The Bachelor of Science degree with a major in justice studies is an interdisciplinary liberal arts degree with a foundation in social science inquiry. With an emphasis on law and the social sciences, this unique contemporary degree represents the current state-of-the-art setting for studying justice and provides a comprehensive degree. Students develop an understanding of the nature of justice and analyze controversial justice issues through critical inquiry and social science investigation. While primary focus is placed on theories of justice; legal studies; social and economic justice students may elect a Criminal Justice emphasis (see below) that will allow them to pursue their interests in law enforcement, corrections, and other legal careers.
It is required that justice studies students choose a minor that complements and supports the major area of study. Students interested in law enforcement careers would find that such minors as sociology, political science, psychology, accounting, foreign language, communications, and technical education are among those that would best contribute to success in their careers. Students interested in the legal profession would find that such minors as philosophy, political science, sociology, and psychology would best contribute to success in their careers. Students interested in the field of forensics would find that minors such as biology and chemistry would best contribute to success in their careers. These are a few examples of how related areas of study can supplement the justice studies degree.
The curriculum for the Bachelor of Science degree in justice studies provides interdisciplinary courses in the social science department relevant to law and justice for students interested in studying justice issues, those anticipating justice related careers (including the legal profession), and interested non-majors. The justice studies degree requires a minimum of 49-50 semester hours distributed as follows:
| |
Hours |
I. Required courses |
22-23 |
| JUST 104 Introduction to the Justice System |
3 |
| JUST 109 Principles of Justice Studies |
3 |
| SOSCI 322 Ethics and Justice Policy |
3 |
| SOSCI 387 Social Research Design |
4 |
| SOSCI 388 Social Research Analysis or |
4 |
| PSYCH 389 Research Methods in Psychology I* |
3 |
JUST 501 Criminal Procedure or POLS 662 Constitutional Law II
|
3 |
| JUST 695 Senior Seminar in Justice Issues |
3 |
II.Complete a 3-hour course from each of the following groups for a total of 9 hours
|
|
A. Society and Justice Issues |
3 |
| SOC 443 Race and Ethnic Relations |
3 |
| JUST 480 Women, Crime, and Justice |
3 |
| SOC 512 Social Stratification |
3 |
| JUST 521 Special Topics in Justice Studies (___) |
1-3 |
| SOC 534 Political Sociology |
3 |
| SOC 537 Sociology of Work and Occupations |
3 |
| SOC 549 Social Deviance |
3 |
| SOC 569 Society and Sexuality |
3 |
| JUST 591 Native American Sovereignty and the Law |
3 |
| SOC 663 Women, Men, and Society |
3 |
B. Theories and Philosophy of Justice |
3 |
| POLS 412 Law in Film and Literature |
3 |
| POLS 450 Political Philosophy I |
3 |
| JUST 500 Criminal Law and Society |
3 |
| JUST 521 Special Topics in Justice Studies (____) |
1-3 |
| JUST 538 Philosophy of Law |
3 |
| POLS 550 Political Philosophy II |
3 |
| POLS 578 Democratic Theory and Public Opinion |
3 |
| JUST 591 Native American Sovereignty and the Law |
3 |
C. Criminal Justice |
3 |
| JUST 223 Basic Interviewing and Counseling Skills |
3 |
| JUST 328 Police and Justice |
3 |
| PSYCH 456 Introduction to Social Psychology |
3 |
| JUST 475 Community Policing |
3 |
| JUST 501 Criminal Procedure |
3 |
| JUST 518 Serial Killers |
3 |
| JUST 521 Special Topics in Justice Studies (____) |
1-3 |
| JUST 522 Crime Scenes and the Law of Evidence |
3 |
| SOC 527 Correctional Systems |
3 |
| JUST 528 White Collar Crime |
3 |
| SOC 547 Criminology |
3 |
| SOC 548 Juvenile Delinquency |
3 |
| POLS 562 Judicial Process |
3 |
| PSYCH 571 Abnormal Psychology |
3 |
| SWK 641 Social Work and the Law |
3 |
| POLS 662 Constitutional Law II |
3 |
| JUST 671 Internship |
3 |
| PSYCH 770 Forensic Psychology |
3 |
| PSYCH 771 Psychology and the Law |
3 |
| PSYCH 773 Criminal Psychopathology |
3 |
III. Electives** |
18 |
| Students will take at least an additional 18 hours of upper division electives from the lists noted above. |
IV. Total required for Bachelor of Science degree with a justice studies major |
49-50 |
*Students may substitute PSYCH 389 for SOSCI 388 or vice versa to meet a research
statistics/methods requirement in either program. Students can use no more than 7 hours of Psychology in their Justice Studies major.
The Criminal Justice emphasis allows students who are more interested in law enforcement, corrections, and other law related careers to pursue their interests within the Justice Studies major. Our Criminal Justice emphasis gives students a substantive base of criminal justice experience such as interviewing and interrogation while building on the Justice Studies major that emphasizes critical thinking skills, ability to handle statistical data, and student understanding of the broader meanings and practice of justice. This emphasis is not designed to be the equivalent of police academy training rather it will allow students whose career interests are oriented toward law related careers to pursue their goal within a broad liberal arts approach to justice.
