School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of Criminal Justice and Homeland Security
Criminal Justice Courses Undergraduate
- CJHS-J 101 American Criminal Justice System (3 cr.) Introduction to elements of the criminal justice system: the police, the courts, and corrections, and how they function in contemporary American society.
- CJHS-J 201 Introduction to Criminology (3 cr.) This course examines the nature and cause of crime. Sociological, biological, psychological, economic and other theories of crime are explored. Students will also be introduced to crime trends, crime typologies, and victimology.
- CJHS-J 202 Criminal Justice Data and Research Methods (3 cr.) Course examines basic concepts of criminal justice. Students become familiar with research techniques necessary for systematic analysis of the criminal justice system, offender behavior, crime trends, and program effectiveness. Students will learn to critically evaluate existing research. Students will become familiar with existing sources of criminal justice data and will learn to assess the quality of that data.
- CJHS-J 210 Introduction to Law Enforcement (3 cr.) A broadly based study of the operations and interrelationships of the American police system, including discussion of the limitations of the police function, inter-jurisdictional matters, and intra-agency processes.
- CJHS-J 220 American Criminal Courts (3 cr.) An analysis of the criminal justice process from prosecution through appeal. The organization and operation of felony and misdemeanor courts are examined. Topics include prosecutorial decision-making, plea bargaining, judicial selection, the conduct of trials, sentencing, and appeal.
- CJHS-J 230 Corrections (3 cr.) A survey of contemporary correctional systems, including analysis of federal, state, and local corrections; adult and juvenile facilities and programs; probation and parole. This course is not open to students who have completed SOC-S 420 Topics in Deviance: Corrections.
- CJHS-J 251 Organized Crime (3 cr.) This course examines the origins, nature, and extent of organized crime. This course further explores theoretical explanations of organized crime, the social perception of organized crime, and the policies and practices taken to combat organized crime in the U.S.
- CJHS-J 272 Terrorism and Public Policy (3 cr.) Survey of the incidence of terrorism in democratic societies, with particular emphasis on public policy responses designed to combat terrorism in cities. Overviews of ongoing conflicts with terrorist organizations in various countries are interspersed with analysis of significant terrorist events and public policies and responses such events create.
- CJHS-J 275 Introduction to Emergency Management (3 cr.) An examination of the background and nature of the profession, the central theoretical debates concerning natural and human-induced disasters, mitigating and reacting to these catastrophic events, and the major roles and responsibilities of emergency managers. Current practical problems and future directions will be explored.
- CJHS-J 278 Principles and Practices in Homeland Security (3 cr.) An examination of the basic operations, functions, and issues involved in securing our homeland from domestic and international threats including possible threats and proactive and reactive measures against such threats.
- CJHS-J 305 The Juvenile Justice System (3 cr.) Current developments in the legal, administrative, and operational aspects of the juvenile justice system
- CJHS-J 306 Juvenile Delinquency (3 cr.) This course examines the nature and extent of juvenile delinquency including the significant individual, social, and institutional influences on delinquency and formal and informal responses to delinquency.
- CJHS-J 310 Criminal Investigation (3 cr.) Theory of investigation; crime scene procedures; interviews, interrogations, surveillance and sources of information; collection and preservation of physical evidence; investigative techniques in specific crimes
- CJHS-J 312 Introduction to Criminalistics (3 cr.) The broad range of physical evidence developed through the investigative process, and methods of identifying and establishing validity and relevance through forensic laboratory techniques.
- CJHS-J 320 Substantive Criminal Law (3 cr.) The development, limitations, and application of substantive criminal law.
- CJHS-J 321 Court Procedure and Evidence (3 cr.) Criminal law application and procedure from the initiation of police activity through the correctional process and the rules of law governing proof at trial of disputed issues of fact; burden of proof; presumptions and judicial notice; examination, impeachment, competency, and privileges of witnesses; hearsay rule and exceptions. The focus will be on the criminal rather than the civil process. This course also includes a discussion on the 4th amendment and admissibility of evidence.
- CJHS-J 324 Correctional Law (3 cr.) Legal problems from conviction to release: pre-sentence investigations, sentencing, probation and parole, incarceration, loss and restoration of civil rights.
- CJHS-J 355 Global Criminal Justice Perspectives (3 cr.) This course will survey various criminal justice systems from a variety of cultures and regions of the world. Particular attention will be given to the contrast of eastern and western systems, as well as systems that do not fit neatly into established categories.
- CJHS-J 360 Seminar in Criminal Justice (3 cr.) Selected contemporary topics in criminal justice. May be repeated for credit.
- CJHS-J 377 Foundations of Homeland Security (3 cr.) An examination of the theory and research driving homeland security and emergency management measures and an analytical look at the practices and principles of homeland security from an empirical perspective.
- CJHS-J 378 Public Administration and Emergency Management (3 cr.) An examination of the American federal system and how it affects policy making and emergency management. Topics include government programs, participation of agencies and actors from all three levels of government, the nonprofit sector, and the private sector. Administrative processes involved in managing major hazards and disasters will be presented.
- CJHS-J 380 Internship in Criminal Justice (1-6 cr.) P: Permission of instructor and junior or senior status. May be repeated for credit. Course grade is S/F (Satisfactory/Fail). Students are placed with a criminal justice agency for assigned tasks. Students also complete an academic component.
- CJHS-J 409 Crime and Public Policy (3 cr.) This course is an introduction to the major efforts designed to control or reduce crime. A review of existing knowledge is followed by an investigation of current crime control theories, proposals, and programs.
- CJHS-J 410 Critical Issues in Policing (3 cr.) A seminar course examining current issues in policing.
- CJHS-J 411 Police in the Community (3 cr.) In-depth examination of crime as an urban policy problem; focusing on the role of police and victims in defining crime as a policy problem, and their role in seeking to reduce the incidence of crime. This course also examines community policing as it differs from traditional policing.
- CJHS-J 430 Community Corrections (3 cr.) An introduction to correctional alternatives to incarceration that focus on the reintegration of the offender while remaining in the community. Because of their extensive use, considerable attention is given to probation and parole. Other topics include diversion, community residential programs, restitution, halfway houses, and home detention.
- CJHS-J 431 Correctional Interventions (3 cr.) A comprehensive, critical examination of the treatment and punishment of criminal offenders including historical practices and contexts, current methods for classifying and treating offenders, correctional ideologies, and treatment for special offender populations.
- CJHS-J 432 Correctional Administration (3 cr.) An in-depth study of the administration of the correctional institutions and community corrections programs. Topics include the functions and roles of administration and organizations, leadership and managerial styles, correctional goals, communication, ethics and decision-making, offender risk, staff organization and function, management basics, and correctional operations.
- CJHS-J 459 Criminal Justice Management (3 cr.) Examines the principles of management and systems theory for the administration of criminal justice agencies.
- CJHS-J 460 Title (3 cr.) Senior standing. Emphasizes current developments in legal, administrative, and operational aspects of the criminal justice system.
- CJHS-J 480 Research in Criminal Justice (1-6 cr.) Junior standing and consent of instructor. Individual research under guidance of faculty member.
