Erik Fritsvold, PhD
Academic Director, MS-LEPSL Program
Erik Fritsvold is the Academic Director for the Master of Science in Law Enforcement and Public Safety Leadership and an Associate Professor of Sociology: Crime, Justice, Law & Society Concentration (CJLS). Prof. Fritsvold has been a full-time faculty member at USD in various capacities since 2005. His areas of expertise include Criminology, Law & Society, the politics of law and crime management, social theory and research methods. Substantive and research foci include: the war on drugs, underground drug markets, nontraditional street gangs, white-collar crime, social movements, eco-terrorism, the death penalty, social justice and the contentious process of attempting to balance social control and individual freedoms. In 2013, Prof. Fritsvold was recognized by Princeton Review as one of America’s “Best 300 Professors” in a book by the same name.
Student Reviews:
| “Professor Erik Fritsvold provided prompt feedback to questions and our discussions to include emails with relevant references. I found all the material to be relevant and fresh with current Law Enforcement issues. I couldn’t be happier to have joined USD.” -Summer ’19 Student |
| “I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Fritsvold. He provided informative feedback on my discussion board comments and written assignments. He’s extremely knowledgeable on course-related topics. USD should be pleased to have an instructor of his high caliber.” – Summer ’19 Student |
| “Professor Fritsvold brought a lot of interesting discussion to each of the modules. He provided feedback, as well as additional reference material.” -Summer ’19 Student |
| “Prof. Fritsvold is an absolute asset to USD and this program. He deeply cares about each students success and is engaged to make sure we are getting everything possible from the class experience. I am very pleased with my decision to enroll in this program and look forward to many more similar class experiences!!” – Summer ’19 Student |
| “Professor Fritsvold is an exceptional instructor and facilitator, and has done an outstanding job with the research, development and implementation of this entire program.” -Spring ’19 Student |
| “Once again, it has been a pleasure to be a student in one of Professor Fritsvold’s courses. I appreciate his timely and detailed feedback on coursework as well as his optimistic and enthusiastic attitude. His teaching style makes me try harder.” – Spring ’19 Student |
| “I think I just enjoy his deep wisdom and ability to ask questions, from an academic perspective, in attempts at learning our police culture.” – Spring ’19 Student |
| “It was a pleasure to finally have Professor Fritsvold as an instructor. Professor Fritsvold was always attentive to the student questions and his research background and insight contributed a great deal to our DB conversations.” – Spring ’19 Student |