JUSTICE CENTER
YOUR CAREER IN JUSTICE. OUR 50-YEAR LEGACY.
Established by the Alaska Legislature in 1975, the UAA Justice Center provides statewide leadership in justice education and research. As an interdisciplinary unit within the UAA College of Health, we serve urban and rural Alaska to promote a safer, more just society.
Through our degree programs in Criminology & Criminal Justice and our ABA-approved Legal Studies tracks, students gain the technical mastery and analytical skills required for professional success. Our students learn alongside faculty experts whose research shapes Alaska’s response to critical issues—from policing to crime prevention, community corrections and reentry, and the courts.
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
Leading statewide efforts in criminal justice and criminology education, research and service, the UAA Justice Center is a top choice among criminal justice schools in Alaska and the U.S.
The Legal Studies BA program trains you in American law, legal processes and policy. You’ll expand your legal knowledge and develop technical job skills in legal research, analysis and writing.
NEWS & Stories
Legal Studies and Criminology major, Ku'Ikaika Calderon, completed an internship with Senator Dan Sullivan in Washington, D.C.
Spring 2025 undergraduate commencement speaker Albiona Selimi is graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and minors in women’s studies and justice—on her way to practicing law at a civil rights organization.
UAA Justice Center graduate Martina Weddel receives honors and shares her involvement in campus clubs and extracurricular programs while at UAA's College of Health.
Students from the Forensic Science and Criminal Justice course saw the process in action during a tour of the Alaska Department of Public Safety Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory. They learned how to collect and analyze common types of evidence found at crime scenes including fingerprints, footprints and DNA.
Mateo Jaime, a Legal Studies student, arrived at the court hearing that would, finally, end his years in custody of the Alaska Office of Children’s Services in a buoyant mood. At age 21, young adults “age out” of foster care in Alaska if they have not been adopted or reunified with parents. A judge approves it in a hearing that amounts to a grim bureaucratic formality: A child has passed into adulthood without the foster care system laying a path to permanent legal family for them, and now they are on their own.
RESEARCH & CENTERS
Alaska Justice Information Center
The Alaska Justice Information Center (AJiC) compiles, analyzes, and reports on criminal justice topics in order to improve public safety, to increase criminal justice system accountability, and to reduce recidivism.
The Alaska Victimization Survey (AVS) provides comprehensive statewide and regional data to guide planning and policy development and to evaluate the impact of prevention and intervention services.
The Alaska Justice Forum is a research journal focusing on justice and legal issues in Alaska. It was published by the Justice Center at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
John E. Havelock Trial Simulation Courtroom
The courtroom also provides opportunities to educate and inspire Alaska middle and high school students to build partnerships with secondary legal education programs and curricula.
Contact Us:
Phone: (907) 786-1810
Email: uaa_justicecenter@alaska.edu
UAA Justice Center
UAA Professional Studies Building
2533 Providence Dr., Suite 234
Anchorage, Alaska 99508
Mailing Address:
UAA Justice Center
3211 Providence Dr., PSB 234
Anchorage, Alaska 99508
