Program Requirements for Criminal Justice Majors (54 credits)
The student who majors in Criminal Justice will:
- acquire a working knowledge of American criminal justice institutions, including law enforcement, adjudication, and corrections;
- engage in the formal modes of inquiry which are used to understand problems of crime and social control and engage in honest and effective research on these matters;
- participate effectively in the discussion of contemporary issues in American criminal justice, exercising respect and critical thinking when analyzing the opinions of others, and tentativeness when formulating one’s own conclusions;
- respond actively and effectively to the challenges confronting American criminal justice institutions relating the insights of the field to current issues;
- empathize with the human condition of members of the criminal and public populations served by criminal justice institutions, displaying respect for and an understanding of the social and cultural characteristics of the diverse populations served.
The Criminal Justice major prepares the student for a career and/or graduate study in the field of criminal justice. For those who wish to enter the labor market upon completion of a bachelor’s degree, the program provides excellent preparation for careers in law enforcement, criminal investigation, corrections, and probation and parole. Internships with local, state, and national criminal justice agencies are available to qualified majors providing specific preparation for future employment. For students who wish to pursue further education in criminal justice, the program offers advanced standing in the Marywood graduate program in Criminal Justice, permit- ting qualified students to complete a master’s degree in Criminal Justice in their fifth year of study at the University.
27 credits (nine courses) in Criminal Justice:
| CJ 100 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | 3 |
| CJ 202 | Quantitative Reasoning | 3 |
| CJ 220 | Law Enforcement | 3 |
| CJ 303 | Criminology | 3 |
| CJ 319 | Criminal Law and Procedure | 3 |
| CJ 351 | Social Research | 3 |
| CJ 433 | The American Prison | 3 |
| CJ 460 | Criminal Justice Internship | 3 |
| CJ 465 | Senior Seminar in Criminal Justice | 3 |
15 credits (five courses) in electives from the following:
| CJ 101 | Shadow and Service | 3 |
| | |
| CJ 105 | Forensic Analytical Techniques | 3 |
| Or | |
| BIOL 105 | DNA Forensics | 3 |
| | |
| CJ 200 | Introduction to the Law | 3 |
| CJ 201 | The Juvenile Justice Subsystem | 3 |
| CJ 206 | Community Corrections | 3 |
| CJ 219 | Drugs in American Society | 3 |
| CJ 224 | Criminal Investigation | 3 |
| CJ 225 | Interviewing and Interrogation | 3 |
| CJ 302 | White Collar Crimes | 3 |
| CJ 322 | Criminalistics and the Crime Lab | 3 |
| CJ 330 | Prosecuting Criminal Cases | 3 |
| CJ 405 | Deviant Behavior in Society | 3 |
| CJ 410 | Race, Crime and Poverty in America | 3 |
| CJ 425 | Children's Rights and Societal Responses | 3 |
| PSYC 440 | Forensic Psychology | 3 |
CJ 503
| | 3 |
CJ 522
| | 3 |
CJ 544
| | 3 |
| SOC 411 | The Family | 3 |
9 credits (3 courses) of cognate courses:
| PS 210 | American Government and Politics | 3 |
| PS 211 | State and Local Government | 3 |
| SOC 214 | Social Problems | 3 |
CJ 503, CJ 522 and CJ 544: CJ 500 graduate electives. Up to 12 graduate credits may be taken by CJ undergraduate students who have been accepted into the five-year CJ Master’s program in the fourth year (UG) of their program. These courses are also open to seniors enrolled in the regular four-year undergraduate program with QPA of 3.0 or better and the CJ Program Director’s permission. For graduation, students must have a minimum QPA of 2.33 in the major and a minimum overall QPA of 2.00.
A copy of the complete curriculum is available upon request from the Social Sciences Department.