Research Programs

Sociology and Criminal Justice

Contact information

18 Amstel Ave, Room 322/325 Smith Hall
Newark, DE 19716, USA
University of Delaware

University of Delaware female student wearing baseball cap and blue tie-dye t-shirt stands in front of sign reading

Explore undergraduate research at UD

Emma Groman, a senior majoring in psychology and sociology, was a Summer Scholar with UD's Undergraduate Research Program. Emma worked with City of Wilmington youth at the Bright Spot Urban Farm, which grows produce and provides educational opportunities for local communities.

Visit the Undergraduate Research Program to discover more opportunities at UD.

Build transferable skills, work with award-winning faculty

Sociology and criminal justice students can join the research teams of faculty who have achieved widespread recognition for their published research. Faculty have won numerous teaching and advisement awards at the departmental, college, and university levels.

Research opportunities are available for undergraduate and graduate students with the Disaster Research Center and the Center for Drug and Health Studies. Both centers are internationally recognized for their social science research. They offer research training for graduate students, including stipends for research assistants and use of data sources.

Disaster Research Center
About

UD sociology major Britney Vasquez meets with her mentor, DRC director Tricia Wachtendorf, to discuss her senior thesis research on how Delaware teachers adapted their teaching during the coronavirus pandemic.

Visit UD's Disaster Research Center

The Disaster Research Center is one of the world’s leading centers for social science research on disasters and hazards. It was established in 1963 and relocated to the University of Delaware in 1985. Led by co-directors Tricia Wachtendorf, professor, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, and Jim Kendra, professor, Biden School of Public Policy and Administration, this university-level research center draws on faculty from five UD colleges, including three faculty in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice. The Center's mission includes advancing the state of the art in disaster research, supporting academic programs in educating the next generation of disaster scholars and informed practitioners; and creating, gathering, and disseminating disaster knowledge to have impact in communities. Since its inception, DRC has conducted field and survey research in hundreds of communities. With funding from such agencies as the National Science Foundation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the NOAA Sea Grant College Program, the U. S. Geological Survey, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Health, the Center offers many ways for students to become involved in impactful research.

Disaster Research Center

A man and woman, both UD faculty, sit at conference table and review books and articles related to Center for Drug and Health Studies research.

Christy Visher and Dan O’Connell, faculty researchers at the Center for Drug and Health Studies, discuss new research to improve prisons for the inmates, corrections officers and society.

Visit UD's Center for Drug and Health Studies

The Center for Drug and Health Studies was established at the University in 1991 and has received research grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the National Institute of Justice, private foundations, and the State of Delaware. Ellen Donnelly, associate professor of sociology and criminal justice, serves as the interim director. With eight full-time staff, six graduate students, and ten part-time survey administrators, the Center for Drug and Health Studies conducts research and evaluation on substance misuse, health risk behaviors, criminal justice processes and intersections among these areas.