1. Careers in International and
Comparative Criminal Justice
Law and Justice Around the World
CRIM 405.003 // Prof. Andrew Novak

2. International Internships
 International agencies
 International Criminal Court (The Hague)
 United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (Vienna and New York)
 Special Court for Sierra Leone
 INTERPOL
 Non-governmental organizations
 Myriad of local, regional, and international organizations that specialize in international
and comparative criminal justice policy
•
Prisoners’ rights, sentencing, corrections, death penalty
•
Legal aid, law reform, access to justice
•
Technical assistance in policing, forensics, judging, etc.

3. United States Government Agencies
 United States Department of State
 Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
 Bureau of Counterterrorism
 Office of Global Criminal Justice
 Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
 U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs
 Office of International Labor Affairs
 Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking
 U.S. Department of the Treasury
 Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes
 Office of Foreign Assets Control

4. United States Government Agencies (cont’d)
 U.S. Department of Justice
 Criminal Division, Office of International Affairs
 INTERPOL Liaison Office
 Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (property and injury claims against foreign
governments, including state-sponsored terrorism)
 Bureau of Justice Assistance (Tribal justice programs)
 U.S. Marshals Service, International Investigations
 Includes international investigations, extradition, pursuit of fugitives
 Drug Enforcement Administration

5. USAjobs.gov
 General website for career opportunities in the federal government (except
the Department of Justice, which has its own non-integrated website)
 Some immigration and citizenship restrictions on employment with the
federal government (including internships)
 Tips:
 Because your resumes are screened by a computer for keywords, apply with a full
curriculum vitae and not a one-page resume.
 Use full names of laws, agencies, etc., and vary the wording in your CV’s text descriptions.
 Do not be modest about answering any required questions, but do not lie.
 Have a writing sample on file.
 FOR INTERNSHIPS (not jobs), each agency has different procedures.

6. Sample NGOs
 African Prisons Project (London and Kampala)
 Jamaicans for Justice (Kingston)
 Amnesty International (London)
 Human Rights Watch (New York)
 Coalition for the International Criminal Court (New York and The Hague)
 American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (Washington, DC)
 Almost always unpaid, but GMU may give class credit. Contact the GMU
Center for Global Education.

7. Study Abroad
 GMU has one study abroad program that has criminal justice credit:
 King’s College of London (Summer program)
 But there are many other GMU study abroad programs that touch on issues
of criminal justice and international affairs.
 GMU will also accept credit from external study abroad programs, though
you have to use private (non-federal) loans to pay tuition.

8. International Graduate Education
 As criminal justice becomes more of an academic/scientific (rather than a
vocational) career path, international criminal justice increasingly does too.
 Many universities in the United States and worldwide offer master’s degrees
in international and comparative criminal justice.
 Examples:
 Master of Arts in International Criminal Justice – John Jay College of Criminal Justice
 Master of Science in Global Crime, Justice and Security – University of Edinburgh
 Master of Arts programs in International Criminology /International Justice– University of
Sheffield, University of Aberystwyth, University of Greenwich
 Master of Arts in Comparative Criminology, Bangor University (Wales)
 Many U.S. graduate criminal justice programs offer international/comparative course work

9. Need Help?
 I am happy to look at a resume or a cover letter template
 If you do well in the course, I am also happy to write a letter of
recommendation
 Your paper for this course (on the scholarly article that you choose) would
make a good writing sample, so select a topic of professional interest to you