Criminal Justice Curriculum

Curriculum Requirements

All bachelor's degrees require a minimum of 120 credit hours, inclusive of UD general education and major requirements as well as elective courses.

The Criminal Justice major requires 43-46 credit hours as follows:

Program Pre/Co-requisites: SOC 111 (3) or SOC 112 (3) – Grade of C or higher

Criminal Justice Core Requirements (27-30 credits):

  • SCJ 120 – Writing Proficiency in Criminal Justice (3)
    (Required only for students who are required to take ENG 090)
  • SCJ 110 – Introduction to Criminal Justice (3)
  • SCJ 210 – Introduction to Law Enforcement (3)
  • SCJ 211 – Criminal Law (3)
  • SCJ 212 – Criminal Procedures (3)
  • SCJ 215 – Court Systems and Judicial Process (3)
  • SCJ 225 – Corrections (3)
  • SCJ 231 – Criminology (3)
  • SCJ 313 – Introduction to Constitutional Law (3)
  • SCJ 495 – Senior Seminar: Ethical & Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice (3)

Criminal Justice Electives (9 credits) of 200 level courses or above from any SCJ course not already applied towards another category. One 3 credit 200 level SOC course may be applied (provided it is not used for another category, such as Sociology Foundation). 

Sociological Perspective Courses from the Following (3 Credits): 

  • SCJ 217: Gender, Race, Ethnicity, & Criminal Justice (3)
  • SOC 202: Inequalities of Race, Class, Gender (3)
  • SOC 331: Social Stratification (3)
  • SOC 336: Social Theory (3)
  • SCJ 317: Human Rights and Civil Liberties in Criminal Justice (3)

Practicum (4 Credits):

  • PRF 201: Career Development Strategies: Thinking Beyond College (1) and

Choose one (3 credits) from this group OR an approved department substitution

  • SCJ 485: Internship (3)
  • SCJ 491: Independent Research (3)
  • SCJ 333: Moot Court (3)
  • SCJ 304: Mediation Team (1) – repeatable for up to 3 credits 

The Criminal Justice minor requires 21-24 credits in Criminal Justice as follows:

Program Pre/Co-requisites (3-6 credits):

  • SOC 111 or SOC 112 – grade of C or higher
  • SCJ 120: Writing Proficiency in Criminal Justice (Required for students who must take ENG 090)

Required Courses (15 credits):

  • SCJ 110: Introduction to Criminal Justice
  • SCJ 210: Introduction to Law Enforcement
  • SCJ 211: Criminal Law
  • SCJ 225: Corrections
  • SCJ 231: Criminology

Criminal Justice Electives 200 level or higher (6 credits):

Students majoring or minoring in Criminal Justice must achieve a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or higher in all criminal justice coursework.   

Four-Year Plan of Study [cross link to the Advising Page where all the 4-year plans for degrees would be "housed." The plans are PDFs.]