Criminology and Justice Studies BS
Major: Criminology and Justice Studies
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Science (BS)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 181.0
Co-op Options: One Co-op (Four years); No Co-op (Four years)
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 45.0401
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 11-9199
Criminal Justice Concentration
The Criminal Justice concentration, housed in the Department of Criminology and Justice Studies, is designed as the most flexible of our three concentrations. The Criminal Justice concentration focuses its curriculum primarily on the substance of criminal justice institutions though still requiring the same research methodology and Geographic Information System sequences as the other two thematic concentrations. Criminal Justice is primarily intended for students seeking to double major, prepare for law school, take on multiple minors (e.g., a language and legal studies), or for students who desire a more traditional criminal justice education. Because the Criminal Justice concentration reserves 46.0 credits of free electives, it easily allows students to explore a wide range of curriculum opportunities throughout Drexel. Students in the Criminal Justice concentration often double major in Psychology, Behavioral Health, Legal Studies, Business and Global Studies; and they often take on a language minor. Moreover, although the Criminal Justice concentration does not require as many of the analytical courses as the Crime Science and Analysis concentration, it does allow students to take any number of those courses as electives while they pursue other curricular pathways.
The Criminal Justice concentration offers the same community-based learning and global perspective courses as the other two concentrations. Students in all three concentrations are encouraged to participate in at least one faculty-led study abroad program during which students will explore various justice related themes. Recent trips have been The Legacy of Nazi Policing in Munich and Prague; and Crime and Justice in Scandinavia. Please see the Study Abroad Program webpage to view the location and itinerary of the study abroad tour. The emphasis on comparative justice and study abroad reside at the leading edges of Drexel's core value of global citizenship.
Degree Requirements (Criminal Justice Concentration)
University Requirements | ||
CIVC 101 | Introduction to Civic Engagement | 1.0 |
COOP 101 | Career Management and Professional Development * | 1.0 |
ENGL 101 | Composition and Rhetoric I: Inquiry and Exploratory Research | 3.0 |
or ENGL 111 | English Composition I | |
ENGL 102 | Composition and Rhetoric II: Advanced Research and Evidence-Based Writing | 3.0 |
or ENGL 112 | English Composition II | |
ENGL 103 | Composition and Rhetoric III: Themes and Genres | 3.0 |
or ENGL 113 | English Composition III | |
UNIV H101 | The Drexel Experience | 1.0 |
UNIV H201 | Looking Forward: Academics and Careers | 1.0 |
College of Arts and Sciences Core Curriculum | ||
Developing Quantitative Reasoning ** | 6.0-8.0 | |
Two courses in MATH based on placement exams OR | ||
Symbolic Logic I (or) | ||
Symbolic Logic II | ||
Engaging the Natural World ** | 6.0-8.0 | |
Analyzing Cultures & Histories ** | 6.0-8.0 | |
Understanding Society & Human Behavior ** | 6.0-8.0 | |
Cultivating Global Competence ** | 6.0-8.0 | |
Perspectives in Diversity ** | 3.0-4.0 | |
CJS Core Requirements | ||
CJS 100 | Freshman Seminar in Crime and Justice | 3.0 |
CJS 101 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | 3.0 |
CJS 200 | Criminology | 3.0 |
CJS 210 | Race, Crime, and Justice | 3.0 |
CJS 220 | Crime and the City | 3.0 |
CJS 260 | Justice in Our Community | 4.0 |
CJS 261 | Prison, Society and You | 4.0 |
CJS 290 | Crime and Public Policy | 3.0 |
CJS 320 | Comparative Justice Systems | 3.0 |
CJS 376 | Sentencing | 3.0 |
Methods and Analytics Sequence | ||
CJS 250 | Research Methods & Analytics I | 3.0 |
CJS 300 | Research Methods and Analytics II | 3.0 |
CJS 301 | Methods and Analytics III | 4.0 |
CJS 330 | Crime Mapping I Using Geographic Information Systems | 4.0 |
CJS 331 | Crime Mapping II Using Geographic Information Systems | 4.0 |
Criminal Justice Thematic Concentration | ||
CJS 230 | Police and Society | 3.0 |
CJS 266 | Crime Prevention Planning | 3.0 |
CJS 276 | Introduction to Computer Crime | 3.0 |
CJS 280 | Communities and Crime | 3.0 |
CJS 360 | Juvenile Justice | 3.0 |
Program Electives | ||
Complete 24.0 credits of any CJS courses not already listed above | 24.0 | |
Free Electives | 46.0 | |
Total Credits | 181.0-192.0 |
- *
Students not participating in co-op will take one additional credit of free elective instead of COOP 101.
Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.
COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.
- **
See Core Curriculum for complete list of course options.
Writing-Intensive Course Requirements
In order to graduate, all students must pass three writing-intensive courses after their freshman year. Two writing-intensive courses must be in a student's major. The third can be in any discipline. Students are advised to take one writing-intensive class each year, beginning with the sophomore year, and to avoid “clustering” these courses near the end of their matriculation. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.
A "WI" next to a course in this catalog may indicate that this course can fulfill a writing-intensive requirement. For the most up-to-date list of writing-intensive courses being offered, students should check the Writing Intensive Course List at the University Writing Program. Students scheduling their courses can also conduct a search for courses with the attribute "WI" to bring up a list of all writing-intensive courses available that term.
Sample Plan of Study (Criminal Justice Concentration)
4 year, no co-op
First Year | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
CJS 100 | 3.0 | CJS 260 | 4.0 | CIVC 101 | 1.0 | VACATION | |
CJS 101 | 3.0 | ENGL 102 or 112 | 3.0 | CJS 200 | 3.0 | ||
ENGL 101 or 111 | 3.0 | CJS Course | 3.0 | CJS 261 | 4.0 | ||
UNIV H101 | 1.0 | Developing Quantitative Reasoning | 3.0-4.0 | ENGL 103 or 113 | 3.0 | ||
Developing Quantitative Reasoning | 3.0-4.0 | Understanding Society & Human Behavior | 3.0-4.0 | Analyzing Cultures & Histories | 3.0-4.0 | ||
Analyzing Cultures & Histories | 3.0-4.0 | ||||||
13-14 | 16-18 | 17-19 | 0 | ||||
Second Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
CJS 210 | 3.0 | CJS 300 | 3.0 | CJS 266 | 3.0 | VACATION | |
CJS 250 | 3.0 | CJS 360 | 3.0 | CJS 301 | 4.0 | ||
CJS course | 3.0 | CJS course | 3.0 | CJS courses | 3.0 | ||
Understanding Society & Human Behavior | 3.0-4.0 | Engaging the Natural World | 3.0-4.0 | Engaging the Natural World | 3.0-4.0 | ||
Free elective | 3.0 | Free elective | 3.0 | Free elective | 3.0 | ||
15-16 | 15-16 | 16-17 | 0 | ||||
Third Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
CJS 330 | 4.0 | CJS 220 | 3.0 | CJS 280 | 3.0 | VACATION | |
Perspectives in Diversity | 3.0-4.0 | CJS 290 | 3.0 | CJS 376 | 3.0 | ||
Free electives | 9.0 | CJS 320 | 3.0 | Cultivating Global Competence | 3.0-4.0 | ||
CJS 331 | 4.0 | Free elective | 3.0-4.0 | ||||
Cultivating Global Competence | 3.0-4.0 | Free elective | 4.0 | ||||
16-17 | 16-17 | 16-18 | 0 | ||||
Fourth Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | ||
CJS 276 | 3.0 | CJS 278 | 3.0 | CJS course | 3.0 | ||
CJS course | 3.0 | UNIV H201 | 1.0 | Free electives | 10.0 | ||
Free electives | 8.0 | CJS courses | 6.0 | ||||
Free elective | 4.0 | ||||||
14 | 14 | 13 | |||||
Total Credits 181-193 |
4 year, one co-op
First Year | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
CJS 100 | 3.0 | CJS 260 | 4.0 | CIVC 101 | 1.0 | VACATION | |
CJS 101 | 3.0 | ENGL 102 or 112 | 3.0 | CJS 200 | 3.0 | ||
ENGL 101 or 111 | 3.0 | CJS Course | 3.0 | CJS 261 | 4.0 | ||
UNIV H101 | 1.0 | Developing Quantitative Reasoning | 3.0-4.0 | ENGL 103 or 113 | 3.0 | ||
