Criminal Justice, BS
Program Description
The Criminal Justice Program leads to a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice and supports the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences Degree with courses applicable to the Criminal Justice, Community and Mental Health, and Legal Studies tracks. The program has two main objectives: to provide an advanced understanding of the criminal justice system and its components and to provide either a concentration of knowledge and application of skills in a specialized subfield of study or a broad exploration of the discipline based on individual student needs through the selection of disciplinary electives.
The curriculum is planned to offer preparation for a professional career by integrating a core of Criminal Justice courses into a general program of the arts, sciences, humanities and social sciences. The student in consultation with faculty will determine the most desirable course offerings from core courses and recommended electives to achieve his or her particular educational goals. The program may be used as preparation for entry into graduate work or law school. Criminal Justice courses are recommended as social science electives for non-majors.
Program Modality
The Criminal Justice Program is a hybrid program, which means that courses may be offered in face-to-face, hybrid/blended, and fully online formats. The hybrid designation gives students the flexibility to complete 50-85% of their coursework online. Students should be aware that not all courses will be offered in their desired modality in every semester. Students are advised to consult with their Academic Advisor to ensure timely progress to degree completion.
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the operation and purposes of the major components of the criminal justice system (police, courts, and corrections)
- Demonstrate the ability to critically analyze the criminal justice system and its aims and objectives
- Demonstrate the ability to apply professional standards of writing and research to criminal justice issues
Program Requirements
The Criminal Justice major requires a minimum of 45 semester hours, 27 semester hours of which must be at the upper-division level. Supporting courses related to essential skills totaling 3 hours are also required. The Criminal Justice degree requires knowledge of basic statistical theories and applications. This requirement is fulfilled by the successful completion of MATH 1442 or MATH 1342, or transfer courses with MATH, MAT, STAT, STA, SOCI, SOC, PSYC, and PSY prefixes AND a course title that includes Statistics, Quantitative Reasoning and/or Social Science Methods. Criminal Justice majors are encouraged to take MATH 1442 Statistics for life (4 sch) to satisfy the Mathematics Core Curriculum Program requirement. Students who do not take MATH 1442 Statistics for Life (4 sch) in the Core Curriculum will be required to take MATH 1442 or equivalent to fulfill the supporting coursework requirement for majors. The College of Liberal Arts also requires students in Criminal Justice to take at least 6 hours of a second language.
Students seeking the Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice are expected to develop a breadth of knowledge of the component parts of the criminal justice system. Through their choice of disciplinary electives, students may concentrate on Criminal Justice subfields or broadly explore the discipline and its career options. Students should select a majority of their upper-division elective hours from disciplines which support their choice of specialization.
Students may also register for CRIJ 4398 Applied Experience (3 sch) and participate in the Applied Experience Program to earn course credit while gaining practical work experience in Criminal Justice or a related field. Registration is by application. Interested students should contact the Criminal Justice Applied Experience Coordinator.
General Requirements
Requirements | Credit Hours |
---|---|
Core Curriculum Program | 42 |
University Seminar (when applicable)1 | 0-2 |
Criminal Justice Major Requirements | 45 |
University Electives | 24 |
Foreign Language Requirements | 6 |
Required Supporting Courses | 3 |
Total Credit Hours | 120-122 |
- 1
Full-time, first time in college students are required to take the university seminar.
