CJ Undergraduate Curriculum
The Criminal Justice program places emphasis on academics, oral and written communication and research potential. The curriculum is largely concentrated in social and behavioral sciences with core courses in government, law, psychology, and sociology. Students take courses in other departments, as well as in criminal justice, giving them the ability to look at a problem from many viewpoints. This system exposes students to a wide diversity of faculty to explore different ideas and issues. Students are not asked to specialize in any specific sub-area of criminal justice. Rather, every student takes the same basic core course work. Students, however, may build in specializations by judicious selections of Core Elective courses and their internship site.
An intense internship requirement is one of the program's strengths. Contact is maintained with numerous agencies that accept interns on a regular basis. Internships may be arranged with law enforcement agencies, correctional institutions, probation/parole authorities, private security operations, prosecutors' and public defenders' offices, the local courts and some federal agencies. Feedback from both the agencies and the interns has consistently verified the value of "in-the-field" study to a well-rounded education.
Undergraduate Catalog page, including curriculum checksheets
Forensic Investigations Specialization
The Forensic Investigations specialization began in the 2013 Fall Semester. This course of study is appropriate for students interested in pursuing investigative careers in the public, private, intelligence, and military sectors. Students in the Forensic Investigations specialty will take four dedicated courses in addition to the core Criminal Justice courses required for the Major.
This is a survey course on the range of investigation techniques, with a particular focus on criminal investigation. Collection of physical evidence through crime scene searches; of testimonial evidence through interviews of eyewitnesses and interrogation of suspects; and of supplemental and predictive evidence through open-source data collection and surveillance are explored in the context of legal requirements and ethical issues.
A survey course into the range of techniques of scientific analysis conducted on physical evidence: physical properties, comparison matches, class and individual characteristics, toxicology, challenged document examination, explosives and arson investigation, and other topics are considered in light of scientific standards and processes, as well as evolving legal standards. The course presents “forensic science” in terms of the duties that field investigators must perform to ensure the validity of the evidence for courtroom presentation.
An introduction to the rapidly-expanding role of digital media in crime. This course introduces a variety of topics, including cyber-bullying and cyber-stalking, scamming, spyware and malware, corporate espionage, hacking and system security, financial crimes and money-laundering, among others.
This class provides an overview and examination of the legal aspects of physical evidence including rules of evidence, procedural rules, and the role of expert witnesses. The course also includes direct and cross-examination of students in a moot court setting.
In addition to the four core courses above, students will take two additional Specialization Elective courses from a number of offerings in the department and across the university curriculum. Forensic Accounting (taught in the Schmidthorst College of Business), Forensic Psychology (taught in the College of Arts & Sciences), and others are available. Six additional electives and a 12-hour Internship complete the requirements for the Forensic Investigations Specialization.
Updated: 11/04/2025 11:06AM