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Prospective Criminal Justice Majors

The faculty of the Criminal Justice Program are pleased that you are considering a major/minor in Criminal Justice, and perhaps a career in the field beyond graduation. CJ Minors must complete 35-103, 35-270, 35-212, 35-218, 35-244, 35-281, 35-288 and 35-343. ( NOTE : 35-281 and 35-343 may be substituted with a methods and stats class associated with the student's major). All GPA and other requirements for these courses apJanuary 10, 2008 feel we have dual responsibilities, both as educators and as criminal justice professionals. Our program is not intended simply to prepare students for an entry-level job in the field. Our course offerings are aimed at preparing students for graduate programs in criminal justice and/or related disciplines, law school, as well as, entry level jobs in criminal justice and beyond (such as administrative positions in the criminal justice field).

 

The course of study you undertake will include the basic components and relationships of the field; perspectives to help explain the discrepancies, variant purposes, and occasional conflicts that arise in the field; and practical research skills to help you devise solutions to problems you encounter at each state of your professional career.

 

WHAT WE EXPECT YOU TO BRING TO THE PROGRAM

First: We urge you to complete your General Education requirements before taking courses beyond the introductory level in the major (check the current Undergraduate Bulletin). That experience will help you to settle in to the University life, and leave you free to concentrate on your major studies. We require that you complete 30 credit hours before beginning your major studies (15 of those are required credits; again, see the current Undergraduate Bulletin).

 

Second: Criminal Justice is a policy-driven field, and policy changes in response to changing needs in the country. The Criminal Justice professions depend heavily upon continuous research in the causes of social conditions and the effects of criminal justice policies. The successful Criminal Justice professional needs to know how to do research, and how to utilize research findings.

 

The successful Criminal Justice major/minor, therefore, needs to learn research skills. The UWO Criminal Justice Major/Minor places an emphasis on developing both qualitative and quantitative research skills.

 

This means computer literacy, both for word processing and for statistical analysis. If you do not have those skills now, you should begin developing them.

 

The 34-117 Using Computers course is an introduction to computers for those who have little or no prior experience with them. The Management Information Systems (MIS) courses are slightly more advanced, and include an introduction to writing elementary computer programs. The MIS courses also provide an introduction to the use of the University's mainframe computer.

 

Two of the core courses in the Criminal Justice Major/Minor, 35-343 Quantitative Research Design and 35-281 Elementary Statistics in Criminal Justice Research must be taken in conjunction with one another and are designed to provide CJ majors and minors with the quantitative analytical skills often required to conduct criminal justice research.

 

HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR COURSE OF STUDY

Most majors/minors are eager to take as many Criminal Justice courses as they can, as quickly as they can. Those who cannot enroll in Criminal Justice courses early in their academic career attempt to "make progress in their major" by enrolling in upper-level elective courses before completing the core Criminal Justice courses. In our experience, this is a mistake.

 

In order to maintain good standing in this program, you must earn a 2.5 Grade Point Average (GPA) for all of your college courses, and must maintain a 2.75 GPA for all courses taken in the Major/Minor (including electives). In order to be considered for an internship with a criminal justice agency, you should have a 3.0 GPA in the Major. We have found that taking too many Criminal Justice courses too quickly, or upper-level electives out of sequence, is injurious to a student's GPA. To guard against this, we encourage a structured major or minor.

 

Level 1: Introductory Courses

CJ 103 Introduction to Criminal Justice CJ 103 should be taken before CJ 270 Criminal Law. Registration for Criminal Law requires an advisor's signature and a minimum grade of a "B" in the introductory course. These courses are usually offered during both fall and spring semesters of every academic year.

 

Level 2: Core Courses

These courses are required for the major and minor and must be completed before taking Level Three courses. Students need a faculty signature to enroll in all of these courses and must meet the grade point requirements. These courses are offered at least once a year during a specific semester (Fall or Spring); however, few will be offered more than once a year. Your advisor knows which semester a course will be offered. There is no particular sequence in which these courses must be taken.

CJ 212 Managing Criminal Justice Organizations. Introduction to Public Administration (Political Science) is an alternative for this course.

CJ 218 Adjudication Process

CJ 281 Elementary Statistics in Criminal Justice Research (CJ 281 MUST BE taken in conjunction with CJ 343).

