Criminal Justice (A.S.)

The Criminal Justice program will prepare you for careers in law enforcement, investigation, corrections, courts, private security, juvenile justice, or related opportunities in the legal field. It also will help those of you who presently work in criminal justice and want to broaden or improve your job skills and knowledge, and those who want to learn more about our American legal and justice system and how laws work. In addition to law and the legal underpinnings of the criminal justice system, you will explore psychology, criminal behavior, political science, social systems and problems, communication skills, and ethics.

Program Outcomes

Successful graduates will be able to:

• describe methods social scientists use to research and interpret evidence about patterns of human behavior, including principal methods for measuring criminal behavior;

• demonstrate an understanding of the interrelationship of the police, courts, and correctional system, and the role the Constitution plays in the criminal justice system;

• exhibit professional conduct in a criminal justice organization including legal and ethical responsibilities, roles and boundaries;

• explain how data on crime, recidivism and crime prevention are collected, reported and analyzed;

• demonstrate academic skills required of all CCV graduates including competency in critical thinking, writing, information literacy, oral communication and quantitative reasoning; and

• explore pathways for educational and career development in the student's field of study.

Program Requirements '11-'12

CRJ-1010 - Introduction to Criminal Justice
ENG-1020 - Introduction to Research Methods*
SOC-1020 - Ethnicity & Diversity in the U.S. or
SOC-2040 - Race, Ethnicity, Class & Gender*
POS-1050 - The Constitution
PHI-1040 - Introduction to Ethics*
CRJ-2010 - Law Enforcement in America or
CRJ-2150 - Community & Restorative Justice
CRJ-2050 - Criminology
POS-2070 - National Security & Terrorism* or
Any 3-credit criminal justice course
CRJ-2020 - American Judicial Process
CRJ-2860 - Community & Work Experience
Electives – 9 credits

Note: Program requirements are fully available online. Most general education requirements are also available online.

General Education Requirements

In addition to program-specific courses listed above, an associate's degree includes completion of general education program requirements, which together constitute a minimum of 60 credits.

*You may use a course to meet both a program requirement and a general education requirement; however, you may not use a single course to meet two general education requirements.

Printable Program Description (PDF)

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