Developing Quantitative Reasoning | 3.0-4.0 | Understanding Society & Human Behavior | 3.0-4.0 | Analyzing Cultures & Histories | 3.0-4.0 | ||
Analyzing Cultures & Histories | 3.0-4.0 | ||||||
13-14 | 16-18 | 17-19 | 0 | ||||
Second Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
CJS 210 | 3.0 | CJS 300 | 3.0 | CJS 266 | 3.0 | COOP 101 | 1.0 |
CJS 250 | 3.0 | CJS 360 | 3.0 | CJS 301 | 4.0 | CJS course | 3.0 |
CJS 320 | 3.0 | CJS course | 3.0 | CJS courses | 6.0 | Cultivating Global Competence | 3.0-4.0 |
Understanding Society & Human Behavior | 3.0-4.0 | Engaging the Natural World | 3.0-4.0 | Engaging the Natural World | 3.0-4.0 | Perspectives in Diversity | 3.0-4.0 |
Free elective | 3.0 | Free elective | 4.0 | Free elective | 3.0 | Free electives | 6.0 |
15-16 | 16-17 | 19-20 | 16-18 | ||||
Third Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
CJS 220 | 3.0 | CJS 280 | 3.0 | COOP EXPERIENCE | COOP EXPERIENCE | ||
CJS 290 | 3.0 | CJS 331 | 4.0 | ||||
CJS 330 | 4.0 | CJS 376 | 3.0 | ||||
Free elective | 6.0 | CJS course | 3.0 | ||||
Cultivating Global Competence | 3.0-4.0 | ||||||
16 | 16-17 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Fourth Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | ||
CJS 276 | 3.0 | CJS 230 | 3.0 | CJS course | 3.0 | ||
CJS course | 3.0 | UNIV H201 | 1.0 | Free electives | 9.0 | ||
Free electives | 6.0 | Free electives | 9.0 | ||||
12 | 13 | 12 | |||||
Total Credits 181-192 |
Criminal Justice Concentration
Professional Experiences
Students will complete one co-op (i.e., professional placement), typically during the spring and summer quarters of their Junior year. When they return for the start of their senior year, they can immediately begin their (impending) post-graduation job search with their co-op experience still recent on their resume. Some placements are paid (usually in the private sector) and others are unpaid (primarily in the public sector). The placements earn students academic credit while providing professional socialization and learning with crime and justice professionals. The networking aspects of these placements are invaluable for future career development. In addition to the learning experiences, past students have received excellent letters of recommendation for future employment agencies and for graduate and law school admissions.
In recent years, students have been placed in local agencies such as the District Attorney’s Office, the Institutional Law Project, the Juvenile Law Center, the Defendants Association of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia and Bucks County Prison Systems and the Pennsylvania Prison Society, Pennsylvania and New Jersey State Police. Several students have done co-ops and later worked full time at the Eastern State Penitentiary Historical Site and Museum. On the state level, co-op students have worked with the Board of Probation & Parole and other agencies. At the federal level, the US Customs Service had an agreement to accept cooperative education placements after having been screened by faculty. The faculty in Criminology and Justice Studies has been working over the past few years to expand its list of research co-ops (primarily for students working toward graduate school) and international co-ops.