- USSE 1201 University Seminar (2 sch)
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Full-time, First-Year Students | ||
University seminar | 0-2 | |
University Seminar | ||
Core Curriculum Program | ||
University Core Curriculum | 42 | |
Students who do not take the following in the Core Curriculum will be required to do so for the major. | ||
Statistics for Life | ||
Criminal Justice Major Requirements | ||
CRIJ 1301 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | 3 |
CRIJ 1306 | Court Systems and Processes | 3 |
CRIJ 1310 | Fundamentals of Criminal Law | 3 |
CRIJ 2313 | Correctional Systems & Practices | 3 |
CRIJ 2328 | Police Systems and Practices | 3 |
CRIJ 4335 | Criminology | 3 |
CRIJ 4345 | Research Methods in Criminal Justice | 3 |
Advanced Understanding in Criminal Justice | ||
Theoretical Perspectives | ||
CRIJ 4325 | Diversity in Criminal Justice | 3 |
or CRIJ 4331 | Juvenile Delinquency | |
Corrections | ||
Select one of the following: | 3 | |
Community-Based Corrections | ||
Offender Rehabilitation | ||
American Prisons and Prisoners | ||
Courts | ||
CRIJ 4312 | Law and Evidence | 3 |
or CRIJ 4313 | Criminal Procedure | |
Law Enforcement | ||
CRIJ 3315 | Police Methods of Crime Control | 3 |
or CRIJ 4351 | Police Supervision and Management | |
Criminal Justice Electives 1 | ||
Select 12 hours of the following or any other upper-level Criminal Justice course listed above that is not counting towards required major hours in another area: | 12 | |
Criminal Investigation | ||
Critical Issues in Policing | ||
The Juvenile Justice System | ||
Issues in Corrections | ||
Comparative Criminal Justice | ||
Terrorism | ||
Gangs and Organized Crime | ||
Drugs, Society, and Criminal Justice | ||
Sex Crimes | ||
Crime in the Media | ||
Applied Statistics in Criminal Justice | ||
Victimology | ||
Constitutional Law | ||
Crime and Punishment in Literature | ||
Women and Criminal Justice | ||
Understanding Criminal Behavior | ||
Intimate Relationship Violence | ||
White Collar Crime | ||
Topics in Criminal Justice | ||
Directed Individual Study | ||
Applied Experience | ||
Required Supporting Course | ||
ENGL 3301 | Technical and Professional Writing | 3 |
University Electives | ||
Select 24 hours of university electives. | 24 | |
Foreign Language Requirements | ||
See the College of Liberal Arts for the college language requirement. | 6 | |
Total Hours | 120-122 |
- 1
Students may choose to concentrate their Criminal Justice Electives in a subfield of Theoretical Perspectives, Corrections, Courts, or Law Enforcement. For more information please contact a Criminal Justice Faculty or the Academic Advisor for Criminal Justice majors.
Note: Effective immediately, and retroactively, CRIJ 4085 has been removed from the CRIJ assessment process and as a graduation requirement for CRIJ majors; therefore, students are no longer required to take CRIJ 4085 (was required in past catalogs).
Course Sequencing
First Year | ||
---|---|---|
Fall | Hours | |
USSE 1201 | University Seminar | 2 |
ENGL 1301 | Writing and Rhetoric I | 3 |
CRIJ 1301 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | 3 |
CRIJ 1310 | Fundamentals of Criminal Law | 3 |
University Core Curriculum | 3 | |
University Core Curriculum | 3 | |
Hours | 17 | |
Spring | ||
ENGL 1302 or COMM 1311 | Writing and Rhetoric II or Foundation of Communication | 3 |
MATH 1442 | Statistics for Life | 4 |
CRIJ 1306 | Court Systems and Processes | 3 |
University Core Curriculum | 3 | |
University Core Curriculum | 3 | |
Hours | 16 | |
Second Year | ||
Fall | ||
CRIJ 2313 | Correctional Systems & Practices | 3 |
University Core Curriculum | 3 | |
University Core Curriculum | 3 | |
University Core Curriculum | 3 | |
University Core Curriculum | 3 | |
Foreign Language Requirements | 3 | |
Hours | 18 | |
Spring | ||
CRIJ 2328 | Police Systems and Practices | 3 |
University Core Curriculum | 3 | |
University Core Curriculum | 3 | |
University Core Curriculum | 3 | |
Foreign Language Requirements | 3 | |
Hours | 15 | |
Third Year | ||
Fall | ||
ENGL 3301 | Technical and Professional Writing | 3 |
CRIJ 3315 or CRIJ 4351 | Police Methods of Crime Control or Police Supervision and Management | 3 |
Upper Divisional Elective | 3 | |
Upper Divisional Elective | 3 | |
Upper Divisional Elective | 3 | |
Hours | 15 | |
Spring | ||
CRIJ 4335 | Criminology | 3 |
CRIJ 4321 | American Prisons and Prisoners or Offender Rehabilitation or Community-Based Corrections | 3 |
CRIJ 3XXX/Upper Divisional CRIJ Elective | 3 | |
Upper Divisional Elective | 3 | |
Upper Divisional Elective | 3 | |
Hours | 15 | |
Fourth Year | ||
Fall | ||
CRIJ 4345 | Research Methods in Criminal Justice | 3 |
CRIJ 4313 or CRIJ 4312 | Criminal Procedure or Law and Evidence | 3 |
CRIJ 4XXX/Upper Divisional CRIJ Elective | 3 | |
Upper Divisional Elective | 3 | |
Hours | 12 | |
Spring | ||
CRIJ 4325 or CRIJ 4331 | Diversity in Criminal Justice or Juvenile Delinquency | 3 |
CRIJ 4XXX/Upper Divisional CRIJ Elective | 3 | |
CRIJ 4XXX/Upper Divisional CRIJ Elective | 3 | |
Upper Divisional Elective | 3 | |
Hours | 12 | |
Total Hours | 120 |