Criminal Justice (A.S.)

• Prepares students for careers in law enforcement, investigation, corrections, courts, private security, juvenile justice, or related opportunities in the legal field.
• Helps broaden or improve job skills and knowledge for those who presently work in criminal justice.
• Includes course work in psychology, criminal behavior, political science, social systems and social problems, communication skills, and ethics.

Program Outcomes

Successful graduates will be able to:

• Articulate the philosophy, concepts and practices of the major components of the American criminal justice system: law enforcement, the courts, rehabilitation, detention facilities, and corrections;
• Compare and contrast the various psychological and sociological theories that account for criminal behavior;
• Evaluate the principal research methodology for measuring criminal behavior;
• Explain the protections afforded criminal defendants by the U.S. and Vermont Constitutions, and identify the major Supreme Court decisions applicable to the American criminal justice system;
• Distinguish between restorative and retributive justice models and explain the various societal responses to criminal behavior;
• Demonstrate an understanding of how data on crime, recidivism, and crime prevention are collected, reported, and analyzed;
• Describe a variety of psychological, social, cultural, and evironmental factors that affect human behavior;
• Demonstrate some of the ways social scientists research and interpret evidence
• Demonstrate academic skills required of all CCV graduates including competency in critical thinking, writing, information literacy, oral communication and quantitative reasoning, and
• Identify their career and transfer options and assume a professional role in the workplace.

In addition to the general education requirements for all A.A. and A.S. degrees at CCV, click the link below to see the requirements within this program concentration:
Concentration Requirements
Program Description (requires Acrobat Reader)