Criminal Justice (BA) Curriculum

Through this course, students will develop professional communication skills needed in the fast-moving professional environment. With a focus on oral and written communication for business, students discover how to design and deliver messages in both formal and informal venues. Students will record themselves delivering speeches, thus they will need to know how to use a webcam and how to upload video files from their devices into the assignment dropbox in the Learning Management System.

This course explores the challenges of building and maintaining relationships through verbal and nonverbal language; conflict management; perception; and listening skills. Ideas are applied to everyday aspects of interaction in both personal and professional relationships. The course also provides an in-depth perspective on communication and the role is play in everyday challenges. Students will record themselves delivering speeches, thus they will need to know how to use a webcam and how to upload video files from their devices into the assignment dropbox in the Learning Management System.

The course introduces the concepts and theories related to conflict communication, conflict styles and conflict resolution techniques. Students will develop and apply skills needed to resolve conflict in various personal and professional arenas. Students will record themselves delivering speeches, thus they will need to know how to use a webcam and how to upload video files from their devices into the assignment dropbox in the Learning Management System.

This course examines a general overview of the criminal justice system, with an emphasis on decision points and administrative practices in police and other criminal justice agencies, as well as basic criminal procedures. Topics include: Causes of crime, criminal law, policing history and structure, police management and legal aspects, adjudication including the courts and sentencing, corrections drugs and crime, multinational criminal justice and the future of criminal justice.

This course explores the evolution of the juvenile justice system and the different approaches followed by the court and correctional authorities. Current topics in juvenile justice include youth victimization, crime prevention, treatment and various juvenile sanctions. Distinction is made between the adult and juvenile system, with emphasis placed on the roles and functions of the juvenile justice system.

This course evaluates the history and progression of correctional systems. Contemporary correctional practices are analyzed and evaluated using a historical perspective with a modern emphasis on community and institutional corrections. This course balances current and past research, theories and applications and practical examples and issues. Topics include: historical perspectives, the court process, alternatives to imprisonment, correctional functions, institutional clients, rights of correctional clients, reintegration systems and the future of corrections.

Research Methods presents a broad view of the methods and techniques for conducting academic and professional research. The course focuses on why and when research is performed, the methodologies involved and a description of the applied statistical tests most often used. Techniques and procedures are compared and contrasted so each student gains a firm understanding of what method or test to use and why. Topics include: the research enterprise, theory and research, ethics in research, research design, sampling techniques, questionnaires, interviews, observational techniques, secondary data, reliability and validity issues, data coding,hypothesis testing and sampling distributions. Students will be required to successfully complete the ethics certificate of completion using the Collaborative Institution Training Initiative (CITI) to advance further in the program.

This course provides an overview of police issues, integrating the history, social context and theoretical understanding of policing in America. Relationships between communities, individuals and police organizations are studied. Topics include: evolution of policing, organizational structure and supervision, societal expectations and police corruption.

This course examines the courts, the legal system, law and politics, judicial philosophy and policy making when rendering legal decisions. How those decisions create and further develop policy is also explored.

Students in this course will read a variety of judicial decisions on current issues, such as freedom of speech, and complete several assignments focusing on legal reasoning and argument. Students will also learn how to find information on legal decisions and issues.

This course examines topics in police practice and management, organizational styles of police departments as well as various methods to detect and control crime such as Community-Oriented Policing and Problem-Oriented Policing.

This course provides the student with the core knowledge of constitutional criminal procedure. Topics of study include: Fourth Amendment doctrines such as the exclusionary rule, the search warrant, plain view, arrest and Terry-stops and warrant-less searches. The focus of the exclusionary rule reflects the areas in which the Supreme Court has been most active in recent years. The conflicting approaches to the application of law evident between justices adhering to the Due Process Model and those following the Crime Control Model are addressed. Additional topics in the course include: meaning, context and constitutional foundation of criminal procedure; the right to counsel; rules of interrogation and confession; identification of suspects and entrapment; and the pretrial and trial process.

