Criminal Justice

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Mission

The mission of the Department of Criminal Justice is to prepare students to become leaders, outstanding practitioners, scholars, and advocates for social justice in a diverse and global society.

The goals of the department are:

1. To provide students with the core knowledge and skills necessary to enter the criminal justice profession and/or pursue graduate/professional studies.
2. To provide students with the critical and analytical problem solving skills needed to achieve academic and employment-related success.
3. To offer online undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Criminal Justice to better serve nontraditional students and promote workforce development.
4. To provide students with experiential learning opportunities to ensure their competencies in a global and diverse society.
5. To promote research service learning and interdisciplinary collaboration to advocate for social justice and community building.
6. To conduct regular assessments to promote continuous improvement in program offerings to ensure the quality of student learning and student success (retention, graduation and placement).
7. To further develop the department’s institutes/center capacities in the areas of research, collaboration throughout the university and beyond, student learning, and community engagement.

The Department of Criminal Justice offers courses leading to both Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Criminal Justice. Curriculum and practice experiences are designed to help develop students and practitioners with critical and analytical skills to promote the administration of justice and crime prevention and control in a diverse and global society.

The undergraduate curriculum is designed to provide students with an understanding of the criminal justice and juvenile justice systems, their agencies, personnel, and historical foundations.  The Department seeks to educate traditional students as well as promote workforce development by targeting persons currently working in the criminal justice field.  Students who major in criminal justice have many opportunities to further their personal and professional development.

Return to: College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities