College of Arts & Sciences

Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice

To acquire a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice, students must complete 45 total semester hours, including 24 hours in core courses and 21 hours in secondary requirements.

Core courses provide a conceptual understanding of criminal justice institutions and processes, theories of  crime and punishment, criminal law and social science research methods.

Students must earn at least a "C" in each course counted as part of the major. Students may not double-dip between major requirements and an area of concentration.

Core courses (24 semester hours)


  • JUS 101 - Introduction to Criminal Justice
  • JUS 200 - Police in America
  • JUS 201 - Corrections in America
  • JUS 203 - The Criminal Court System
  • JUS 302 - Criminal Law
  • JUS 315 - Criminal Justice Research Methods
  • JUS 317 - Perspectives on Crime
  • STA 205 - Introduction to Statistical Methods or STA 212 - Statistics for Business Applications

Secondary requirements (21 semester hours, select any seven courses)

Students must complete a minimum of 12 hours at 300 level or above


  • JUS 204 - Criminal Investigation
  • JUS 205 - Criminal Evidence
  • JUS 210 - Legal Research
  • JUS 215 - Private Sector Security
  • JUS 220 - Liability and Ethics in Criminal Justice
  • JUS 231 - Race, Gender and Crime
  • JUS 294 - Special Topics
  • JUS 303 - Criminal Procedure
  • JUS 310 - Police Management
  • JUS 311 - Police in the Community
  • JUS 312 - Institutional Corrections
  • JUS 313 - Rights of the Convicted
  • JUS 318 - The African American, the Law and the Courts
  • JUS 319 - Criminal Justice in Film
  • JUS 320 - Advanced Crime Scene Technology & Criminalistics
  • JUS 321 - Black Women, Crime and Politics
  • JUS 333 - Careers in Criminal Justice
  • JUS 339 - Applied Corrections
  • JUS 351 - Financial Investigations
  • JUS 400 - Juvenile Justice System
  • JUS 401 - Correctional Rehabilitation
  • JUS 402 - Alternatives to Incarceration
  • JUS 409 - Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • JUS 428 - Crime Across the Life Course
  • JUS 429 - Violence Against Women
  • JUS 430 - The Politics of Criminal Justice
  • JUS 494 - Special Topics
  • JUS 496 - Criminal Justice Internship
  • PSC 304 - Introduction to the Law
  • PSC 305 - The Judicial Process
  • PAD 412 - Administrative Law
  • SOC 202 - Juvenile Delinquency
  • SOC 305 - Criminology
  • SOC 350 - Women and Crime
  • SOC 357 - Sociology of Firearms
  • SOC 488 - Sociology of Law
  • SOC 455 - Comparative Criminal Justice
  • HSR 212 - Crises Intervention
  • PHI 330 - Philosophy of Law