THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE MAJOR (2005-2006 Catalog Year)

The curriculum for criminal justice majors is interdisciplinary in nature and includes courses that will provide students with the research and analytical skills necessary for understanding the nature of justice and the issues that affect its implementation.  Majors may pursue either a  Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree.

Resources for Criminal Justice Majors

Click here for catalog descriptions of undergraduate criminal justice (CRJU) courses
Click here for official undergraduate criminal justice (CRJU) course syllabi
Click here for catalog descriptions of non-criminal justice courses that are referenced below
Read this carefully to understand rules about satisfying multiple requirements with one course
College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences Advising Center:  [Homepage] [Forms for Students] [Advising Worksheets]
Click here for information about career planning in criminal justice
Click here for information about the accelerated master's degree program
Who's My Advisor?

Students majoring in criminal justice must meet the following requirements:

1.  General Education Requirements
 
The General Education Program at Radford University consists of 50 hours of coursework.  For further details, refer to the General Education Program homepage.

Criminal Justice Majors are required to take the following three courses and are advised to take them as part of their General Education Requirements:        

PSYC-121, General Psychology (3 credit hours)
SOCY-110, Introduction to Sociology (3 credit hours)
STAT-200, Introduction to Statistics (3 credit hours)
 

2.  Required Core Courses
 


The following courses make up the 27-hour core requirement for the criminal justice major.  All criminal justice majors must take these nine courses:

CRJU-150, Crime, Law & Justice (3 credit hours)
CRJU-233, Courts and Criminal Process (3 credit hours)
CRJU-235, Police and Society (3 credit hours)
CRJU-238, Corrections (3 credit hours)
CRJU-345, Historical Perspectives on Criminal Justice (3 credit hours)
CRJU-365, Diversity Issues in the Criminal Justice System (3 credit hours)
CRJU-430, Comparative Criminal Justice Systems (3 credit hours)
CRJU-485, Research Methods in Criminal Justice (3 credit hours)
CRJU-495, Critical Perspectives in Criminal Justice (3 credit hours)
 

3.  Other Requirements
 
In addition to the courses listed above, Criminal Justice Majors must complete the following additional requirements:
  1. Other Major Courses:  Three additional courses with a criminal justice (CRJU) prefix, for a total of nine hours, are required.  Please note that the core requirements (listed above), Independent Study (CRJU-498), and Criminal Justice Internship (CRJU-484) do not satisfy this requirement.  However, Criminal Justice Experiential Learning (CRJU-483) does satisfy this requirement.  More than one Seminar (CRJU-490) will count towards the nine hours, provided that the topic of the seminar varies.
  2. Related Requirements:  Two courses should be chosen from the following list:
    PSYC-343, Social Psychology (3 credit hours)
    PSYC-439, Abnormal Psychology (3 credit hours)
    SOCY-350, Criminology (3 credit hours)
    SOCY-444, Juvenile Delinquency (3 credit hours)
  3. Electives:  Students should consult with their academic advisors in selecting elective courses to complete the 120 credit hours required for graduation.
4.  Bachelor of Arts & Bachelor of Science Requirements
 
Students must complete either a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Sciences degree in Criminal Justice.  Requirements for each are listed below.
  1. Bachelor of Arts:  The Bachelor of Arts degree requires completion of the B.A. language requirements. There are two options for completing the language requirements.  Option 1 is for students with little to no foreign language background.  Students are placed in a first-semester course by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and may fulfill this requirement by taking the first three semesters (the first four in Spanish) of a foreign language for a total of 12 semester hours.  Option 2 is for students with enough of a foreign language background to be placed beyond a first-semester course.  Students may fulfill this requirement by completing two courses above the first eight hours of language instruction (above nine in Spanish) for a total of 6 to 8 semester hours.  Please note the "Credit Granting Policy and Eligibility for Enrollment in Language Courses" as outlined in the current Undergraduate Catalog.  Also, be advised that courses used to meet general education requirements may not also be used to satisfy the B.A. requirements.
  2. Bachelor of Science:  The Bachelor of Science requirements include six additional hours selected from among the following courses: 
    BLAW-203, Legal Environment of Business (3 credit hours)
    COMM-114, Public Speaking (3 credit hours)
    COMM-314, Organizational Communication (3 credit hours)
    COMM-332, Argumentation and Advocacy (3 credit hours)
    COMM-333, Persuasion (3 credit hours)
    ECON-391, Law and Economics (3 credit hours)
    GEOG-250, Introduction to GIS
    HLTH-451, Drug Use and Drug Abuse Education (3 credit hours)
    ITEC-100, Introduction to Information Technology (3 credit hours)
    MSTD-400, Mass Media Law and Ethics (3 credit hours)
    PHIL-112, Introduction: Ethics and Society (3 credit hours)
    PHIL-113, Introduction: Reasoning and Argument (3 credit hours)
    PHIL-390, Ethical Theory (3 credit hours)
    POSC-300, Public Administration (3 credit hours)
    POSC-438, Constitutional Law - Government Powers (3 credit hours)
    POSC-439, Constitutional Law - Civil Liberties (3 credit hours)
    PSYC-218, Adolescent Psychology (3 credit hours)
    PSYC-405, Forensic Psychology (3 credit hours)
    SOCY-265, Society and the Individual (3 credit hours)
    SOCY-457, Law and Social Injustice (3 credit hours)
5.  Transfer Students
 
Criminal justice courses offered by the community colleges may substitute for various courses in the criminal justice major at Radford.  A maximum of 21 hours transfer credit may be applied toward the major.  A minimum of 21 hours of course work with CRJU prefixes must be taken at Radford University.
 
6.  Graduation Requirements
 
To graduate with a major in criminal justice, students must have completed the requirements listed above.  In addition, students must have completed 120 credit hours.  Finally, students must have an overall grade point average of 2.0 or higher and a grade point average of 2.0 or higher in all courses with a CRJU prefix.  Students must submit an application for graduation, generally in the semester prior to their anticipated graduation.  Further information about application for graduation is available from the College of Arts and Sciences Advising Center. 

Radford University Undergraduate Catalog

The above information is taken from the 2005-2006 Catalog.  While the above information is provided for reference, the official statement of undergraduate policies and curricula are contained in the Radford University Undergraduate Catalog (available online).  Please review the catalog (for your catalog year!) and become familiar with its provisions!

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