Interim Chairperson: Professor Smith
Professors: Dean, Friday, Hirschel
Associate Professors: Bjerregaard, Blowers, Coston
Assistant Professors: Brennan, Lord
Instructor: Beeman.

As society and the problems of crime and delinquency have become increasingly complex, so has the field of criminal justice. Courtroom activity has consequences for law enforcement; corrections reforms have consequences for the courts. The criminal justice professional needs knowledge and understanding of all three major components to perform successfully in any one of them. Toward this end the Department of Criminal Justice offers students the opportunity to acquire knowledge of the broader criminal justice system.

Undergraduate students pursuing the academic study of the criminal justice system, a career in the criminal justice field, or preparation for graduate study may select the criminal justice curriculum leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree. Transfer students must complete 31 hours of criminal justice course work unless they have completed the equivalent of CJUS 1100, CJUS 2000, CJUS 2154, CJUS 2102, or CJUS 2120 at another institution. In this case, these classes are waived. The Department also offers a minor. Students may enroll in the B.A. program on either a full-time or part-time basis. Evening classes are scheduled to accommodate part-time students.

Transfer students who have an A.A.S. degree in a criminal justice related discipline may be awarded a maximum of 36 semester hours of credit for criminal justice coursework completed with a grade of C or better. However, they must still complete an additional 15 semester hours of criminal justice coursework. They will also receive credit for courses that fulfill UNC Charlotte general education requirements if the completed courses are part of an approved college transfer curriculum.

The department also offers a Master of Science degree program in Criminal Justice.

BACHELOR OF ARTS

A major in criminal justice requires STAT 1222 and 31 semester hours of criminal justice courses, including CJUS 1100 (Introduction to Criminal Justice), CJUS 3100 (Criminal Justice Theory), CJUS 3101 (Research Methods in Criminal Justice), and one course from each of the following areas:

Law Enforcement Area

CJUS 2000 - Introduction to Law Enforcement

CJUS 3141 - Law Enforcement Behavioral Systems

CJUS 3200 - Security & Loss Prevention

CJUS 5131 - Police Problems and Practices

Corrections Area

CJUS 2154 - Introduction to Corrections

CJUS 3150 - Community Corrections

CJUS 3151 - Institutional Corrections

CJUS 3153 - Juvenile Corrections

Legal Area

CJUS 3102 - American Criminal Courts

CJUS 3110 - Criminal Justice and the Law

CJUS 3111 - Criminal Procedure

CJUS 3121 - Juvenile Law

CJUS 3152 - Correctional Law

A minimum of a C average in all criminal justice coursework and at least a C in CJUS 1100, 3100 and 3101 are required.

While not required, students are encouraged to participate in internship programs available through the department. Internships provide opportunities to combine theory and practice in a realistic setting, and to make more judicious career decisions. Consult the Department of Criminal Justice for a suggested schedule to complete the B.A. degree with a major in Criminal Justice.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE MINOR

A minor in Criminal Justice is available to all undergraduates except criminal justice majors and requires 18 approved semester hours including: CJUS 1100 and 3100, and 12 semester hours of upper-division criminal justice electives. A grade point average of at least a 2.0 is required including at least a grade of C in CJUS 1100 and 3100.

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