College of Arts and Sciences

Education:

• PhD, Criminal Justice, Rutgers University, 2018
• MA, Criminal Justice, Rutgers University, 2014
• MA, Sociology, George Mason University, 2012
• BA, Integrative Studies, George Mason University, 2009

Research Interests:

• Gender, crime, and victimization
• Fear of crime and victimization
• Communities and crime
• Campus crime
• Public safety
• Social inequalities
• Mixed methods research

Bio:

Dr. Jacobsen’s research utilizes both qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the role of gender in crime and victimization; perceptions of risk and fear of crime; communities and crime; and crime on college and university campuses. She is a coauthor of the second edition of The Gender of Crime (with Dana M. Britton and Grace E. Howard) and has published her work in various journals, including Crime & Delinquency; the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency; the Journal of Interpersonal Violence; Policing: An International Journal; Violence Against Women; and Deviant Behavior, among others.

Dr. Jacobsen regularly teaches courses on criminological theory, gender and crime, communities and crime, and crime in urban areas. She is the recipient of two teaching excellence awards at Drexel, including the College of Arts and Sciences’ Teaching Excellence Award and the university’s Allen Rothwarf Award for Teaching Excellence. Before coming to Drexel in fall 2018, Dr. Jacobsen taught courses at various institutions, including the College of William & Mary, Montclair State University, and Rutgers University.

Selected Publications:

Books

• Britton, D. M., Jacobsen, S. K., & Howard, G. E. (2018). The gender of crime (2nd ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.

Articles in Peer-Reviewed Journals

• Jacobsen, S. K., & Zaatut, A. (forthcoming). “A deviation from the norm”: Qualitative scholars’ perceptions of self and belonging in criminology and criminal justice. Deviant Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2025.2487622
• Jacobsen, S. K. (2025). Gendered responses to fear of victimization? A comparative study of students’ precautionary and avoidance strategies in suburban and urban contexts. Violence Against Women, 31(6-7), 1383–1403. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012241228284
• Zaatut, A., Jacobsen, S. K., Fader, J. J., & Wood, J. D. (2025). Criminologists’ perceptions of qualitative and quantitative methods in criminology and criminal justice. Journal of Crime and Justice, 48(5), 571–588. https://doi.org/10.1080/0735648X.2024.2421814
• Zaatut, A., Jacobsen, S. K., & Steinman, H. K. (2025). Arab immigrants’ perceptions of the police in an ethnic enclave community. Policing: An International Journal, 48(5), 1120–1134. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-03-2025-0054
• Jacobsen, S. K. (2024). To protect and to serve? Comparing students’ perceptions of the legitimacy of the campus police in urban and suburban contexts. Policing: An International Journal, 47(6), 1095–1110. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-03-2024-0032
• Zaatut, A., & Jacobsen, S. K. (2023). Fear among the feared: Arab Americans’ fear of crime in an ethnic enclave community. Crime & Delinquency, 69(3), 630–655. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287221098580
• Jacobsen, S. K. (2022). “More of a girl thing”? Examining the role of gender and campus context in perceptions of risk and the shadow of sexual assault. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(15–16). https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211005142
• Jacobsen, S. K., Miller, J., & Bhardwaj, N. (2020). Gender, racial threat, and perceived risk in an urban university setting. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 57(5), 612–639. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427820902833