BATCH2L -- Spring 2026

Click Link for Your Class:

Research Methods and Stat Analysis in CJ Spring 2026

or

Corrections Spring 2026

Published Article to use as a model for your paper: Download

Critical Value Tables: Download

Sample topics for paper:

Political topics: Sentencing reform, war on crime, war on drugs, truth in sentencing, three strikes you’re out, mandatory minimum sentences, abolish parole, prison overcrowding, get-tough legislation, effectiveness of treatment programs, recidivism rates, etc.

Prison population demographic topics: Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2016, racial discrimination in parole eligibility, sentencing disparity, changes in sentencing laws, sentencing guidelines, prison construction boom, cost of incarceration, cost of alternatives to incarceration, discrimination in death-row populations, etc.

Stu Batchelder is:

1. High-Powered Professor of Criminal Justice

2. Past-President: Criminal Justice Association of Georgia

3. Director of CJ-Undergraduate Research

4. Master Faculty Advisor

5. Humble Jazz Guitarist

If you were invited to join the Criminal Justice Honor Society Alpha Phi Sigma (APS)

Venmo: @BatchAlpha

Qualifications:

Declared Criminal Justice major

Completed a minimum of 12 Credit Hours in four UPPER LEVEL Criminal Justice courses

Completed a minimum of 40 credit hours overall

Maintain a 3.2 GPA cumulative

Maintain a 3.2 GPA in Criminal Justice classes

Deadline to submit Application: 15 Oct 2025

To Download application: a) click Here
b) After the screen shows you a preview, Click "Download" icon in the upper left area

c) This puts the application into your "downloads" folder. Go to your downloads folder, open file, fill out application; save to desktop as you go along. Attach as email to Batch stu.batchelder@ung.edu

If you need extra help, Criminal Justice Honor Society Alpha Phi Sigma National Website: CJ Honor Society

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UNG’s 30th Annual Research Conference submission portal is now accepting abstracts https://arc.ungjournals.org/. (See conference info below)

Dear Colleagues-  

CURCA is pleased to announce its spring programming and funding cycle deadlines. Please see below for information on our Conference Travel Grants, Faculty Undergraduate Summer Engagement (FUSE) and Annual Research Conference! Full details for each funding opportunity, including instructions, application, and rubrics, are located on InfoReady. Workshops, brief descriptions, and deadlines for these opportunities are listed below. In addition, see attached for a printable flyer you can post and/or share with your students! 

As always, we seek faculty reviewers for all of our competitive programs. If you are interested in serving as a reviewer for CURCA and haven’t volunteered this academic year yet, please fill this short form (also available under the “For Faculty” button on  www.ung.edu/CURCA ) 

Research Mentors: we have a list of faculty looking for research mentees. If you want to be listed as a potential mentor for 2025-2026, please fill out this form (also available under the “For Faculty”  button on our website). Faculty who volunteer will have their name, information and areas of interest listed under our Research Mentors page. To avoid outdated information, the website will be updated each academic year. 

Questions regarding any of our programs may be directed to CURCA@ung.edu.

CURCA Conference Travel Grants:  

Undergraduate students may apply for up to $600 to present research at an external conference occurring before September 2026. Students may apply for a travel grant prior to being accepted to the conference, but funding will be dependent on presenting. Funding may be used to support conference registration and/or travel expenses. Full application requirements are located on our application portal in InfoReady. Applications are due in InfoReady by Friday, January 30 by 11:59 PM.  

Workshop: Join us Wednesday, January 21st at noon in our CURCA Zoom Room for a workshop on preparing your CURCA Travel Grant application. If you cannot attend, please email CURCA@ung.edu for a copy of the recording.     

Faculty Undergraduate Summer Engagement (FUSE) 

FUSE is a is a two-month summer program where faculty are able to hire students to work closely on a research project. Faculty members will submit their research and creative projects by February 9th at 11:59 pm via InfoReady.

This year, FUSE will support teams of students and faculty conducting focused and meaningful research or performing scholarly and creative activities from June 1 to July 24, 2026. There will be a workshop for faculty interested in applying on Wednesday, January 28th at noon via CURCA Zoom Room.

Annual Research Conference

Our 31st Annual Research Conference will take place on the Gainesville campus on March 20th, with abstracts due on February 13th. All students (undergraduate and graduate) are invited to present their research or original creative works! See more information on location and how to apply via our website. We will also be hosting workshops on how to write abstracts (on February 4th at noon) and how to craft presentations (on March 4th at noon), both via zoom. 

