Criminal Justice Major
51视频 the Progam
51视频 Requirements
51视频 Concentrations
Minor Selection
51视频 the Program
We provide students with multiple courses to represent these substantive areas. Our core curriculum focuses specifically on the areas below:
- Criminal justice and juvenile justice processes (law, crime, and administration of justice)
- Criminology (the causes of crime and typologies)
- Law enforcement (police organization, discretion, subculture, and legal constraints
- Law adjudication (criminal law, prosecution, defense, and court procedures and decision-making)
- Corrections (incarceration, community-based corrections, and treatment of offenders)
- Prevention of crime (social, community, situational interventions, and public policy)
- Research and evaluation (principles of social science research and policy evaluation)
- Technology and crime analysis (crime mapping, data analysis and criminal justice information systems)
Our department is committed to providing a better understanding of social problems and policy and offers courses such as Race, Gender, and Crime, Domestic Violence, Child Maltreatment, Crime Prevention, Victimology, and Women in Criminal Justice in an effort to better inform and sensitize students.
We encourage students to better develop their ability to be informed citizens as they participate in the governmental process and consume criminal justice information. Therefore, courses such as Research Methods, Statistics, Data Analysis, and Computer Applications are offered or required.
We utilize either a 3 credit or full semester (9 credit) Practicum/Field Placement for upper level students as a mechanism for students to assess their interest and apply their classroom knowledge in an area of criminal justice. Like other academic fields, our department does not offer courses nor award credit for vocational training courses designed for specific job preparation or advanced job training. These courses are characterized by training for specific job skills rather than education involving conceptual learning.
We have a technology track that emphasizes the development of technical and computing skills which are important in today’s job market. Courses such as crime mapping, information management systems, and data analysis help prepare students for advanced information technology positions with criminal justice agencies.
In addition to this the student majoring in the administration of Criminal Justice will fulfill a professional skills requirement. This consists of either attaining intermediate proficiency in a foreign language, or completing four courses in computers and statistics. In the event that the student chooses the foreign language skill, the department recommends Spanish.
Students wishing to enter or transfer into Criminal Justice from another major or from another accredited Institution must present a grade point average of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.
The major of Administration of Criminal Justice consists of at least 36 credits in criminal justice courses, of which at least 5 courses shall be at the 300 course level or above. In accordance with university policies, students MUST have 120 credits for graduation.
1. Required courses (12 credits) are as follows:
44.101 The Criminal Justice System
44.221 Criminology
44.234 Criminal Law
44.390 CJ Research Methods
Note: 44.395 CJ Statistics with a minimum grade of 3.0 is required for student acceptance into the 5 year BS/MA program.
A minimum of eight additional Criminal Justice courses are required. In addition please note that from among all electives, at least four must be at the 300 or 400 level. A 2.2 cumulative average overall and a 2.5 average in the major is necessary for graduation with a criminal justice major.
2. Language or Technology /Information Systems Requirement
Students majoring in the Criminal Justice are required to meet proficiency standards in one of the following:
Intermediate Proficiency in a modern Foreign Language . (Students should consult policies in the University Catalog under the heading of University Academic Policies: Language requirement for a list of avenues by which certification of language proficiency may be pursued.)
OR
Criminal Justice Technology and Information Systems
Students must demonstrate proficiency to be demonstrated by passing a minimum of four courses (12 credits) as follows:
1. 44.203 CJ Technology & Information Systems
2. One of the following:
90.385 Introduction to Information Security
(Required for Security Management and
Homeland Security certificates)
91.113 Exploring the Internet
44.397 Crime Mapping
3. 44.395 Statistics in Criminal Justice
4. 44.398 Data Analysis in Criminal Justice
There is no prohibition against completing both options in the professional skills area. Students who fulfill the requirements of either the minor in mathematics with the computer science option, or the requirement for the certificate in proficiency offered by the Mathematics Department will automatically fulfill the skills requirement.
3. Six Additional Social Sciences or Selection of a Second Major or Minor
In addition to the major courses and the professional skills area, the student majoring in Criminal Justice students must take 6 additional social science electives with at least 2 above the 300 level. Students are encouraged to consider including the completion of a second major or minor relevant to his/her interests and future goals.
For students wishing to broaden and diversify their education, the University of Massachusetts Lowell is particularly well suited for providing the student with the opportunity for a second major or minor in Economics, Political Science, Psychology, or Sociology, as well as other fields of study offered by the University. In addition, students may choose a Mathematics Minor-Computer Option. Please see the University catalog for regulations of the College of Arts and Sciences offered governing minors.
View the complete (pdf).
