Criminal Justice Courses
An overview of the criminal justice system with emphasis on the roles and problems of law enforcement, courts, and correctional components. CJ 100 is a prerequisite for all 300- and 400-level criminal justice courses.
Overview of criminal justice career opportunities and a variety of specializations within the field; focus on professional development skills.
Development of law enforcement; organization and jurisdiction of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies; and functions of police officers.
Organization and management of the security function in industry, business, and government. Exploration of methods to protect personnel, facilities, and other major assets.
Overview of the United States Department of Homeland Security from its initiation to present day; exploration of the wide range of issues that the department influences, both policy and operational.
Introduction and overview of the complex world of Community Based Corrections; offering a history of the evolution of punishment and implementation of alternative sanctions.
Examination of issues related to the oppression of people on the basis of their class, race, sex, gender, gender expression, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and physical or mental ability within the criminal justice system. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course.
Examines the extent and patterns of delinquency, theories of delinquency, research on the causes of delinquency, the juvenile justice system, and the prevention and control of delinquent behavior.
Overview of the judicial component of the criminal justice system in the United States; examines the organization of courts, roles and responsibilities of courtroom players, and systemic challenges.
Overview of U.S. corrections, jails and prisons, institutional procedures, recent innovations, and the future of corrections.
Theoretical and specific instruction in both the conduct and application of research methods in criminal justice settings. Includes problem of research and policy dimensions of both direct and applied approaches.
Examination of selected problems and issues in Criminology and Criminal Justice. A maximum of six hours may be use toward the major.
Study of traditional and modern explanations of crime and criminality.
Effect of race and/or ethnicity on experiences in the criminal justice system, focusing mostly on research/theories of offending, victimization, and experiences as CJ system workers. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course.
Effect of gender on experiences in the criminal justice system, focusing mostly on research/theories of offending, victimization, and experiences as CJ system workers. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course.
Examination in historical sequence of the perspectives on and methods of crime control, from the traditional to the modern.
Formal organization theory and personnel administration, with emphasis on law enforcement agencies.
An opportunity for students to conduct career exploration and build a record of experience in the field.
Gender and justice issues related to women sentenced to death; exploring the historical, social, political, and legal issues of serving time in female prisons.
Examination of the various issues that confront women who are incarcerated; legal issues surrounding women's pathways to crime and their incarceration experiences will be explored.
Examines the philosophical basis of law enforcement and traces the development of the law enforcement function.
This course provides student with instruction in the fundamentals of criminal investigation from a forensic science perspective.
An analysis of selected areas of terrorism and counter-terrorism, with an emphasis on parallels between terrorism and crime.
Critically evaluates various root causes and consequences of hate crimes; analyzed through an integration of social science theory, empirical research, and legal scholarship.
Examination of violence in the context of domestic situations; an exploration of historical and contemporary contexts, various intervention strategies and preventative measures.
This course provides a discussion of white-collar crime for the standpoint of criminological theory as well as criminal justice system policies, laws, and procedures.
Analysis of different types of homicide, such as felony-murders, crimes of passion, serial killings, celebrity-perpetrated killings, and/or mass murders.
Exploration of the various types of human trafficking, their underlying causes and contributing factors, and preventative measures and counter-trafficking initiatives.
Examines drug-related topics, such as the history of drug use, drug trafficking organizations, and domestic and international drug-related policies.
Exploration of crime and criminal justice systems around the world; various transnational and international crimes, state criminal justice systems, and regional and supranational criminal justice mechanisms are examined.
Examines the historical, philosophical, and legal underpinnings of the juvenile justice system, the institutions related to the control and prevention of delinquent behavior, and the various challenges and dilemmas faced by the professionals working in those institutions.
Introduction to the general principles of substantive criminal law; exploration of the nature of criminal acts, mental state, defenses, and burdens of proof.
Examination and analysis of Constitutional provisions and case law governing selected areas of criminal procedure.
History, analysis, and evaluation of American correctional institutions, including the sociology of confinement and reform movements within the system.
Exploration of the nature, function, and limits of law in society.
