Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice
Website: https://twu.edu/criminal-justice/
The Criminal Justice program provides students with a broad, general education with an emphasis on the social sciences.
Criminal justice studies the formal response to crime, including patterns of crime, theories of law and crime, and the formal responses to crime, both within and across societies. Criminal justice scholars study such topics as how and why societies punish criminals, and various issues in the nature, organization, and operation of police, courts, and correctional systems. As they work to understand the response to crime, criminal justice scholars find themselves faced with issues of human rights, inequality, and social justice.
The major in Criminal Justice is interdisciplinary and social science-based. Course offerings include Crime in America, Sociology of Deviance, Constitutional Law, Correctional Systems and Practices, Comparative Criminal Justice, and Women, Crime, and Justice. Opportunities for practical work experience are provided through internships and the University’s Cooperative Education program.
Completion of a B.S. degree with a major in Criminal Justice requires that the student meet all the university’s general requirements for the appropriate degree. The major in Criminal Justice consists of 57 semester credit hours as outlined below. A minor is optional and if elected, students are encouraged to consider such minors as accounting, business administration, computer science, economics, government, management, psychology, or sociology. Elective semester credit hours are available to allow the student to pursue individual interests as well as to further strengthen career preparation.
Marketable Skills
Defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's 60x30 Strategic Plan as, "Those skills valued by employers that can be applied in a variety of work settings, including interpersonal, cognitive, and applied skills areas. These skills can be either primary or complementary to a major and are acquired by students through education, including curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities."
- Apply critical thinking, analytical reasoning skills, and criminological knowledge and skills to real-world settings.
- Work with numbers and demonstrate quantitative skills.
- Make a presentation on and write a non-technical report understood by non-academics.
- Work with people in different groups characterized by race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic class, religion, or immigration status to achieve a goal.
- Make an evidence-based argument.
- Use computers to locate and analyze data.
- Gather information and analyze social problems.
Degree Requirements
Total Semester Credit Hours (SCH): 120
Major: 57 SCH
Program Code: CRIMJUST.BS CIP Code: 43.0104.00
Texas Core Curriculum
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| ENG 1013 | Composition I | 3 |
| ENG 1023 | Composition II | 3 |
| Mathematics | 3 | |
| Life & Physical Sciences | 6 | |
| Language, Philosophy, & Culture | 3 | |
| Creative Arts | 3 | |
| HIST 1013 | History of the United States, 1492-1865 | 3 |
| HIST 1023 | History of the United States, 1865 to the Present | 3 |
| POLS 2013 | U.S. National Government | 3 |
| POLS 2023 | Texas Government | 3 |
| Social & Behavioral Sciences | 3 | |
| CAO: Women's Studies | 3 | |
| CAO: First Year Seminar, Wellness or Mathematics | 3 | |
| Total SCHs | 42 | |
Courses Required for Major
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| POLS 3243 | Criminal Law | 3 |
| POLS 4073 | Constitutional Law: Governmental Structure | 3 |
| POLS 4083 | Constitutional Law: Individual Rights | 3 |
| SOCI 1023 | Current Social Problems | 3 |
| SOCI 2133 | Crime in America | 3 |
| SOCI 2213 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | 3 |
| SOCI 3003 | Theories of Crime and Deviance | 3 |
| SOCI 3053 | Social Research | 3 |
| SOCI 3163 | Social Statistics | 3 |
| Race, Class, and Gender Inequality | 9 | |
| Social Inequality | ||
| Racial and Ethnic Groups in the United States | ||
or SOCI 4053 | Race, Crime, and Justice | |
| Women, Crime, and Justice | ||
| Institutions (select 6 SCH) | 6 | |
| Police, Policies, and Practices | ||
| Law and Society | ||
| Correctional Systems and Practices | ||
or SOCI 4403 | Community Corrections | |
| Electives (select 6 SCH) | 6 | |
| Internet and Society | ||
| Criminal Justice Ethics | ||
| Law and Society | ||
| Comparative Criminal Justice | ||
| Electives (select 6 SCH) | 6 | |
| Criminal Investigation | ||
| Criminal Evidence and Procedure | ||
| Criminal Justice Internship | ||
| Deviant Behavior and Social Control | ||
| Topics in Urban Sociology | ||
| Juvenile Delinquency | ||
| Cultural Anthropology | ||
| Individual and Society | ||
| Criminal Justice Ethics | ||
| Comparative Criminal Justice | ||
| Internship | ||
| Total SCHs | 54 | |
Departmental Requirements
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| SOCI 1013 | Introductory Sociology | 3 |
| Electives (21 SCH) | 21 | |
Recommended Plan of Study
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | TCCN | SCHs | |
| ENG 1013 | Composition I | ENGL 1301 | 3 |
| HIST 1013 | History of the United States, 1492-1865 | HIST 1301 | 3 |
| Life/Physical Sciences Core | 3 | ||
| Creative Arts Core | 3 | ||
| UNIV 1231 | Learning Frameworks: the First-Year Seminar | EDUC 1100, EDUC 1200, EDUC 1300 | 1 |
| Wellness or Math CAO Core | 2 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| ENG 1023 | Composition II | ENGL 1302 | 3 |
| HIST 1023 | History of the United States, 1865 to the Present | HIST 1302 | 3 |
| Life/Physical Sciences Core | 3 | ||
| Multicultural Women's Studies CAO Core | 3 | ||
| Elective | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| POLS 2013 | U.S. National Government | GOVT 2305 | 3 |
| SOCI 1013 | Introductory Sociology | SOCI 1301 | 3 |
| Language, Philosophy, and Culture Core | 3 | ||
| SOCI 2213 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | CRIJ 1301 | 3 |
| Social/Behavioral Sciences Core | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| POLS 2023 | Texas Government | GOVT 2306 | 3 |
| SOCI 1023 | Current Social Problems | SOCI 1306 | 3 |
| SOCI 2133 | Crime in America | CRIJ 1307 | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | ||
| Mathematics Core | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| POLS 3243 | Criminal Law | 3 | |
| SOCI 3053 | Social Research | 3 | |
| SOCI 3073 | Social Inequality | 3 | |
| SOCI 3163 | Social Statistics | 3 | |
| POLS 4073 | Constitutional Law: Governmental Structure | 3 | |
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| SOCI 3003 | Theories of Crime and Deviance | 3 | |
| Select 3 semester credit hours | 3 | ||
| Racial and Ethnic Groups in the United States or Race, Crime, and Justice | |||
| Women, Crime, and Justice | |||
| Select 9 semester credit hours of electives | 9 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| Select 6 semester credit hours | 6 | ||
| Police, Policies, and Practices | |||
| Correctional Systems and Practices or Community Corrections | |||
| Select 6 semester credit hours | 6 | ||
| Internet and Society | |||
| Criminal Justice Ethics | |||
| Law and Society | |||
| Comparative Criminal Justice | |||
| Select 3 semester credit hours electives | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| POLS 4083 | Constitutional Law: Individual Rights | 3 | |
| Select 6 semester hours | 6 | ||
| Criminal Investigation | CRIJ 2314 | ||
| Criminal Justice Internship | |||
| Deviant Behavior and Social Control | |||
| Topics in Urban Sociology | |||
| Juvenile Delinquency | |||
| Cultural Anthropology | |||
| Individual and Society | |||
| Criminal Justice Ethics | |||
| Comparative Criminal Justice | |||
| Internship | |||
| Select 6 semester credit hours electives | 6 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Total SCHs: | 120 | ||
