Samantha Kopf-Apple, Ph.D.

Position: Assistant Professor
Phone: 419-372-8905
Email: skopf@bgsu.edu

Bio

Dr. Kopf is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Bowling Green State University. Her research focuses on juvenile justice, life-course criminology, victimization, and the consequences of criminal justice system involvement, with particular attention to how these experiences shape outcomes across adolescence and young adulthood. Dr. Kopf is passionate about connecting research to practice through community-engaged research and collaboration with criminal justice and social service organizations. In the classroom, she teaches courses in research methods, data analysis, and juvenile justice and enjoys helping students develop the skills to critically evaluate and conduct meaningful criminal justice research.

EDUCATION

PhD in Sociology with a focus in Criminology - BGSU 2023
MA in Sociology with a focus in Criminology - BGSU 2020
BA in Sociology with focus in Criminal Justice - Wartburg 2017
BA in Psychology - Wartburg 2017

COURSES TAUGHT

Juvenile Justice
Research Methods
Data Analysis and Interpretation
Intro to Criminal Justice

RESEARCH IINTERESTS

Life-Course Criminology; Juvenile Justice; Collateral Consequences of Criminal Justice Contact, Intersectionality, Victimization, Youth Gun Carrying  

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Kopf, S., Kuhl, D. C., & Moore, A. (forthcoming). Intersecting identities and the victim–offender overlap: Disaggregating victimization among LGBTQ youth. Sociological Focus.

Rydarowicz, A., Moore, A., & Kopf, S. (2026). Criminalizing education: the racialized link between school suspensions and arrests. Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, 1-26.

Kopf, S., & Gresham, M. (2025).Neighborhoods, violence, and guns: Unraveling the drivers of youth gun carrying in adjudicated populations. Journal of Criminal Justice.

Kopf, S., & Rydarowicz, A. (2025).Criminal labels, racial inequities, and the lifelong impact of early arrests on employment. Race and Justice.

Kopf, S. (2024). Timing matters: Exploring the age-graded effects of juvenile arrest on educational attainment. Crime & Delinquency.

You can find a complete list of my publications at my ORID profile.