This course examines the diverse ethical issues frequently encountered in the criminal justice system. Students study the writings of the major theorists such as Plato, Socrates and Aristotle. Classic ethical theories will be studied, reviewed and applied to such varied topics as the application of professional and personal discretion, the appropriate use of force, dimensions of professional responsibility and proper application of authority.

This course introduces the student to the foundational aspects of criminal law, including its historical background and fundamental elements. Major themes of both common law and the Model Penal Code, including the elements of statutory crimes, criminal responsibility and defenses are reviewed. Topics include: the historical background of criminal law, fundamentals of criminal law, jurisdiction, the criminal act, the mental element, matters affecting criminal responsibility, assault and related crimes, homicide, sex offenses and offenses to the family relationship, theft, robbery, burglary and related offenses, arson, kidnapping, narcotics and offenses by and against juveniles.

In this course students will examine theories of the nature and causes of crime, and analyze various kinds of crimes.

This course provides a discussion of legal problems from conviction to release presentence investigation, sentencing, diversion and alternatives to incarceration and confinement.

This course's focus is on analysis of the systems of probation and parole, including current court cases and trends in corrections.

This course covers crime scene techniques. Students will gain a basic knowledge of these techniques as well as practical experience with various types of evidence.

This course introduces the student to the major theories of crime by exploring the biological, psychological, sociological and economic theories. Traditional and contemporary theories of criminology are examined to better explain patterns and root causes of crime, crimes against persons and property, white-collar and organized crime, drug abuse and crime, technology and crime, terrorism, and criminology and social policy.

This course provides a foundation for understanding and applying research findings on leadership, focusing on classical leadership theories.

This course presents methods in making analytical decisions using statistics. The course focuses on the characteristics of numerical and categorical data, methods of presentation, and descriptive statistics. The course also introduces students to basic methods of sampling and of making inferences using one or two independent samples. NOTE: Credit may not be awarded for both MA215 and MA230.

This course studies the history of war crimes and associated phenomenon, such as genocide, through the study of several cases from the early-modern and modern historical eras. Factors such as racism, available resources, break-downs in command and control, and other causes will be examined in each case study in order to develop the several causes for wartime atrocity. Students will study each event in depth as well as develop their own topic for further research beginning in the first week and culminating in a final research paper.

This course is broad-ranging and provides a combination of theory and practice. The course purpose is to promote a superior understanding of government and its relationship with the society it governs, as well as to encourage public policies that are more responsive to social needs. Additional topic include managerial practices attuned to effectiveness, efficiency and human requirements of the citizenry.

The course is designed to provide an exploration of the biological, environmental and cultural issues surrounding adjustment disorders, mood disorders, suicide, schizophrenia and delusional disorders.

Psychology and the law will provide a broad overview of the interplay between behavioral science and the legal system. In appearance, the two disciplines are vastly different; however, the legal system has an immense influence on our everyday psychology. The purpose of this course is to examine the legal system through the use of psychological concepts, methods, and research results.

This course is designed for students who seek an understanding of causes and effects for strategically important conflicts in the world today. The course fosters discussion and dialogue pertaining to the complexity of cultural and social conflicts which have deep, varied, and often conflicting roots.

This course gives students the opportunity to examine current social problems using the sociological perspective and sociological theory. Students will identify and consider the cultural and structural aspects of current social problems, examining and analyzing them with a focus on their causes, development and proposed solutions. Students will assess current research and will be given the opportunity to propose alternative solutions to contemporary social problems.

Students examine the broad implications of technological applications within society in terms of overall connections and communication with others, career and personal interactions, political, and health care implications. Topics covered include technological progress within society, issues associated with privacy and ethical concerns through technological advancements, positive and negative impacts of technology in maintaining cultural norms and traditions, and technology in the workplace.