Courses
Courses primarily for undergraduates:
(Cross-listed with ENT). (3-0) Cr. 3. S.
Prereq: none
Study of fundamental forensic science techniques and procedures covering types of physical, chemical, and biological evidence and how this information is used in the legal system. Assessment of crime scenes and various forensic specialties will be introduced.
(3-0) Cr. 3. F.
Provides systematic overview of law, police organization and behavior, prosecution and defense, sentencing, the judiciary, community corrections, penology, and capital punishment. The course demonstrates the role of discretion in all of these agencies as well as the sociological influences of age, race, gender, and social class on criminal justice system processes.
(Cross-listed with SOC). (3-0) Cr. 3. F.
An examination of delinquency that focuses on the relationship between youth as victims and as offenders, social and etiological features of delinquency, the role of the criminal justice system, delinquents' rights, and traditional and alternative ways of dealing with juvenile crime.
(Cross-listed with POL S). (3-0) Cr. 3. S.
Prereq: POL S 215
An overview of the American judicial process. Emphasis on specific topics such as application of constitutional rights to the states (particularly the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments), mechanics of judicial opinions, constitutional philosophies of Supreme Court Justices, decisions of first impression, and the value and scope of precedent.
(Cross-listed with PHIL). (3-0) Cr. 3. F.S.
Prereq: PHIL 201 or PHIL 230
Extent of our obligation to obey the law; what constitutes just punishment; how much of the immoral should be made illegal? Relation of these questions to major theories of law and the state. Discussion of such concepts as coercion, equality, and responsibility.
(Cross-listed with PHIL, POL S). (3-0) Cr. 3. Alt. S., offered irregularly.
Prereq: Sophomore status
Competing conceptions of liberty in American political thought. Debates about how liberty should be protected by the law, in fields such as health care, drugs, property, speech, religion, and sex.
(3-0) Cr. 3. F.
Prereq: CJ ST 240
The nature of crime and criminology; the concept of crime; statistics and theories of criminality; major forms of crime; official responses to crime and control of crime.
(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S.
Prereq: CJ ST 241, SOC 241 or CJ ST 240
Introduction and overview of law enforcement in the United States. Theory and research on police history, function, and organization; constitutional issues of policing; and critical topics, such as community policing, officer discretion and decision-making, corruption, use of force, and racial profiling. The course illustrates the interconnections between communities, police organizations, citizens, and criminal offenders.
(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S.
Prereq: CJ ST 241, SOC 241 or CJ ST 240
Introduction and overview of corrections in the United States. Theory and research on probation, parole, intermediate sanctions, prison, inmate society, inmate behavior and misconduct, capital punishment, recidivism, correctional treatment, rehabilitation, and offender reintegration into society.
(3-0) Cr. 3. S.
Prereq: CJ ST 241, SOC 241 or CJ ST 240
Introduction and overview of white-collar crime as a form of deviance. Theory and research on occupational, corporate, and organizational offending; prevalence, costs, and consequences of white-collar crime; predictors and correlates of white-collar crime; and political, business, and public policy responses to white-collar crime.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: CJ ST 240
History, philosophy, demographics, administration, and punishment rationales of capital punishment in the United States from its founding to the present. Methods of execution and trends in public opinion about the death penalty. Examination of correlates of capital offending and criminological characteristics of persons who are sentenced to death.
(Cross-listed with SOC). Cr. 3-12. Repeatable, maximum of 12 credits. F.S.SS.
Prereq: Junior or senior classification; permission of criminal justice studies coordinator; major or minor in criminal justice or sociology
Study of the criminal and juvenile justice systems and social control processes. Supervised placement in a police department, prosecutor's office, court, probation and parole department, penitentiary, juvenile correctional institution, community-based rehabilitation program, or related agency. Assessed service learning component.
Offered on a satisfactory-fail basis only. No more than a total of 9 credits of 460 can be counted toward graduation. No credits in Soc 460 may be used to satisfy minimum sociology requirements for sociology majors.
(3-0) Cr. 3. Repeatable, maximum of 9 credits.
Prereq: 6 credits in CJ ST and permission from instructor
Thematic or topical issues and studies dealing with the sociology of police, judiciary, institutional and community-based corrections, gender/ethnicity and crime/delinquency, criminal and delinquent gangs, and crime and delinquency prevention.