With more than 250 majors, criminal justice is one of the largest programs on campus. The degree requires 51 credit hours including foundation courses outside of the program, core courses, and electives. Students have an assigned advisor to assist them. The Program is housed in the College of Arts and Sciences.
The criminal justice field is interdisciplinary, drawing knowledge from many areas. The degree prepares students for entry level positions in a wide variety of criminal justice and social service agencies and for graduate study in many fields. For example students may pursue careers with the federal government including: Federal Bureau of Prisons case manager; Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms inspector; customs inspector; deputy U.S. marshal; Drug Enforcement Agency officer; Fish and Wildlife Service agent; Immigration and Naturalization officer; Internal Revenue investigator; Postal Service Inspector; and Secret Service agent. Careers in state and municipal law enforcement include deputy sheriff, state police, and municipal police officer. Careers in the court system include the following: bailiff; court administrator; pretrial services; research analyst; victim services specialist. Criminal Justice graduates interested in corrections might be employed in the following positions: corrections counselor; corrections officer; parole officer; pre-release officer; half-way house manager; probation officer; crisis counselor; and runaway/juvenile services counselor. There also are a variety of jobs in private security including investigators and protective services specialist. Thus, a criminal justice major has a wide variety of careers available in a field where there are many job opportunities.
500 Research Methodology I (3)
Emphasis on the development of research and design skills and
related competencies encompassing writing skills, development
of research resources, library utilization and computer applications
involved in examining and reporting criminal justice issues.
Prerequisites: basic statistics course, research methods course.
501 Social Control/Prevention (3)
An historical study of the development and evolution of the concept
of social control and its implication for prevention; consideration
of enforcement; political and societal impact toward
social regulation.
502 Research Methodology II (3)
An overview of applied research and exploration of advanced
concepts of research design. Application of computer to multivariate
statistics, nonparametric tests, regression models, and secondary
data. An applied research project is carried out.
Prerequisite: CRMJ 500.
503 Criminal Justice Proseminar (3)
A comprehensive review of the criminal justice system focusing
on how the system functions in theory and practice. Analyses of
specific policies relevant to crime and the administration of justice
is used to explore the process of forming public policy and the
impact criminal justice professionals have upon the policy implementations.
505 Criminal Justice Policy and Administration (3)
An analysis of the administration of the criminal justice process
in theory and practice in the United States. Includes the study of
bureaucracy and complex organizations. Explores management
strategies, leadership styles, and human resources issues relevant
to the administration of criminal justice systems, justification for
punishment, incarceration, community-based corrections, rehabilitations
and correctional reform.
506 Police and Society (3)
The philosophy and role of American policing, politics and policing,
managing police organizations, police-community relations,
police operational and administrative practices, police research,
police executive development, emergent issues and problems in
policing.
510r Special Topics in Criminal Justice (3)
Concentration and research in selected fields of study. May be
repeated. Maximum credit six hours.
512 Juvenile Delinquency and the Justice System (3)
Overview of the juvenile justice system, including historical
development, philosophical orientation, organizational structure,
and contemporary controversies. Examines police response to
juveniles; the juvenile court; and juvenile corrections. Explores
young people as both perpetrators and victims of crime.
513 Cross Cultural Diversity and Crime (3)
Critical examination of major theories, research findings, policies,
and controversies concerning race, ethnicity, class, and gender to
examine the interrelationship between criminal justice system
operations and issues of human diversity and status.
516 Theoretical Perspectives of Crime (3)
Critical examination of current theoretical perspectives on crime
and justice.
520 Crime Analysis (3)
Examination of various approaches to crime analysis and its effect
on planning for criminogenic related programs.
522 Comparative Criminal Justice Systems (3)
Analysis of different approaches to law enforcement, criminal
procedure and criminal law, juvenile justice systems, and correctional
systems in cultures around the world. Specific attention
given to human rights issues as defined by various international
agencies.
525 The American Justice System (3)
Examination of the criminal, civil, and juvenile legal institutions.
Explores the theoretical foundations of various types of law.
Compares and contrasts consensus versus conflict models.
Reviews the function of courts, legislature, and administrative
agencies and the ways they impact upon criminal justice administration.
526 Ethics and Crime (3)
A detailed exploration of ethical issues in criminal justice. Special
emphasis on morality and the law, human behavior, and ethical
decision making in law enforcement, corrections and the courts.
Major ethical systems will be discussed and then applied to dilemmas
faced by professionals in each of the subsystems of the criminal
justice system.
527 Organizational Crime (3)
Exploration of empirical research, theories and concepts related
to crime committed within organizational contexts. Particular
attention is paid to forms of syndicated crime, corporate crime,
governmental corruption, and state crime.
532 Victimology: Theory, Research and Policy Issues (3)
Examination of theoretical perspectives and policy issues in the
field of victimology including defining victimization and rates of
victimization. Examines how fear of crime and victimization has
impacted the criminal justice system. Explores how victim advocacy
movements and human rights organizations impact our
understanding of victimology.
534 Crime and Popular Culture (3)
Exploration of the ways media and pop culture influence our
understanding of crime, deviancy, and the criminal justice system.
Examination of the social and symbolic construction of
crime will be included by analysis of film, television, literature,
music, popular press materials, and academic publications.
535 Correctional Theory, Issues, and Practices (3)
Critical analysis of correctional assessment, practices, and theory
as applied to behavior change interventions with offender populations.
537 Drugs and Crime (3)
Historical and contemporary perspectives of drugs and crime.
Examines the highly politicized nature of drug policy nationally
and internationally. Explores the ways in which the war on crime
has become synonymous with the war on drugs. Discusses the
efficacy of the criminal justice system in addressing drug use.
542 Terrorism and the Criminal Justice System (3)
Examination of the historical use of terror as a form of political
power by the state, individual, and organized groups. Reviews the
type of terrorist violence and justifications for their use of violence.
Case studies of terrorism in various parts of the world will
be used to evaluate the impact of terrorism on societies in modern
times. Examines the ways in which the criminal justice system
participates in investigations of and response to terrorist activities.
543 Correctional Theory and Intervention (3)
Examination of correctional strategies for adult and juvenile populations
including the philosophical justification for punishment,
incarceration, community-based corrections, rehabilitation, and
correctional reform.
560 Internship in Criminal Justice (3)
Supervised practicum in a criminal justice agency.
596 Thesis Seminar (3)
Examination of the thesis process including topic selection, proposal
construction, research design, and overall research feasibility.
Through intensive writing, brief lectures, and critical analysis
from instructors and peers, the course is designed to provide the
necessary guidance and peer support to enable successful completion
and defense of thesis. Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
required to enroll in course.
597r Individual Studies (1-3)
Enables a student to study selected topics in depth. Requires a
written outline of work to be done, a statement describing the
competencies to be developed and the method of assessment to
be used in evaluation. Prerequisites: approval of program adviser.
598r Research (3)
To enable a student to conduct independent research. Requires
the submission of a formal prospectus two weeks prior to registration.
Prerequisites: CRMJ 500, admission to graduate degree
candidacy, approval of program adviser.
599r Thesis (1-6)
