Criminology Bachelors Degree Programs Pennsylvania

Become a top criminal justice professional with specialized knowledge and in-demand skills

If you want in-depth study in criminology, PennWest California can provide you with a strong foundation in this specialized field. Choose PennWest California's comprehensive, nationally ranked and widely respected bachelor's degree program in criminal justice with a concentration in criminology.

In the Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice program, you'll learn from faculty scholars and skilled professionals with extensive career experience. Their goal is to introduce you to the major functions and operations of the criminal justice field and examine criminal behavior in the field of criminology. PennWest California offers four other concentrations within the B.S. in Criminal Justice degree program:

Gain a career advantage with PennWest California's highly ranked, hands-on program.

In 2016, BestDegreePrograms.org ranked PennWest California's B.S. in Criminal Justice at #18 in Best Online Bachelor of Criminal Justice Degree Programs.

The B.S. in Criminal Justice program at PennWest California brings together liberal arts and professional courses to develop students' critical thinking and communication skills. You'll be well-prepared to pursue leadership positions in justice-related professions; the B.S. in Criminal Justice also is an excellent foundation for law or graduate school.

Learn about ouraccelerated bachelor's-to-master's degree program.

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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS: Criminal Justice

Concentration: Your curriculum for the criminology concentration includes such courses as Behavioral Analysis of Violent Crime, Victimology, Sex Crimes and Predators, Criminological Theories, and more. Criminology courses focus on the study of crimes, criminals, causes of criminal behavior and victimization issues. Learn how the classical, psychological, sociological, economic, biological and political theories of crime explain criminal behavior, and understand the impact of these theories on the work of the criminal justice system.

Solid foundation: The criminal justice curriculum consists of a required core of 11 courses that are based on the six content areas identified by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences: administration of justice, corrections, criminological theory, law adjudication, law enforcement, and research and analytic methods. The B.S. in Criminal Justice program is unrivaled in Pennsylvania, providing a comprehensive, methodical review of major justice functions and operations.

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19:1

Student-to-faculty ratio at PennWest California.

120

Credit hours for the bachelor's degree in criminal justice, which can be completed in eight semesters or four years.

Degree Benefits

PennWest California helps you prepare for the professional world by developing the latest knowledge and skills. You learn with a dedicated, qualified faculty with top academic and professional credentials. Our criminal justice program also offers hands-on experience in our forensic labs and forensic computer investigation labs. Through the Career and Professional Development Center, students get connected to potential employers through networking events, job shadowing opportunities, on-campus recruiting, job and internship fairs, and organizational visits.

Graduate Outcomes

Earning your bachelor's degree in criminal justice equips you with the education, skills and training to fulfill your individual and career goals. With the help of highly qualified professors who have strong professional contacts, criminal justice students get access to valuable internships. PennWest California criminal justice graduates go on to positions in: Courts and law offices. Correctional institutions. Probation and parole offices. Juvenile justice agencies. Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Emerging fields of forensic science, electronic fraud and white-collar crime.

Criminal Justice (B.S) Criminology Concentration

Criminology bachelors programs Professor

Qualified Faculty

The criminal justice program is led by highly qualified and dedicated full-time professors who hold the highest degrees in their fields (J.D., Ph.D. and other doctoral degrees), and have solid professional experience. Many of our faculty members are also part of the team for the Pennsylvania Institute of Criminological and Forensic Sciences, which provides an array of investigative consulting activities along with professional training programs for police officers, detectives, district attorneys, public defenders and others involved in the administration of justice

Professional Connection

PennWest California is attuned to professional standards through faculty who are members of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. ACJS is an international association established in 1963 to foster professional and scholarly activities in the field of criminal justice. ACJS promotes criminal justice education, research, and policy analysis within the discipline of criminal justice for both educators and practitioners.

Students learning about Criminology Criminology bachelors programs in the classroom.

Student Resources

You'll have the opportunity to enhance your academic study in criminal justice at PennWest California by joining Lambda Alpha Epsilon (LAE), the national criminal justice association. LAE introduces students to the criminal justice system and to employment opportunities, and it also offers excellent networking with practitioner members. Alpha Phi Sigma is the national honor society for criminal justice majors. The society recognizes scholastic excellence by undergraduate and graduate students in criminal justice.

B.S., Criminal Justice Courses Criminology Concentration

Curriculum

Course	Credits
General Education Courses	40 or 41
Building a Sense of Community UNI 100 First-Year Seminar	1
Composition ENG 101 English Composition I	3
Public Speaking Any Public Speaking Course	3
Mathematics and Quantitative Literacy Any Mathematics and Quantitative Literacy Course	3
Health and Wellness Any Health and Wellness Course	3
Technological Literacy Any Technological Literacy Course	3
Humanities Any Humanities Course	3
Fine Arts Any Fine Arts Course	3
Natural Sciences Any Natural Sciences Course	3 or 4
Social Sciences Any Social Science Course	3
General Education Options Any Ethics and Multicultural Awareness Emphasis Course Any Technological Literacy Course Any General Education Courses (two courses)	12

Required Major Courses	33
JUS 101 Intro to Criminal Justice Studies	3
JUS 102 Intro to Law Enforcement	3
JUS 103 Correctional Systems	3
JUS 331 Juvenile Justice	3
JUS 361 Court Systems	3
JUS 375 Criminal Law	3
JUS 376 Criminal Procedure	3
JUS 466 Leadership and Ethics in Criminal Justice	3
JUS 495 Research Methods in Criminal Justice	3
JUS 496 Criminological Theory	3
JUS 499 Seminar in Criminal Justice Studies	3

Concentration Courses	6
JUS 215 Victimology	3
JUS 459 Behavioral Analysis of Violent Crime	3

Related Electives	15
Select 15 credits from the following: JUS 201 Criminal Investigation (3 credits) JUS 211 Organized Crime (3 credits) JUS 309 White Collar Crime (3 credits) JUS 385 Violence and the Media (3 credits) JUS 395 Death Penalty (3 credits) JUS 399 Selected Topics (Criminology) (3 credits) JUS 429 Terrorism (3 credits) JUS 430 Criminal Intelligence Analysis (3 credits) GIS 303 Crime Mapping (3 credits) JUS 460 Sex Crimes and Predators (3 credits) JUS 470 Crimes Against Children (3 credits) JUS 498 Criminology Internship (3-12 credits)	15

Additional Electives	25 or 26

Total	120

Additional requirements, not counted toward the General Education requirements, include:

Special Experience Course (1 course required): JUS 499 Seminar in Justice Studies
Writing-Intensive Component Courses (2 courses required): Any two JUS approved Writing-Intensive Menu courses
Laboratory Course (1 course required): Any Laboratory Course

Program Notes: 42 credits (or 14 courses) of upper-division (300- or 400-level) courses are REQUIRED. Any related electives not listed must be approved by adviser.

B.S., Criminal Justice Concentration and Minors

Minors

Minor in criminal justice

Take two required courses (6 credits) plus five Justice electives (15 credits)
Minor in forensic science

Take four required courses (12 credits) plus three Justice electives (9 credits)

Concentrations

Criminology Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Degree Criminal Justice

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