Criminal Justice, B.S.

Criminal Justice

Mission Statement:

The Department is committed to excellence in teaching, research, and service. Our undergraduate program prepares students for professional and personal success in the context of a strong liberal arts education. The program promotes an understanding of the legal and justice systems for both majors and non-majors. We are committed to coursework that is grounded in theory, research, and community engagement to help students prepare for careers in criminal justice and social services. Emphasis is placed on intellectual, experiential, critical thinking and problem solving abilities. We are committed to preparing students to become ethically informed, culturally sensitive, engaged scholars and practitioners. This goal is achieved by an inclusive curriculum that includes common core areas of study, while allowing for flexibility in electives which allows students to tailor their degree in ways that are most reflective of their career and academic goals.

Learning Objectives:

Graduates of the Criminal Justice program will:

• Identify and apply the major theoretical perspectives in criminology and criminal justice and apply the social and policy implications of these approaches.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the components and functions of the criminal justice system (police, courts, and corrections).
• Apply knowledge of the operation of the criminal justice system to practical problems in the field and understand the role of ethical decision making in the process.
• Demonstrate the ability to identify, analyze, and interpret data on and related to crime.
• Illustrate how gender, race, ethnicity, age, social class, and sexual orientation function at both the macro and micro level in the criminal justice system.
• Students will experience a curriculum that requires them to think about issues of race, class, gender, sexual orientation and ethnicity.

Transfer Students

The program also welcomes students who hold a two-year degree or who have had some criminal justice college courses. Transfer students in the program must complete the University General Education requirements or transfer the equivalent and meet all other university graduation requirements in addition to major requirements.