Description
Criminal Justice Program Description
The criminal justice program has a commitment to improving the quality of justice through education, research, and public service. The faculty of the criminal justice program recognizes its mission as threefold.
The program is dedicated to offering its majors a state-of-the-art education in criminal justice by providing them with a comprehensive and critical understanding of the criminal justice system and the society in which it functions. The faculty is committed to addressing the needs of our students and to preparing them to move into criminal justice careers or postgraduate work as liberally educated, intellectually mature, ethically aware, and culturally sensitive professionals. Moreover, the program is dedicated to providing students throughout the university with opportunities to examine critically the broad questions of how justice is administered in American society and globally as well as confront the fundamental issues of criminal justice, which they face as professionals and as involved citizens.
The criminal justice program is also dedicated to excellence in research and scholarship by tackling criminal justice issues. The faculty is also committed to research that advances the teaching, assessment, and knowledge base of the field of criminal justice and also research that has policy implications and serves the goals of equity and efficiency in the administration of justice.
Finally, this program has a special commitment to providing the expertise of its faculty as a resource to assist criminal justice and social service agencies in the realms of applied research, policy development, training, and planned change to meet the social and technological challenges of the 21st century.
In order to accomplish our mission, our program pledges to:
- Provide a state-of-the-art curriculum and educational environment.
- Foster the talent development of students, faculty, and staff.
- Integrate technology into the curriculum, including web enhanced instruction.
- Promote each student's capacity for self-directed, life-long learning.
- Ensure learner-centeredness in order to maximize learning.
- Support faculty scholarly endeavors and research activities.
- Enhance quality through a commitment to continuous improvement.
- Reinforce the value of service to the community.
- Develop ongoing partnerships and collaboration with criminal justice agencies.
- Expand placement opportunities of graduates.
- Inspire a sense of pride in being a graduate of the criminal justice program at Stevenson University.
Most courses are scheduled in an 8-week online format. Some courses are offered in a 16-week online format.
Objectives
Criminal Justice Program Outcomes
Upon completion of the Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, graduates will be able to:
- Articulate the theories, policies, practices, processes, and reforms of the major institutions of social control.
- Apply the theories and principles of both substantive and procedural law that regulate the justice system.
- Formulate a problem and assemble relevant information in order to develop a well-considered solution in a formal proposal and research paper.
- Employ an ethical framework to reach judgments and make decisions as a criminal justice professional.
- Apply classroom learning in an area of the criminal justice system through direct experience (or "through an experiential learning opportunity") in a criminal or juvenile justice agency or organization or through a capstone course.
Policies
Criminal Justice Program Policies
Students must earn a minimum GPA of 2.00 in the major, and the lowest acceptable grade is a "C" in all major and Stevenson Educational Experience (SEE) courses. No student, regardless of major, will be permitted to advance to the next course without earning a grade of "C" or better in the prerequisite course(s). When a grade below a "C" is earned in a major course, the student must repeat that course.
A course may be repeated once without special permission. Criminal justice majors must apply in writing to the Associate Dean, Business Programs requesting permission to attempt a course for a third time.
Requirements
The courses listed below are required for completion of the bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Students must also complete the requirements for the Stevenson Educational Experience (SEE).
Specific pre- and co-requisites for each course are listed in the course descriptions.
Major Requirements:
| GPS 200 | Adult Learning Theory & Practice | 3 credits |
| LAW 204 | Constitutional Law | 3 credits |
| LAW 215 | Criminal Law | 3 credits |
| LAW 322 | Criminal Investigation and Procedure | 3 credits |
| MATH 136 | Introduction to Statistics | 4 credits |
| POSCI 205 | State & Local Government | 3 credit |
| PSY 101 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 credits |
| SOC 101 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 credits |
| CJUS 101 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | 3 credits |
| CJUS 210 | Writing for Criminal Justice | 3 credits |
| CJUS 265 | The Juvenile Justice System | 3 credits |
| CJUS 275 | Corrections | 3 credits |
| CJUS 280 | Law Enforcement | 3 credits |
| CJUS 285 | Criminology | 3 credits |
| CJUS 305 | Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice | 3 credits |
| CJUS 325 | Civil Liability in Criminal Justice | 3 credits |
| CJUS 345 | Victimology | 3 credits |
| CJUS 385 | Research Methods in Criminal Justice | 3 credits |
| CJUS 495 | Criminal Justice Capstone | 3 credits |
Select Four Focused Electives (12 credits):
| | See advisor for list of focused electives. | |
Minor in Criminal Justice
A minor in criminal justice is available. All course prerequisites must be met to be eligible to take the selected course for a minor. Please see a Student Success Coach for more information. Specific information regarding minor requirements may be found in the Academic Information section of the catalog.
Other Options
Bachelor's to Master's Option: The bachelor's to master's option is available for students majoring in criminal justice who wish to combine their bachelor's coursework with work toward a master's degree in one of Stevenson's graduate programs. Students choosing this option may earn their master's degree in as little as one year after their bachelor's degree. Interested students must formally apply for entrance into a bachelor's to master's option in their junior year. Once admitted into this program, students develop an educational plan in consultation with their Student Success Coach. For more information on this program, see the Admissions section of this catalog.