Criminal Justice, B.S.

Criminal Justice Administration
615-494-7751
Joshua Harms, interim chair
Joshua.Harms @mtsu.edu

Courses in the Department of Criminal Justice Administration provide students with a well-rounded curriculum designed to meet the academic needs of those seeking careers in law enforcement, courts, corrections, and homeland security as well as those already employed in the criminal justice system and related agencies.

Academic Map

Following is a printable, suggested four-year schedule of courses:

Criminal Justice, B.S., Academic Map

Degree Requirements

True Blue Core (TBC)	41 hours
Major Requirements	36 hours
Major Core	15 hours
Major Electives	21 hours*
Minor	15-18 hours
Electives	25-28 hours
TOTAL	120 hours

True Blue Core (41 hours)

True Blue Core (TBC) requirements (shown in curricular listings below) include courses in the Foundational Skills areas of Written Communication (WC), Information Literacy (Info Lit), Non-Written Communication (NWC), and Quantitative Literacy (Quant Lit). Knowledge Domains include Human Society and Social Relationships (HSSR), Scientific Literacy (Sci Lit), Creativity and Cultural Expression (CCE), and History and Civic Learning (HCL), which include Discovery and Explorations categories. Students must choose at least one course from each Discovery category.

Major Requirements (36 hours)

Major Core (15 hours)

In order to graduate, all Criminal Justice majors must earn a grade of at least a C (2.00) in all of the following core CJA courses:

CJA 2100 - Criminal Theory 3 credit hours
CJA 2200 - Prevention and Control of Crime 3 credit hours
CJA 2400 - Judicial Process 3 credit hours OR
FSCJ 2400 - Judicial Process 3 credit hours
CJA 2600 - Corrections 3 credit hours
CJA 3200 - Research Methods with Computer Technology 3 credit hours

Major Electives (21 hours)*

*Note: Students are limited to 9 credit hours of major elective options not designated with the CJA or FSCJ prefix; 15 hours must be upper-division

Any CJA course 3 credit hours
FSCJ 4330 - Criminal Investigations 3 credit hours
FSCJ 4340 - Crime Scene Investigation 3 credit hours
FSCJ 4360 - Crime Scene Photography and Documentation 3 credit hours
FSCJ 4530 - Criminal Evidence and Procedures 3 credit hours
HLTH 4400 - Drugs and Violence in Public Health 3 credit hours
PS 3370 - American Constitutional Law I: Government Powers 3 credit hours
PS 3380 - American Constitutional Law II: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights 3 credit hours
PS 4590 - Administrative Law 3 credit hours
PSY 4120 - Psychology of Criminal Behavior 3 credit hours
PSY 4220 - Correctional Psychology 3 credit hours
SOC 3511 - Social Justice 3 credit hours
SW 2000 - Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice 3 credit hours

Minor (15-18 hours)

Electives (25-28 hours)

Curriculum: Criminal Justice

Following is a suggested pattern of study; however, consultation with the assigned advisor is necessary before each registration.

Freshman

CJA 2100 - Criminal Theory 3 credit hours
CJA 2200 - Prevention and Control of Crime 3 credit hours
Written Communication 3 credit hours
Information Literacy 3 credit hours
History and Civic Learning 3 credit hours
Human Society and Social Relationships 3 credit hours
Creativity and Cultural Expression 6 credit hours
Quantitative Literacy 3 credit hours
General elective 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 30 Hours

Sophomore

CJA 2400 - Judicial Process 3 credit hours OR
FSCJ 2400 - Judicial Process 3 credit hours
CJA 2600 - Corrections 3 credit hours
Non-Written Communication 3 credit hours
Creativity and Cultural Expression Literature 3 credit hours
Scientific Literacy 8 credit hours
Human Society and Social Relationships 3 credit hours
Major elective 3 credit hours*
General elective 3 credit hours
Minor course 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 32 Hours

Junior

CJA 3200 - Research Methods with Computer Technology 3 credit hours **
History and Civic Learning 3 credit hours
Minor courses 9 credit hours
Major electives 9 credit hours*
General electives 6 credit hours

Subtotal: 30 Hours

Senior

Minor course 3 credit hours
Major electives 9 credit hours*
General electives 13 credit hours
Minor course/general elective 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 28 Hours

NOTES:

*Students are limited to 9 credit hours of major guided elective options not designated with the CJA or FSCJ prefix.

**Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing and successful completion (at least a C) of the first core courses: CJA 2200 , CJA 2400 , and CJA 2600 .