Professor Alida Merlo - The faculty in the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department cover a diverse range of topics and issues. (above) has career interests in Juvenile Justice, Criminal Justice Policy, Women and the Law, and Corrections.

Committed to Making Sure You Succeed in Criminology

Being the largest department at IUP brings with it huge responsibilities, but our large and diverse criminology faculty is up to the task. To begin with, we believe in providing a healthy mix of applied and theoretical concepts to all our classes. We have faculty members who are recognized nationally as being experts in their specialty, and all are busy conducting research and publishing articles in journals.

  • Our professors' first priority is teaching. While they actively conduct research and publish articles in leading academic journals, their focus is always on teaching their students.
  • All graduate students work with an assigned faculty advisor from the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department.
  • Our faculty is engaged not only in the classroom, but also with many activities that serve the university and greater community.

Tynan ShannonProfessor Encouraged Creativity, Confidence

"Professor Jonathon Cooper taught me to believe in myself and encouraged my creativity. I remember one day in class, we were pitching ideas, and mine was more abstract in thinking. Once I explained it, I received many blank stares. Defensively, I quickly mumbled, 'Never mind, it's idiotic,' to which Professor Cooper immediately responded, 'Don't be stupid, that's brilliant, and you should run with that.'"

Tynan Shannon, MA in Criminology Class of 2015