Undergraduate Program
The Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice offers both a campus-based and fully online pathway toward its bachelor degree and undergraduate certificates in Criminal Behavior and Criminal Law and Justice. The Criminology and Criminal Justice undergraduate programs seek to educate students about the causes, consequences, prevention, and control of criminal and law-violating activity at multiple levels of analysis. Our undergraduate curriculum focuses on (1) criminology and criminal justice theories and empirical research addressing the role of individuals, families, communities, and society in the production and prevention of crime, (2) the justice system’s function in controlling crime, and (3) a critical analysis of the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of related policies and practices. Educational experiences facilitated inside and outside of class help promote students’ long term professional success by developing their capacity for critical reasoning, problem-solving, and effective communication.
Criminology & Criminal Justice is an interdisciplinary major, a fact demonstrated by the diverse backgrounds of our full-time and part-time faculty. Students graduating from our program have a wide range of choices when they look for employment or post-graduate education. Recent graduates have found jobs in law enforcement (e.g., police officer, immigration, crime analyst), courts (e.g., victim advocate, administration), corrections (e.g., parole officer, facility management), human services (e.g., offender counseling, child welfare), and crime prevention (e.g., neighborhood crime prevention specialist, private security). Other alumni from our program have gone on to pursue advanced degrees in such areas as law, criminal justice, psychology, social work, public administration, and urban planning.
Criminology and Criminal Justice Post-Baccalaureate Certificate
To earn a post-baccalaureate certificate in criminology and criminal justice students must complete core and elective courses within the department. Some of these courses may have prerequisites and students should read course descriptions in the current PSU Bulletin before registration. All core and elective courses submitted to satisfy the requirements for a post-baccalaureate certificate, whether taken at PSU or elsewhere, must be passed with a grade of “C-” or above. Courses taken under the undifferentiated grading option (pass/no pass) will not be accepted toward fulfilling these requirements.
The CCJ degree requirements for a post-baccalaureate certificate are:
Requirements
Courses
| CCJ 200 | Criminology and Criminal Justice | 4 |
| CCJ 320U | Theories of Crime & Justice | 4 |
| CCJ 330U | Crime Control Strategies | 4 |
| CCJ 380 | Criminal Justice Research | 4 |
| CCJ 420 | Criminal Law | 4 |
| | CCJ elective credits (minimum of 8 credits at or above 300-level) | 12 |
Two courses from list below
Total Credit Hours: 40