The Criminal Justice major, for professionals in police, corrections or other forms of criminal justice work, provides students with psychological, sociological and humanistic perspectives to bring to their work experiences. Students are expected to complete eight units in the criminal justice field. Transfer credit is awarded for completion of the Police Academy training.
Requirements
Students must complete 32 units of credit (128 semester hours) to earn a B.S. degree. The requirements for the B.S. degree fall into four categories:
- Major area courses; varies according to major
- Courses meeting general distribution requirements—17 units
- Elective courses—6 units
- A “perspectives” capstone course—1 unit
The Major
Through study of a major, a student specializes and deepens academic and professional knowledge in a subject area. Students pursuing the bachelor of science degree must meet with an academic advisor for information about degree requirements.
Transfer students must take at least half the courses in their major area and all upper-level major requirements at Clark.
Distribution Requirements
All BS candidates are required to complete 17 course units to meet the liberal arts distribution requirement. This requirement is designed to build a strong foundation for students to acquire intellectual habits, skills and perspectives, and ethical values in a global society which will enrich their academic background and professionalism. Industry, government and nonprofit organizations continue to emphasize breadth of knowledge and capability in those they employ.
The 17 units must be distributed as follows:
- English/Verbal Expression — two units.
- Humanities — five units. These courses must be distributed among at least three disciplines. One unit must be met by professional ethics.
- Science/Mathematics — four units. At least one course in each of these disciplines is required.
- Social Sciences — six units. These courses must be distributed among at least three disciplines.
Student Learning Outcomes
Through the liberal arts distribution requirement, students will be able to:
- Analyze a variety of professional rhetorical situations and produce appropriate texts in response.
- Formulate appropriate and ethical communication choices in presentations based on audience and situation.
- Articulate the different sides of ethical issues and defend their own views in discussion and in writing.
- Analyze human experience by examining similarities and differences in a global or international context.
- Apply appropriate mathematical, statistical, or computational strategies to solve problems.
- Discuss the role of science in society and its ethical conduct.
- Recognize how social, political, historical, and economic institutions shape societal and individual behavior.
Upon satisfactory completion of the Criminal Justice program, graduates should be able to:
- Identify the basic structure and makeup of the American criminal justice system.
- Apply theory and research to real world problems in criminal justice.
- Discuss the relationship with, and impact of implicit and explicit biases on, race, culture, class, religion, gender, sexual identity, and ability as they relate to criminal justice policy and practice.
- Recognize and analyze legal and ethical constraints and their implications for criminal justice policy and practice.
Electives
Six electives are required for the B.S. degree. These electives may be selected from the entire spectrum of courses. One course must be taken in computer/information science. Students already computer literate may have this requirement waived by the associate dean.
Perspectives Course
In the senior or graduating year, degree candidates are required to take a “perspectives” course. As perspective courses vary from year to year, students should consult with their academic advisers. Current perspective course must be international in its focus.