UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS

Curriculum

Liberal Arts Requirements

The curriculum outside the College of Criminal Justice is designed to provide students with a solid foundation in liberal studies. Non-criminal justice coursework includes the University-wide requirements in English, required courses in disciplines that inform the criminal justice profession, and the development of an academic sequence related to individual professional goals. The curriculum also includes sufficient open electives so that students can explore personal interests, pursue a minor, or even study overseas.

Liberal Arts Core

Students are required to take six specific courses outside of the College of Criminal Justice. During freshman year, students take college-level writing and math, introductory courses in sociology and psychology, and a computer applications course. Upperclass students must also satisfy the university-wide advanced writing requirement.

Social Science Distributive Requirement

In addition to the sociology and psychology classes required above, students must also select one introductory course (100-level) from any of the following disciplines: anthropology, history, human services, international affairs, economics, education (ED u111 only) or political science.

Science Distributive Requirement

In addition to the math and computer science courses taken in the freshman year, students must take one course in the physical or natural sciences. This can be an introductory course (100-level) in biology, chemistry, earth and environmental sciences, or physics; or a second, more advanced course in mathematics or computer science.

Humanities Distributive Requirement

In addition to College Writing and Advanced Writing, students must select one introductory course in the humanities. This 100-level course may be taken in architecture, African-American studies, American Sign Language, cinema studies, communication studies, English, interdisciplinary studies, journalism, linguistics, modern languages, music (MUS u101 only), philosophy, theater (THE u101 only) or visual arts.

Non-CJ Open Electives

Students take nine courses (36 semester hours) in open electives within academic units across the University. Students may use these electives to pursue a minor, study abroad, or explore topics of personal interest. Three of these courses must also be used to create a supporting concentration sequence. The supporting sequence must include two courses above the introductory level, and must be taken within a discipline related to criminal justice. Such disciplines include sociology, psychology, political science, history, philosophy, economics, business, computer science or other areas approved by an advisor. For example, a student interested in probation might choose a supporting sequence in psychology that would include introduction to psychology and two more advanced courses, such as abnormal psychology and psychology of personality. A student who plans to work in security and loss prevention might choose a supporting sequence in business that would incorporate coursework in accounting, finance and organizational behavior.Please note that ROTC courses may not count towards this requirement.

Forensic Science

Forensic science is a broad, interdisciplinary field in which the natural sciences are employed to analyze and evaluate physical evidence in matters of the law. Students wishing to pursue a career in forensic science should keep in mind that the discipline is science-based, and as such requires extensive laboratory science experience at the undergraduate level. Many graduate programs require undergraduate study in general chemistry, organic chemistry, quantitative analysis (chemistry), general physics and general biology. Therefore, students wishing to pursue forensic science are strongly encouraged to double major with chemistry or another laboratory science.

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