Course Descriptions
Required Courses for a BA in Criminal Justice:
1301 Introduction to Criminal Justice
Development and philosophy of criminal justice in a democratic society; introduction to agencies involved in the administration of criminal justice.
1306 Court Systems and Practices
Focuses on the role of the courts in the administration of criminal justice, with special attention to the legal processing of criminal defendants. Topics include the structure of the American courts, due process, right to counsel, pre-trial release, plea bargaining, trial proceedings, and sentencing.
1310 Criminal Law
History and philosophy of modern criminal law, including the structure, definition, and application of statute and leading case law; the elements of crimes and penalties.
2313 Correctional Systems and Practices
A tracing of the evolution and the philosophical underpinnings of institutional and community based correctional practices.
2328 Police Systems and Practices
An overview of the structures, functions, and operations of law enforcement agencies in the United States, with emphasis on municipal police departments. The course surveys police operations, staff functions, personnel policies, and current innovations utilized in delivering police services. Covers such topics as police discretion, ethics, police-community relations, and the future of policing in American society.
3300 Critical Analysis & Response Formulation (Previous Name: Effective Assessment in Criminal Justice)
An overview of the process of effective assessment in the development, application, and administration of criminal justice policy. Prerequisite: CRIJ 1306 with a grade of “C” or better.
3313 Criminology
This course surveys historical perspectives on crime, contemporary criminological theory, penological theory, current trends in crime, and critical thought on current criminal justice practices and procedures. Particular emphasis is given to the development and application of theory in regard to different types of crimes, “crime waves”, and appropriate penal policy. Prerequisite: CRIJ 1306 with a grade of “C” or better.
4390 The Interdisciplinary Nature of Criminal Justice
This course is a critical examination of selected problems and issues in the criminal justice system from an interdisciplinary perspective. It includes an emphasis on theory and research, using comparative and integrative approaches, and case studies. Prerequisites: CRIJ 1306 with a grade of “C” or better, CRIJ 2306, CRIJ 3300, CRIJ 2328, CRIJ 3313 and 6 hours of advanced CRIJ courses. CRIJ 3300 or CRIJ 3313 may be taken concurrently with CRIJ 4390.
Elective Courses
3301 Criminal Investigation
Fundamentals of criminal investigation, including theory and history, and collection and preservation of evidence. Prerequisite: CRIJ 3350 or consent of instructor.
3303 Private Sector and Criminal Justice
The roles of nongovernmental actors in the justice process, with a focus on the legal and sociological implications of their existence in democratic society. Both volunteer and profit-making agencies will be examined in relation to the traditional criminal justice agencies of police, courts and corrections. Private security and loss prevention operations will be surveyed along with private adjudicatory systems and correctional programs.
3305 Homeland Security and Border Protection
An overview of the steps taken by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to increase security across our borders. These actions and initiatives include a broad range of strategies and defenses that CBP deploys in its anti-terror mission. CBP's protective measures include intensified activities in the areas of passenger processing, cargo targeting and inspection, non-intrusive technology inspections, as well as a number of initiatives to increase security along the U.S.-Mexico border. Prerequisite: CRIJ 1310 with a grade of "C" or better.
3307 Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism
An examination of terrorism using a criminological framework for studying terrorist groups and individuals, terrorist origins, goals, dynamics, ideologies, counter-terrorism, and homeland security. Work in this course involves examination of the structure and dynamics of terrorism in America, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Terrorist weapons, strategies and tactics, the hot spots for which they evolve, the ways they operate and receive funding, their use of the media, and theories of counter- terrorism. Prerequisite: CRIJ 1301 with a grade of "C" or better.
3308 Juvenile Justice
The law of juvenile delinquency and the administration of the juvenile justice system. The historical development of the concept of delinquency, the special status of juveniles before the law, and juvenile justice procedural law will be examined in detail.
3311 Crime Control and Prevention
An examination of those activities undertaken by public and private organizations to control and prevent crime. Those programs which have been successful in reducing the amount of crime will be analyzed, as well as attempts which have been made at predicting and deterring behavior.
3312 Psychology and Law
A review of the relationship of psychology to the legal system. Topics include theories of crime, identification and evaluation of criminal suspects, rights of victims and rights of the accused, forensic assessment, jury processes and decision making, punishment and sentencing, and psychological assumptions of legal systems and processes.
3321 Family Violence
This course surveys definitions, prevalence, and theories of family violence in the United States. Special emphasis is given to 1) the impact of variation in definitions of family violence on scientific research and conclusions; 2) the societal response to family violence; and 3) the effectiveness of policing strategies of domestic violence.
3351 Criminal Justice on the United States-Mexico Border
An examination of the nature and scope of crime on the United States-Mexico border and an evaluation of the strategies and programs employed by both governments to control criminal activity on the border.
3389 Criminal Justice Ethics
This course identifies and examines the complexity of ethics pertaining to the practice of criminal justice. It focuses on applied ethics and the reasoning process justice practitioners can use to analyze and evaluate ethical dilemmas.
4300 Selected Topics in Criminal Justice
Focuses on those selected issues and problems confronting the various components of the criminal justice system. Topics covered may change each semester. May be repeated for credit upon change of topic.
4309 Internship in Criminal Justice I
First part of a program in which the student is assigned two days (or 16-20 hours) each week to a criminal justice agency. A weekly seminar is also required. Designed to provide the student with an opportunity to apply academic training in practical situations. Prerequisite: Consent of the Program Director and Upper division standing.
4310 Internship in Criminal Justice II
A program in which the student is assigned two days (or 16-20 hours) each week to a criminal justice agency. A weekly seminar is also required. Designed to provide the student with an opportunity to apply academic training in practical situations. Prerequisite: Consent of Program Director.
4311 Immigration Law and Administration
An examination of federal regulations pertaining to legal and illegal immigration into the United States. Among the topics discussed are legalization, employer sanctions, amnesty, and constitutional rights of aliens.