Criminal Justice Bachelor of Arts

Office: W363 Thompson Hall
(716) 673-3205
Dr. Daniela Peterka-Benton, Program Director
Email: criminal.justice@fredonia.edu
Website: http://www.fredonia.edu/criminaljustice

The Bachelor of Arts program in Criminal Justice is an interdisciplinary curriculum that offers broad based knowledge of crime and delinquency, criminal law and procedure, police science and security, and the juvenile justice system. The curriculum includes courses in criminal law and procedure, crime theory, human deviant behavior, police science, security, corrections, statistics and research methods. Graduates will be prepared for careers in the field of juvenile justice, court system administration, law enforcement, adult corrections, rehabilitation, crime data analysis and security at the city, county, state and federal level. Internships are highly recommended. Participating internship sponsors include local police and sheriff departments, the county district attorney’s office, Department of Probation, New York State Department of Corrections, Chautauqua County Jail, and the Chautauqua County Victim/Witness program. In addition to the Core Curriculum and elective requirements listed below, students are strongly urged to include elective courses that will help develop effectiveness in speaking and in writing. Familiarity with bibliographic and data search routines is strongly encouraged.

Students are strongly advised to complete a minor in a related discipline given the interdisciplinary characteristics of the Criminal Justice major.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice

Completion of a minimum of 42 credit hours of course work comprised of 18 credit hours of core requirements, 6 credit hours of a statistics-research methods sequence, and 18 credit hours of elective credit.

A minimum of 27 credit hours must be taken at 300-level or above.

Core courses include (18 credit hours):

CRMJ 100Introduction to Criminal Justice

3

CRMJ 230Criminal Law

3

CRMJ 240Law Enforcement Policy and Practice

3

CRMJ 340Introduction to Corrections

3

CRMJ 370Criminology

3

CRMJ 400Senior Seminar

3

Total Credit Hours:18
NOTE: Minimum grade of C- required in each course.

Statistics-Research Methods sequence (6 credit hours):

SOC 200Social Statistics

3

or

Any other 200-level introduction to statistics course

and

SOC 300Research Methods

3

or

PSY 200Statistics

3

and

PSY 210Research Methods

4

Total Credit Hours:6

NOTE: PSY 200 and PSY 210: Sequence should be taken by Psychology/Criminal Justice double majors only

Criminal Justice Electives (9 credit hours from among the following courses):

CRMJ 331Criminal Procedure

3

CRMJ 332Homeland Security

3

CRMJ 333Criminal Investigations

3

CRMJ 350Special Topics

3

CRMJ 355Organized Crime

3

CRMJ 360Criminal Justice Ethics

3

CRMJ 361Capital Punishment

3

CRMJ 375Serial and Mass Murder in the U.S.

3

CRMJ 380Transnational Crime

3

CRMJ 440Corrections Administration

3

CRMJ 441Police Administration

3

CRMJ 470Criminal Justice Internship

1-15

Total Credit Hours:9

Interdisciplinary Electives (9 credit hours from among the following courses):

PHIL 303Crime and Punishment

3

PHIL 362Philosophy of Law

3

CSIT 201Computer Security and Ethics

3

POLI 276Law and Society

3

POLI 277Introduction to Law

3

POLI 311Fundamentals of Public Administration

3

POLI 370American Constitutional Law

3

POLI 371Civil Rights and Liberties

3

POLI 383Courts and Social Policy

3

PSY 245Social Psychology

3

PSY 246Personality

3

PSY 356Abnormal Psychology

3

PSY 358Psychology and the Law

3

SOC 201Social Problems

3

SOC 218Introduction to Social Work

3

SOC 303Social Class and Inequality

3

SOC 310Sociology of Deviant Behavior

3

SOC 311Sociology of Addiction

3

SOC 316Minority Groups

3

SOC 350Special Topics

1-3

SOC 363Victimology

3

SOC 364Juvenile Delinquency

3

SOC 365Family Violence

3

Total Credit Hours:9
NOTE: SOC 350 Special Topics (as advised).

Total Credit Hours: 42

Policy on Transfer Credit into the Major

Transfer students will be required to complete a minimum of 24 (up to 42) credit hours of course work in the Criminal Justice major. A maximum of 18 credit hours of course work completed elsewhere that are similar to classes in the major offered at Fredonia will be accepted toward completion of the B.A. degree in Criminal Justice. The student must have completed this course work with a grade of C or better to have it applied to the major.

Steven C. Croglio Scholarship

An annual scholarship given to a Senior Criminal Justice major exhibiting academic excellence and commitment to a career in law enforcement. This honor carries a financial award to be applied toward senior year tuition.

University Police Scholarship

The endowment for this scholarship began at the behest of members of our University Police force, to recognize students in the Criminal Justice major. The financial award is given to an exceptional junior student, for assistance in his or her senior year.