Located within the sociology department, the criminal justice major prepares students for a future career in law enforcement and related professional fields. Its instructors train students to think critically about the criminal justice system and to understand and implement evidence based practices. The department encourages students to apply these skills toward the pursuit of restorative justice as they live out their calling.
The criminal justice major is designed to assist students in entering an area of expanding need. The need is for professionalization and better prepared personnel in law enforcement, the court system, and in diverse areas in the corrections system. This major is also good preparation for graduate school, providing a knowledge and understanding of theory, social organization, methods and techniques. An internship of one semester is part of the major in order to provide additional practical experience in the field.
Program Learning Outcomes. Upon completion:
1: Criminal Justice System - Criminal Justice majors will be able to: Articulate an understanding of law enforcement, the court system, and the corrections system; Articulate the processes in each area which shape an individual’s or group’s interaction with law enforcement, the court system, and the corrections system and the potential outcome of such interactions.
2: Criminological Theory - Criminal Justice majors will be able to: Define a theory and describe how it contributes to an understanding of the criminal justice system; Apply a theoretical perspective to a specific issue or topic.
3: Diversity of Human Experience: Students will be able to: Articulate how social processes give rise to a variety of lived experiences, including experiences that vary by ethnicity, class, and gender; Recognize how their own experiences shape how and what they know about other groups’ experiences.
4: Evidence Based Reasoning: Students will be able to: Demonstrate critical thinking skills in relation to evidence, reasoning, and analysis; Articulate ways in which evidence-based reasoning can inform decision making.
5: Faith Integration: Students will be able to: Bring ideas and perspectives from their major into conversation with religions insights; Articulate how respective traditions of reflective thought seek truth about the human condition.
Return to: