Nik Roberts
Dr. Nik Roberts brings approximately 20 years of experience to Walden University, having taught a large array of courses across the social sciences. Currently a tenured assistant professor of criminology and conflict resolution in the Department of Criminal Justice and Psychology at Pennsylvania Western University, his major interests include corrections (especially prison education, correctional law and policy, administrative segregation, and wrongful convictions), militarism, socialization in total institutions, and qualitative research (primarily grounded theory, phenomenology, oral history, and narrative inquiry). Although he has taught in Walden's Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. programs in Criminal Justice, he primarily supervises dissertation research, serving as a methodologist for Ph.D. candidates in both Criminal Justice and Public Policy & Administration. Honorably discharged from the Army National Guard, Dr. Roberts previously worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and on a U.S. Library of Congress faculty professional development program. Before moving into the social sciences, Dr. Roberts spent several years teaching information technology, computer networking, and programming courses at the community-college level following his employment as a Field Services Engineer with Getronics and, previously, Wang Global/Bannex. An AccessData certified digital forensics investigator, he is the author of "The Law Behind the Wall: An American Corrections Anthology," published by Cognella Academic Publishing. Dr. Roberts is currently under contract for his second textbook (on wrongful convictions and the death penalty).
Courses Taught
CRJS 9000 - Dissertation
PPPA 9000 - Dissertation
CRJS 8351 - Policy Analysis in Criminal Justice Systems
CRJS 6137 - The Nature of Crime and Criminology
CRJS 4206 - Probation and Parole
CRJS 4201 - Restorative Justice
CRJS 4101 - Criminal Evidence and Investigation
CRJS 3004 - Data Analysis for Criminal Justice Professionals
CRJS 2001 - Criminology and Social Control
CRJS 1001 - Contemporary Criminal Justice Systems
Education
PhD, Saybrook University
Post-master's Certificate, Saybrook University
MA, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
MS, California University of Pennsylvania
Postbaccalaureate Certificate, Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge
BA, California University of Pennsylvania
BS, California University of Pennsylvania