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UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMSCurriculumCriminal Justice RequirementsThe curriculum for the Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice provides a solid professional education in all aspects of the criminal justice field. The program requirements are carefully structured and hierarchically organized to provide students with an optimal educational experience. Freshmen and sophomores take foundational coursework in Ethics, Criminology and Due Process. Upperclass students build upon that foundation by specializing in one or more areas of professional concentration, which may include policing, security, criminology, corrections, juvenile justice and legal studies.
Criminal Justice Core RequirementsThe academic core in Criminal Justice, comprised of six courses, provides the foundation for all areas of study within the College. Two courses (Introduction to Criminal Justice and Ethics, Values and Diversity in Criminal Justice) are taken during freshman year. The former course surveys the entire discipline, especially the system response to offending, while the latter focuses on professional issues across the criminal justice domain and satisfies the University’s diversity requirement. Criminology and Due Process are both taken during the first semester of the sophomore year. These courses provide students with a basic understanding of the nature and causes of crime and an introduction to the legal processes and protections afforded accused and convicted offenders. The final two courses, Research Methods and Statistics, are taken sequentially during the middler and junior years. This sequence provides the necessary basis for interpreting the research literature of the field. Importantly, these two courses are set within the context of the discipline, rather than adopting a more interdisciplinary approach.
Criminal Justice Integrated Learning CoreResponding aggressively to the Co-op Call to Action, the curriculum provides a series of preparatory and reflective seminars designed to integrate classroom instruction with experiential learning. During the first semester of freshman year, students take a one-credit seminar which orients them to college life and acquaints them with the general philosophy and framework of co-op. The one-credit Co-op Integration Seminar I, taken during sophomore year, prepares students for their first co-op experience and emphasizes resume writing and interviewing skills. Co-op Integration Seminars II and III are reflective one-credit sessions taken when students return from their first and second co-ops. During these brief but intensive sessions, students share their co-op experiences, verbally and through written journals, with their classmates and faculty. Finally, the four-credit Senior Capstone Seminar, taken in the final semester before graduation, encourages students to think broadly and integratively about their academic and co-op experiences.
CJ Concentration ElectivesStudents must take two (and only two) 300-level survey courses in criminal law, juvenile justice, policing, security or corrections. Typically taken during sophomore and middler years, these courses are designed to provide an introduction to the various concentrations within the criminal justice profession. The concentration electives also serve as prerequisites for many 500-level electives and 600-level advanced seminars taken subsequently.
CJ System-Wide ElectivesThe system-wide electives are courses that encourage students to examine an issue or paradigm as a thread running through the entire criminal justice system. During middler year, students choose from among Gender Crime & Justice, Race Crime & Justice, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Organization & Management. While students are required take one system-wide elective, they may enroll in others as Criminal Justice open electives.
CJ Open ElectivesStudents take four Criminal Justice open elective courses with the expectation (though not the requirement) that they carve out an emphasis area built upon the 300-level concentration electives taken earlier. The open elective courses may consist of any mixture of 500-level courses (including additional system-wide electives), 600-level advanced seminars, or directed studies (which are limited to two).
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