who explore justice in its many dimensions. The College's liberal arts curriculum equips students to pursue advanced study and meaningful, rewarding careers in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Our professional programs introduce students to foundational and newly emerging fields and prepare them for advancement within their chosen professions.
Our students are eager to engage in original research and experiential learning, excited to study in one of the world's most dynamic cities, and passionate about shaping the future. Through their studies, our students prepare for ethical leadership, global citizenship, and active service. Our faculty members are exceptional teachers who encourage students to join them in pursuing transformative scholarship and creative activities. Through their research, our faculty advances knowledge and informs professional practices that build and sustain just societies.
We foster an inclusive and diverse community drawn from our city, our country, and the world. We are dedicated to educating traditionally underrepresented groups and committed to increasing diversity in the workforce. Our community's breadth motivates us to question our assumptions, consider multiple perspectives, think critically, and develop the humility that comes with global understanding. We educate fierce advocates for justice.
John Jay has provided generations of students, many from traditionally underrepresented groups, with a quality education that has enabled them to obtain undergraduate and advanced degrees and meaningful careers. The College embraces its vital role of serving minorities, dreamers, and immigrant students as they pursue higher education. For this reason, we take pride in our institutional identity, which includes being a Hispanic Serving Institution and a Minority-Serving Institution.
John Jay College of Criminal Justice offers undergraduate students a diverse range of liberal arts disciplines to engage with justice issues. Through a highly innovative curriculum across the humanities, natural sciences, arts, and social sciences, you will have a full range of opportunities to explore your academic interests. John Jay faculty members are world-class educators, practitioners, and researchers who have exceptional hands-on experience in their fields. As a student, you will be given access to leading-edge thinking, innovative teaching methods, and strong industry connections.
Become part of a diverse and dynamic community within an intimate and inclusive environment. With such a large College and a small college community feeling, you will not want to leave the campus. The campus offers a 60,000 square foot rooftop park and commons.
John Jay College has been a world leader in educating for justice since 1964. We define justice both narrowly, meet the needs of criminal justice and public service agencies, and broadly, in terms of enduring questions about fairness, equality, and the rule of law.
We are recognized globally for delivering the highest standards of graduate training and professional education. As a graduate student, you will have access to a wide range of resources and opportunities to help you succeed in your education and eventual professions, such as a renowned faculty, state-of-the-art facilities, research capabilities, and strong partnerships with industry leaders.
There is no college anywhere in the U.S. or the world, quite like John Jay. Founded in 1964, John Jay College of Criminal Justice – a senior college of The City University of New York – has evolved into the preeminent international leader in educating for justice in its many dimensions. The College offers rich liberal arts and professional curriculum that prepares students to serve the public interest as ethical leaders and engaged citizens. John Jay's academic programs balance the sciences, humanities, and the arts with professional studies. The College is unique in its mission, providing rigorous course work, research, internships, community service, and other learning experiences to prepare students to make a difference for themselves and others and transform ideas into social action and leadership.
The College's community of over 15,000 students, in a diverse array of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs, is the most diverse among the City University of New York's senior colleges. The student body — 60% female, 40% Hispanic, and 25% African American — today produces leaders, scholars, and heroes in policing and beyond, including forensic science, law, fire and emergency management, social work, teaching, private security, forensic psychology, and corrections. John Jay is also a leader in educating our nation's military veterans, with more than 500 currently enrolled.
The John Jay faculty, about 1,100 strong, includes Pulitzer Prize-winners and widely honored scholars and experts in various academic fields, with credentials from the world's top universities. Their professional peers have recognized them and at all levels of government for their research, writing, teaching, and mentoring. Through their research – often in collaboration with students – they advance knowledge to help build and sustain just societies.
Set in the heart of New York City, John Jay occupies a newly expanded, state-of-the-art campus that provides a wealth of opportunities to cultivate student interests, leadership, civic engagement, and cultural diversity. Laboratories and research facilities for forensic science, forensic psychology, emergency management, and other disciplines add new and exciting enhancements to the overall educational experience.
Over the past 50 years, the College has added a wide range of innovative and interdisciplinary liberal arts majors and professions. However, the core mission of "educating for justice" remains inviolate and unchanged. Our students learn to challenge the status quo, cultivate their passion for solving social problems, and become positive change agents. Our alumni have long held leadership roles in public-sector agencies and private companies in the U.S. and worldwide. Now and always, we educate fierce advocates for justice.
VIDEOS
