What are Criminal Justice Major Requirements?

There appear to be a couple of approaches to a bachelors' degree in criminal justice. One is more academic in nature, with a focus on the diverse theories exploring the social dimensions of crime. The other is more vocational in nature. Here is a brief look at each. Both of these course displays are for the major requirement only. A bachelors' degree will also require completion of core academic courses from multiple academic disciplines along with a number of electives.

The criminal justice degree at Villanova focuses on the criminology perspective of the field. The required courses include:

• Introduction to Criminal Justice
• Criminology
• Police and Society
• Criminal Courts
• Penology and Corrections
• Criminological Theory
• Senior Seminar

In addition, one of the following statistics-oriented courses:

• Criminal Justice Research and Statistics
• Data Analysis for Social Scientists
• Applied Research Methods

Finally, completion of two of the following electives:

• The Supreme Court
• Capital Punishment
• White Collar Crime
• Victimology
• Drugs and Society
• Special Topics
• Sociology of Deviance
• Juvenile Delinquency
• Sociology of Law
• Race and Ethnic Relations

As an example of one portion of an alternative approach, the University of Southern Illinois offers a list of required courses from which to select which includes these options:

• Introduction to Criminal Justice Administration
• Policing in America
• Analysis in Criminal Justice
• Prosecution and Adjudication
• Introduction to Private Security
• Introduction to Corrections
• Victims of Crime
• Juvenile Delinquency