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Department of Criminal Justice - Columbus State University

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Academics

Department of Criminal Justice

The Department of Criminal Justice offers a one-year professional certificate, which is tailored to meet the needs of in-service criminal justice personnel, the Associate of Applied Science in Criminal Justice (AASCJ) degree, designed for students who are seeking a degree that will meet the minimum educational requirements of various law enforcement agencies for entry and/or promotion, and the Bachelor of Science (BS) degree, which enables students to demonstrate a general knowledge of law enforcement, legal research, corrections, and criminology. The graduate program section of this catalog has information on the Master of Public Administration degree with the justice administration option.

Graduates of the criminal justice program find secure jobs with local, state, and federal government agencies such as: city and state police, sheriffs' departments, probation and parole departments, Georgia and Federal Bureaus of Investigation, drug enforcement agencies, the Secret Service, correctional institutions, juvenile justice agencies, and private industrial security.

Expected Outcomes

Graduates will be able to demonstrate knowledge of:

  • the principles of criminal justice systems
  • concepts of punishment and rehabilitation in the context of correctional systems
  • skills of legal research and analysis
  • major theories of criminal behavior

BS graduates also will be able to demonstrate and apply knowledge about each of their three option groups, chosen from: behavioral, corrections, juvenile, law (adult), and law enforcement.

Course Requirements

Certificate in Criminal Justice

  • CRJU 1105 Introduction to Criminal Justice
  • CRJU 1106 Introduction to Corrections
  • CRJU 1107 Introduction to Legal Methods
  • CRJU 2105 Criminology
  • Select six CRJU courses at the 1000 or 2000 level as approved by the department chair.

Total Hours Required 30

AAS in Criminal Justice

Area 1 - General Education Courses - Required Hours: 24

  • ENGL 1101 English Composition
  • ENGL 1102 English Composition 2
  • Select one mathematics course from Area A or Area D of the core.
  • COMM 2205 Public Speaking
  • Select one science course from Area D of the core (no lab required).
  • HIST 2110 Survey of U. S. History
  • PELM 1205 Concepts of Fitness
  • PEDS **** Physical Education Service course
  • POLS 1101 American Government

Area 2 - Program Requirements - Required Hours: 24

  • CRJU 1105 Introduction to Criminal Justice
  • CRJU 1106 Introduction to Corrections
  • CRJU 1107 Introduction to Legal Methods
  • CRJU 2105 Criminology
  • Select two criminal justice courses (1000-2000 level) as approved by department chair.
  • Select two courses from the following:
    • ACCT 2101 Principles of Accounting 1
    • ECON 2105 Principles of Macroeconomics
    • ECON 2106 Principles of Microeconomics
    • PHIL 2135 Theories and Issues in Moral Philosophy
    • POLS 2101 Introduction to Political Science
    • PSYC 1101 Introduction to General Psychology
    • SOCI 1101 Introduction to Sociology

Area 3 - General Education Course - Electives Required Hours: 9

Select nine semester hours from Areas A-E of the core curriculum

Area 4 - General Electives (1000-2000 level) - Required Hours: 6

Total Hours Required 63

BS Criminal Justice

Areas A-E and Wellness Courses - Required Hours: 45

Area F - Courses Related to Major - Required Hours: 18

  • CRJU 1105 Introduction to Criminal Justice
  • CRJU 1106 Introduction to Corrections
  • CRJU 1107 Introduction to Legal Methods
  • CRJU 2105 Criminology
  • Select two courses from the following:
    • ACCT 2101 Principles of Accounting 1
    • ECON 2105 Principles of Macroeconomics
    • ECON 2106 Principles of Microeconomics
    • PHIL 2135 Theories and Issues in Moral Philosophy
    • POLS 2101 Introduction to Political Science
    • PSYC 1101 Introduction to General Psychology
    • SOCI 1101 Introduction to Sociology

Area G - Program Requirements - Required Hours: 27

Select three of the following five groups for a total of 27 semester hours.

  • Behavioral Group
    • CRJU 2116 Victims of Violence
    • CRJU 3115 Deviant Behavior
    • CRJU 3116 Criminal Behaviors
  • Corrections Group
    • CRJU 3125 Community Based Corrections
    • CRJU 3126 Institutional Treatment of Criminal Offenders
    • CRJU 4125 Correctional Administration
  • Juvenile Group
    • CRJU 3155 Juvenile Delinquency
    • CRJU 3156 Juvenile Law
    • CRJU 4155 Juvenile Justice System
  • Law Group (Adult)
    • CRJU 2145 Criminal Law
    • CRJU 2146 Criminal Procedure
    • CRJU 3145 Jurisprudence
  • Law Enforcement Group (Police)
    • CRJU 2165 Police Organization and Operations
    • CRJU 3165 Criminal Investigative Techniques
    • CRJU 4165 Community Relations

Area H - Program Electives - Required Hours: 9

  • Select from the following:
    • CRJU 3135 Women in Crime and Justice
    • CRJU 3136 Criminal Justice Ethics
    • CRJU 3137 Crime, Law, and History
    • CRJU 3555 Selected Topics in Criminal Justice
    • CRJU 4698 Internship
    • CRJU 4899 Independent Study

Area I - General Electives - Required Hours: 24

Total Hours Required: 123

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