Examination of selected problems and issues in criminal justice. A maximum of twelve hours may be used toward the major.
Research under faculty supervision; requires faculty approval. A maximum of 3 hours may be used toward the major or minor.
Cyber Criminology Courses
Introduction to the traditional and contemporary forms of cybercrime, including hacking, insider threat, illicit drug markets, cyber bullying, and cyber terrorism.
Examination of selected issues in cyber security in the United States and throughout the world.
Examination of cyber criminology from a law and policy perspective, including its impact on the Fourth and Fifth Amendment, jurisprudence, and the changing conceptions of privacy and identity.
Opportunity for students to conduct career exploration and build a record of experience in the fields of cyber criminology, network analysis, and digital forensics. To take this course students must obtain permission from the instructor for a specific number of hours and pass a background check. A maximum of 3 credit hours can be used towards the minor.
Examination of the role that technology plays in modern-day policing; provides students with a detailed overview of how the cyber, digital, and technological worlds have historically impacted policing.
Technical examination of how investigators collect, extract, analyze, and preserve data seized from devices in criminal cases; students gain hands-on experience with different forensic tools and software and learn of the various legal challenges in digital forensic investigations.
Examination of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies as they pertain to criminal investigations; students will learn how to track and trace Bitcoin transactions using open source and proprietary tools. Students will have the opportunity to become trained and certified from Chainalysis.
Examination of selected issues in cyber security in the United States and throughout the world. A maximum of six hours may be used toward the minor.
Opportunity for students to further build a record of experience in the cyber criminology field by focusing on a topic agreed upon by the instructor and student. A maximum of 3 hours may be used toward the minor.
Sociology Courses
Introduction to the scientific study of human social behavior.
Study of contemporary social problems, including definition, description, and analysis. Emphasis is on sociological explanations, social change perspectives, and cultural complexity of social problems.
Interrelationships between the individual and the group. Includes perception, cognition, attribution, attitudes, helping behavior, aggression, personal relationships, prejudice, and gender in social life.
Explores the social relationship between humans and animals; examines the social meanings which shape the roles and status of animals in society and our interactions with them.
Structural and cultural relationship of sport to society and the importance of sport to the development of self and community identity.
Examines the role of theory in sociology; focuses on the major contributions to sociological theory in both the classical and contemporary periods with an emphasis on historical context and philosophical backgrounds.
Examination of food as a social construction; emphasis on food rituals, cultural distinctions and perspectives, federal regulations and subsidies, food-related diseases, and sustainable agriculture.
This course analyzes social movements: more or less organized attempts by relatively powerless groups to change politics or society. Begins with the building blocks of collective behavior, with a general focus on attempts to push social change in the US and globally.
Analysis of American social structure, race and ethnic relations, and demographic and institutional trends; studies of racial and ethnic issues.
Analysis of inequities of wealth, power, and prestige; major theories of social stratification and poverty; social mobility.
Social dimensions of HIV/AIDS; explores the social construction of HIV/AIDS in terms of gender, sexualities, race/ethnicity and social class.
In-depth examination of human sexuality from a sociological perspective, analyzing how sexual behaviors and attitudes are shaped and influenced by larger society.
Examination of selected problems and issues in sociology. May be taken a total of four times, with different topics.
Sociological approach to the study of women and men; exploration of the social construction of genders in institutions and in everyday life, feminist theories of masculinity, gender inequality, and social change.
Examination of a variety of organizational failures and disasters; exploration of the major social and psychological factors that contribute to technical, practical, and ethical failures in organizations.
Social construction of the body; exploration of how the human body is socially, culturally, and politically constructed according to gender, race/ethnicity, occupation and social class.
Social issues relating to health, medicine, and society; how society shapes individual understandings of what it means to be healthy, produces differential patterns of health and illness, and how medicine is practiced in the United States.
Examination of death and dying from a sociological perspective; death as a social process that varies by culture, context and historical moment.
Examination of selected problems and issues in sociology. A maximum of 12 hours may be used toward the minor.
1-6 hour independent study course allowing students to conduct sociological research under faculty supervision.