Criminal Justice

Curriculum

As an interdisciplinary study, criminal justice combines sociology, psychology, forensic science, legal studies, philosophy, political science and urban studies, and tries to identify and explain patterns of criminal behavior. As a criminal justice major, you have the opportunity to pick between one of four tracks:

• Law Enforcement
• Community Corrections
• Forensic Studies
• Criminology

The law enforcement concentration is for students who wish to pursue a career in a variety of state and local law enforcement agencies. You will study topics ranging from juvenile delinquency to criminology to family violence. The applied criminal justice concentration is designed for those interested in pursuing a career in corrections, probation, or parole. Those who choose this track will take courses involving drugs and crime, behavior and society, among a variety of others. 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROGRAM LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will demonstrate effective. . .

• Oral communication through the presentation of an academic research project in the major; 
• Research design based on acceptable standards of the discipline;
• Analysis which takes into account the interdisciplinary nature of the work in criminal justice;
• Written communication as demonstrated in the senior culminating project paper;
• Synthesis of disciplinary theory and perspectives into the research project.

Careers

What can you do with a criminal justice major? As the criminal justice system continues to grow and become more sophisticated, opportunities for meaningful work, including graduate study, are projected to be abundant in the years to come. Mount Union’s criminal justice program can prepare you to join any number of branches that exist within this interesting and growing field.

Experiential Learning

Being a criminal justice major at the University of Mount Union, students have an opportunity to study Crime Investigation.  This is a course specifically designed to enable students to experience the role they may have as first responders when they enter the professional world.

The course makes use of a number of practical assessments to examine the student’s knowledge and understanding.  These experiences have included: 

• Mock Road Traffic Crash
• Mock Burglary Scene
• Crime Office 

Criminal justice majors also have the chance to participate in internships to gain “real world” experience and allow them to apply their learning beyond the classroom.