CJ 244 The Correctional Process

CJ 288 The Police in Modern Society

 

Level Three: Upper Level Courses

Students must take a minimum of three of the following 300-level courses that are applicable to their career interests.

CJ 304 Criminal Investigation

CJ 319 Criminal Courts: Proof of Guilt

CJ 328 Criminal Courts Behavior

CJ 333 Illegal Bias in the Criminal Justice System

CJ 340 Police Administration CJ 343 Quantitative Research Design (CJ 343 MUST BE taken in conjunction with CJ 281)

CJ minors may opt out of taking CJ 281 and CJ 343 by taking a statistics and research methods course in their major. Consult your advisor if you have any questions regarding this possibility.

CJ 346 Community-Based Corrections

CJ 347 Administration of the Juvenile Justice System

CJ 348 Law of Corrections

CJ 351 Theories of Crime

CJ 352 Organized Crime

CJ 375 Special Topics in Criminal Justice.

CJ 358 Major Criminal Justice Issues. This writing-intensive capstone course focuses on criminal justice policy and performance analysis. It is beneficial for students to register for a light course load since this course requires considerable time researching various topics. Many students have found that taking an internship and the senior seminar maximized learning and involvement. (This should be the last criminal justice class you take)

 

CJ 446 Independent Study in Criminal Justice. Independent Study credits are not to exceed 3 credits in any academic term. Students may take a total of 6 Independent Study credits during their entire undergraduate degree. Additional paperwork is required to register for an Independent Study. So, too, is one-on-one advising with a Criminal Justice faculty member.

 

Electives Students must take at least 12 credits of courses approved as Criminal Justice Electives. Any Criminal Justice Level Three course taken beyond the minimum of 9 credits may be an elective. Some electives are more relevant to a student's specific career goals and interests than others. Most of these are courses offered by other departments. Therefore, it is wise to discuss electives you may want to take with your advisor. A list of electives is available in Clow Faculty Building, Room 401, and in the current Undergraduate Bulletin.

Computer Skills Knowledge of certain computer programs is essential for criminal justice professions. At a minimum, students should be proficient in word processing, data base management, and spread sheet analysis. Currently, criminal justice policy and analysis is utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis and SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). Persons with this skill are highly employable in over 200 state and federal job titles.

 

INTERNSHIPS

Internships may be available to majors who have taken at least 90 credits and have earned a cumulative GPA of at least 2.75 (3.0 within the major). Although an internship is not required, it can be a very valuable experience. Students are strongly encouraged to discuss internships with Dr. Susan Reed, Internship Coordinator. Students should begin this process well before the semester in which they wish to register for the internship.

 

Internships are a privilege, not a right. For students who demonstrate excellent academic achievement (as evidenced by the 3.0 GPA in the major studies), as well as maturity and judgment, the Criminal Justice Program attempts to create an academic experience in the field. A minimum of 90 course credits must be earned (completed) before a student may apply for an internship.

 

Where appropriate, students are placed with the criminal justice agency of his/her choice for "hands-on" experience in a professional setting. Internships also carry an academic requirement: to successfully complete the academic portion, students must integrate the field experience with their academic curriculum. Typically, this is done through periodic consultations with a faculty advisor while in the field, and (at the completion of the field experience) the submission of a paper that combines academic and practical learning with analysis of key issues in relevant criminal justice practice.

 

Internships are a two-way street. Because the justice agencies go out of their way to provide an educational experience for the student, we insist that the student be able to provide something to the agency as well. Although the exact specifics of the internship are negotiated between the student and the agency, we encourage each host agency to put the student's academic skills to use, particularly in the area of research and analysis. Sometimes the agency's needs are more basic than that, but we make a concerted effort to ensure that internships are productive for both parties, not just clerical resources for the agency.

 

NOTE: It is not always possible to place students in the agency of their choice; it is not always possible to provide an internship setting, even for deserving students.

 

The availability of internship positions is dependent upon the good will of the agencies who accept our students. Experience has shown that such good will is often directly linked to the performance of the last intern the agency hosted. For that reason, academic achievement is not the sole criterion for program sponsorship for an internship. The faculty's professional evaluation of the likely "fit" between a student and an agency is an element in the selection process.

 

For more information on the Criminal Justice Internship Program, go to the Internship page.