Students interested in competing for Best Paper and Best Poster award should attach completed papers/posters to their abstract submissions by February 27th.   

All best,

Diogo Pinheiro, Ph.D.

Assistant Director, CURCA

Professional Meeting opportunities at which you can present a paper Fall 2025:

CURCA is pleased to announce that UNG’s 29th Annual Research Conference submission portal is now accepting abstracts at: https://arc.ungjournals.org/. We invite students from all campuses to submit an abstract to present their research and creative projects to the wider UNG community. All disciplines are included, and students can present proposed, ongoing, or completed projects. Students may choose to either do a poster, a podium presentation (oral presentation) or a performance. Both undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to apply. This year, the Annual Research Conference will be held at the Martha T. Nesbitt building on the Gainesville campus, on March 29th, from 9 am to 3 pm. Full information on our ARC page.

To participate, students should visit the ARC portal and submit a 250-word abstract by February 16th at 11:59pm. Students can also compete for best poster/best paper awards by submitting a complete poster/paper through the same portal by March 4th.

CURCA will also be hosting virtual workshops to help students prepare their abstracts and their presentations. The abstract writing workshop will take place on February 7th at 12pm, and the conference presentation workshop will take place on March 6th at 12 pm. Both workshops will take place via Zoom: go.ung.edu/curcazoomroom

Any questions can be directed to curca@ung.edu

Hope to see you there!

Dr.

Diogo Pinheiro and The CURCA Team

Research Conference:

Dahlonega Campus Convocation Center on Friday, March 24, 2023 from 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

submit a 250-word abstract by February 17, 2023.

Submit your abstract proposal on NOIR:

Login to your Nighthawks Open Institutional Repository (NOIR) account
Click "Account" in the top-right corner
Select "Dashboard"
[On the "Works" page] Click the blue "add new work" button
[In the popup] Select "UNG Annual Research Conference 2023" from the dropdown menu
Select "Presentation" as the type of work
Fill out the following information on the "Add New UNG Presenation" page:
1. Title: add the title of your abstract
2. Resource Type: choose poster or presentation [presentation = oral presentation]
3. Creator family name: last name
4. Creator given name: first name
5. Creator institutional relationship: choose undergraduate or graduate student
6. Institution: choose your main campus
7. Abstract/Description: copy and paste your abstract here
8. Keywords: words or phrases that describe your work
9. Subject: choose your subject
10. Organizational Unit: choose your department
11. Language: choose English
12. Licence: choose from the dropdown - CC BY-NC 4.0 Attribution-Noncommercial
13. Publisher: enter “University of North Georgia” into the field
14. Date Published: select the year – “2023”
15. Click “additional fields”
16. Enter your faculty mentor:
  1. Contributor family name: mentor’s last name
  2. Contributor given name: mentor’s first name
17. (Optional) to add a fellow student(s) who worked on this research with you, select “Add another” and repeat the steps above.
18. (Optional) if you are part of a specific oral presentation panel, please include the name of the panel, the mentor, and any fellow students who you’ll be presenting with in the “Additional Information” field.
19. Scroll up to the top of the page and select the “Notes” tab
20. Enter your email address into the “New Note” field so we can update you on your status into ARC 2023.
[When you're ready to submit] Check the box on the right side noting that you have read and agree to the Deposit Agreement, then hit save.

ARC 2023 Submission Instructions Transcript

Apply for the Annual Research Conference 2023

Abstract Tips

Your abstract will be 250-words and include the following information:

Big picture problem or topic widely debated in your field
Gap in the literature on this topic and how your project is filling the gap
Give important details covered in your paper/project
Your original argument

Workshops

CURCA will hold two workshops via the Zoom Meeting software (room: go.ung.edu/curcazoomroom ) to help students prepare for the conference.

"ARC Abstract" Workshop: February 1, 2023 at noon
"Presenting at Conferences" Workshop: March 1, 2023 at noon

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Criminal Justice Association of Georgia (CJAG) -- Dahlonega campus Thursday and Friday October 6th and 7th, 2022 9:00 – 3:00 in the Hoag Student Center A, B, C Rooms Building. For research presentation submit your abstracts www.ung.edu/ungarc due Sept 8, 2022
CURCA Conference Travel Grants: Undergraduate students my apply for up to $500. Full application requirements are located on our application portal in InfoReady. Applications are due in InfoReady by Friday, September 16 by 11:59 PM. Join us Wednesday, September 7 at noon in our CURCA Zoom Room for a workshop on preparing your CURCA Travel Grant application.
Online Education for UNG Professor Stu Batchelder: