Criminal Justice, B.S.

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The Criminal Justice curriculum is designed to:

provide students with a basic understanding and comprehensive overview of the criminal and juvenile justice systems
encourage a theoretical and informed inquiry into justice policies
develop skills in research methodology and statistics
prepare students for professional careers in criminal justice as well as to provide a foundation for the advanced study of criminal justice

Experiential learning (internship) opportunities are available with various agencies within the criminal justice system. Experiential learning is arranged through the Criminal Justice Coordinator. The application process must be completed prior to the semester when the experiential learning is to commence.

Requirements for Graduation:

To be eligible for graduation, students majoring in Criminal Justice must complete a minimum of 120 credits, achieve a cumulative grade point average of 2.0, satisfy the College’s residency requirements, and complete the General Education Requirements of the College. A minimum grade of 2.0 is required for First Year Seminar and all courses taken as part of Foundations. Courses used to complete General Education Requirements may not be taken on a pass/fail basis.

The General Education Requirements of the college require students to successfully complete First Year Seminar, Foundations, Disciplinary Perspectives, and a Constellation. Students who enter the college with 30 credit hours completed will not take a First Year Seminar course and therefore must take an additional 3 credits for graduation. Transfer students that are awarded 60 or more credits upon acceptance to York College will not be required to complete a Constellation.

In addition, students majoring in Criminal Justice must earn a 2.0 or higher in all CJA courses and will be required to complete a standardized outcome assessment test.

General Education Requirement

First Year Seminar

FYS 100 First-Year Seminar 3 credit hours

Foundations Requirements

Communication course:
FCO 105 Rhetorical Communication 3 credit hours
Choose one of the following Advanced Communication courses:
FCO 210 Communication in Professional Cultures 3 credit hours
FCO 215 Technical and Scientific Communication 3 credit hours
FCO 225 Interdisciplinary Communication 3 credit hours
Choose one of the following Quantitative Fluency courses:
PHL 220 Principles of Scientific Reasoning 3 credit hours
PHL 222 Critical Thinking 3 credit hours
PHL 231 Logic 3 credit hours
Choose one of the following American Citizenship courses:
ECO 201 Principles of Economics (Micro) 3 credit hours
HIS 111 American Civilization I 3 credit hours
HIS 112 American Civilization II 3 credit hours
LIT 281 American Literature and Identity I 3 credit hours
LIT 282 American Literature and Identity II 3 credit hours
PHL 245 American Philosophical Thought 3 credit hours
PS 101 American Government and Citizenship 3 credit hours
REL 269 American Religious Thought and Culture 3 credit hours
Choose one of the following Global Citizenship courses or students have the option to complete this requirement by successfully completing six credits of the same foreign language:
ECO 200 Principles of Economics (Macro) 3 credit hours
G 100 World Regional Geography 3 credit hours
HIS 102 The West in the World 3 credit hours
PS 102 Contemporary Global Issues 3 credit hours

Disciplinary Perspectives Requirement

Choose one of the following Humanities courses:
FLM 216 Introduction to Film 3 credit hours
HIS 101 The Foundation of the West 3 credit hours
LIT 200 Introduction to Literary and Textual Studies 3 credit hours
PHL 221 Introduction to Philosophy 3 credit hours
REL 265 World Religions 3 credit hours
PHL 238 Race, Gender, and Sexuality 3 credit hours
OR
WGS 238 Race, Gender, and Sexuality 3 credit hours
Choose one of the following Arts courses:
ART 101 Art and Visual Culture 3 credit hours
CRW 272 Introduction to Creative Writing 3 credit hours
MUS 186 Listening to Music 3 credit hours
THE 154 Introduction to Theatre 3 credit hours
Choose one of the following Social/Behavioral Sciences courses:
ECO 205 Economic Perspectives 3 credit hours
ENT 150 Introduction to Entrepreneurship 3 credit hours
MKT 100 Principles of Marketing 3 credit hours
PS 110 Introduction to Political Science 3 credit hours
REC 101 Recreation and Leisure in Modern Society 3 credit hours
Choose one of the following Natural/Physical Sciences courses:
BIO 204 Exploring Biology 3 credit hours
CHM 240/241 Perspectives on the Molecular World 3 credit hours
ESS 254/255 Local Perspectives on the Geological World 3 credit hours
G 151/152 Introduction to Physical Geography 3 credit hours
PSC 152/153 Concepts in Physics in Everyday Life 3 credit hours

Constellation Requirement

The Constellation requirement is met when a student completes four courses from a minimum of three disciplines within the Constellation requirements. Transfer students that are awarded 60 or more credits upon acceptance to York College will not be required to complete a Constellation except for Education majors.

Required Major Courses:

CJA 101 Introduction to Criminal Justice 3 credit hours
CJA 110 Juvenile Delinquency 3 credit hours
CJA 203 Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice 3 credit hours
CJA 234 Law Enforcement 3 credit hours
CJA 302 Criminal Law 3 credit hours
CJA 336 Judicial Process 3 credit hours
CJA 337 Punishment and Corrections 3 credit hours
CJA 360 Experiential Learning in Criminal Justice 3 credit hours
CJA 377 Criminal Justice Research Methods 3 credit hours
CJA 378 Criminology 3 credit hours
CJA 396 Criminal Justice Statistics 3 credit hours
CJA 491 Senior Seminar 3 credit hours
PSY 100 General Psychology 3 credit hours
SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology 3 credit hours

Criminal Justice Electives

Select 9 credits of Criminal Justice courses.

Physical Activity and Wellness

Students must complete three credits of Physical Activity and Wellness.

Elective courses (24 credits)

Students may choose any 24 credits of elective courses.

Suggested Course Sequence:

Freshman Year (30 credits)

CJA 101 Introduction to Criminal Justice 3 credit hours
FCO 105 Rhetorical Communication 3 credit hours
FYS 100 First-Year Seminar 3 credit hours
PSY 100 General Psychology 3 credit hours
SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology 3 credit hours
Foundations course 3 credit hours
Foundations course 3 credit hours
Disciplinary Perspectives course 3 credit hours
Disciplinary Perspectives course 3 credit hours
Elective course 3 credit hours

Sophomore Year (30 credits)

CJA 110 Juvenile Delinquency 3 credit hours
CJA 203 Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice 3 credit hours
CJA 234 Law Enforcement 3 credit hours
Foundations course 3 credit hours
Foundations course 3 credit hours
Disciplinary Perspectives course 3 credit hours
Disciplinary Perspectives course 3 credit hours
Physical Activity and Wellness course 3 credit hours
Criminal Justice Elective course 3 credit hours
Elective course 3 credit hours

Junior Year (30 credits)

CJA 336 Judicial Process 3 credit hours
CJA 337 Punishment and Corrections 3 credit hours
CJA 377 Criminal Justice Research Methods 3 credit hours
CJA 396 Criminal Justice Statistics 3 credit hours
Criminal Justice Elective course 3 credit hours
Elective course 3 credit hours
Elective course 3 credit hours
Elective course 3 credit hours
Constellation course 3 credit hours
Constellation course 3 credit hours

Senior Year (30 credits)

CJA 302 Criminal Law 3 credit hours
CJA 360 Experiential Learning in Criminal Justice 3 credit hours
CJA 378 Criminology 3 credit hours
CJA 491 Senior Seminar 3 credit hours
Criminal Justice Elective 3 credit hours
Constellation course 3 credit hours
Constellation course 3 credit hours
Elective course 3 credit hours
Elective course 3 credit hours
Elective course 3 credit hours