The Criminal Justice Major

The Criminal Justice major (associate degree) provides students with a balanced, liberal-arts-based education combined with an overview of and foundation in the criminal justice areas of law enforcement, courts, and corrections in order to prepare students for further criminal justice study or employment opportunities.

Through the course of study in the Associate Degree in Criminal Justice, students will be provided an opportunity to learn how to:

 • distinguish between and explain the components, functions, structure, and interrelationships of the criminal justice system--law enforcement, courts, and corrections.
• identify and describe the sequence of events in the criminal justice process and the difference between the due process and crime control models of criminal justice.
• analyze and describe the nature, extent, and causation of crime and delinquency, including the major theories of crime and delinquency causation.
• discuss the evolution of the American corrections system and identify current trends and problems in corrections, including community-based alternatives to incarceration.
• define constitutional government; discuss how the federal system of government and U.S. Constitution guide the operation of the criminal justice system; and explain the Constitutional concepts of due process and equal protection in policing, courts, and corrections.

You will find criminal justice graduates throughout the criminal justice system and within an array of social service agencies. The criminal justice practitioner enjoys exciting professional challenges and opportunities for serving society and helping people. Employment opportunities exist in law enforcement, corrections, probation and parole, courts, juvenile justice, research, education, child welfare, private security, and government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels. Because many of these careers require a bachelor’s degree, the Criminal Justice major is designed to facilitate transfer to a four-year program.

The Dean College Criminal Justice program encourages students to expand their knowledge of criminal justice and career opportunities in this exciting and rewarding field. Creating and promoting opportunities for students to learn about the criminal justice profession and those impacted by the criminal justice system are at the heart of the Criminal Justice major. A wide range of on- and off-campus criminal justice career exploration activities allow students to increase their knowledge and clarify career and academic interests.