Students have the option of selecting one or more concentrations during their course of study. The choices are as follows:
Police Concentration
Corrections Concentration
Violence Concentration
Research and Evaluation Concentration
Information and Technology Concentration
Homeland Security Concentration
Criminal Justice and Criminology department majors may complete a concentration in the area of “Policing and Police Innovations” by completing 18 credit hours of coursework in the following course concentration sequence:
Required Courses (9 credits):
44.141 Police Process
44.373 Issues in Police Administration
44.347 Community Policing
Elective Criminal Justice Courses:
Three courses in any ONE of the following areas:
Causes of Crime:
44.321 Criminology 2 (Advanced Criminology), and
Any one of the following:
44.261 Juvenile Delinquency
44.322 Crime Prevention
44.387 Criminal Mind and Behavior
44.422 Victimology
Technology:
44.203 CJ Technology & the Criminal Justice System
44.397 Crime Mapping
44.398 Data Analysis
Law and Ethics:
44.244. Criminal Law
44.280 Criminal Justice Ethics
44.361 Philosophy of Law
Forensics:
44.243 Criminalistics I
44.244 Criminalistics II
OR
44.342 Criminal Profiling
44.343 Forensic Psychology
Criminal Justice Management:
44.312 Security Management
44.370 Criminal Justice Management
44.380 Special Topics
Corrections Concentration
This concentration allows majors in the department of criminal justice and criminology to focus on a set of courses (total of six courses and 18 credit hours) designed for those students who are interested in the field of corrections as an area of work and/or study.
Required Courses (6 credits):
44.251 Institutional Corrections
44.351 Community Based Corrections
Elective Criminal Justice Courses (12 credits):
44.203 Technology and the Criminal Justice System
44.261 Juvenile Delinquency
44.327 Violence in America
44.370 Criminal Justice Management
44.380: Selected Topics: Issues in Correctional Administration
44.385 Crime and Mental Illness
44.387 Criminal Mind and Behavior
44.401 Substance Abuse and Crime
Criminal Justice and Criminology majors may complete a concentration in the area of “Violence: Cause, Prevention, and Control” by completing 18 credit hours (5 courses) of coursework in the following course concentration sequence:
Required (3 credits):
44.327 Violence in America
Elective Criminal Justice Courses (15 credits): select five of the following:
44.248 Terrorism (international and domestic)
44.326 Hate Crime
44.341 International Perspectives on Crime and Crime Control
44.342 Criminal Profiling
44.343 Forensic Psychology
44.380 Selected Topics in Criminal Justice: Crime and Community
44.387 Criminal Mind and Behavior
44.388 Psychopathology of Crime
44.422 Victimology
44.477 Intimate Partner Violence
44.478 Child Maltreatment
Research & Evaluation Concentration
Criminal Justice and Criminology department majors may complete a concentration in the area of “research and evaluation” by completing 18 credit hours of coursework in the following concentration course sequence:
Required Courses (9 credits):
44.395 Statistics in Criminal Justice
44.397 Crime Mapping
44.398 Criminal Justice Data Analysis
Elective Criminal Justice Courses (9 credits):
Select three of the following:
44.341 International Perspectives on Crime and Crime Control
44.342 Crime Prevention
44.380 Selected Topics: Program Evaluation
44.396 Research Seminar
Information & Technology Concentration
This concentration is designed to provide students with a detailed understanding of the role of technology in the criminal justice system. This 18 credit concentration has two primary objectives. First, this concentration aims to introduce students to the influence of scientific advancement, classified broadly as advancements in the domains of “hard” or “soft” technology, on the criminal justice system. Related to this objective, courses will also evaluate the effectiveness of various technologies currently being used by various criminal justice agencies. Second, this concentration will provide information about the broader ethical/legal implications of the use of technology. Together, this concentration will leave students with an understanding of both the benefits and limitations of technology as it pertains to the criminal justice system.
Required Course (3 credits):
44.203 Technology and the Criminal Justice System This course is designed to introduce students to the latest innovations in the applications of new technological advances in the criminal justice system. Topic areas include an examination of the new technology of crime commission, and the corresponding new technology of crime control strategies. Our focus will be on the application of both “hard” technology (e.g. equipment, hardware, devices, etc) and “soft” technology (e.g. computer software programs, information systems, classification devices, and other problem-solving applications) in each of the following areas: crime prevention, police, courts, institutional corrections, community corrections and the private sector.
Elective Criminal Justice Courses (15 credits):
Select five of the following:
44.237 Civil Liberties Law and Politics of Constitutional Development
44.280 Criminal Justice Ethics
44.351 Community Based Corrections
44.380 Selected Topics in Criminal Justice
44.397 Crime Mapping
44.398 Criminal Justice Data Analysis
44.493 Issues in Technology and Security
44.496 Criminal Justice Practicum
Homeland Security Concentration
The emerging discipline of homeland security will require the education of large numbers of women and men for a variety of careers in a multitude of local, state, and federal agencies. Criminal justice majors interested in the area of Homeland Security may complete a concentration by completing 18 credit hours (six classes) of coursework as follows:
Required Courses:
44.115. Introduction to Homeland Security
44.241 Critical Infrastructure Protection
44.248 Terrorism
44.312 Security Management
44.493 Issues in Technology & Security OR 44.243 Issues in Technology & Security
Plus the following:
44.397 Crime Mapping
In addition to the major courses and the professional skills area, the student majoring in Criminal Justice is encouraged to select a minor relevant to his/her interests and future goals. Students choosing not to minor in another discipline must take 6 additional social science electives with at least 4 above the 300 level.
For the student wishing to prepare him or herself as completely as possible, the University of Massachusetts Lowell is particularly well suited for providing the student with a Mathematics Minor-Computer Option, a carefully selected arrangement of courses from the College of Management, the opportunity for a second major in Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, or any other field of study offered by the University. (See elsewhere in this catalogue for regulations of the College of Arts and Sciences offered governing minors.)
The department also offers a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice.