Criminal Justice

Stephen Owen*, Chairperson

http://www.radford.edu/criminal-justice

Undergraduate Program

Criminal justice involves the study of crime from a systems perspective. Far from being a narrowly-defined law enforcement or correctional program, criminal justice is an interdisciplinary and professionally-oriented academic discipline concentrating on many aspects of crime and the concepts that impact on our system of justice. Accordingly, to prepare students for the various positions within criminal justice as well as graduate school, the program seeks to develop a broad foundation of knowledge pertaining to crime and its ancillary issues.

The curriculum for criminal justice majors is interdisciplinary in nature and includes courses that will provide students with the research and analytical skills necessary for understanding the nature of justice and the issues that affect its implementation. Majors may pursue either a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree.

The program also offers two minors. While emphasizing mastery of a student’s primary field of study, both minors allow the student the opportunity to explore a variety of issues related to criminal justice. The Minor in Criminal Justice allows for the interdisciplinary study of the intersection of a student’s primary discipline with issues pertaining to criminal justice. The Interdisciplinary Minor in Forensic Studies is designed to provide a background in criminal investigation, criminal evidence, and criminalistics, including their relationships to the criminal justice system. The minors complement majors in the liberal arts disciplines as well as professional fields such as Business, Nursing, and Social Work.

Criminal Justice courses offered by the community colleges may substitute for various courses in the criminal justice major at Radford. A maximum of 18 hours transfer credit may be applied toward the major. A minimum of 18 hours of course work with CRJU prefixes must be taken at Radford University.

Declaring a Major in Criminal Justice

During their first 45 credit hours at Radford University, students wishing to declare a major in Criminal Justice will be designated as Criminal Justice Pre-Majors. In order to declare a criminal justice major, students must have completed at least 45 credit hours at Radford University with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.25. 

Internship Program

The criminal justice major offers an internship program (CRJU 484 ) that may be taken during the junior or senior year. Requirements for the course are: completion of at least 21 hours in the criminal justice major; a 2.5 grade point average overall and in the major; and departmental approval. The internship program offers 6 to 15 hours of credit. CRJU 484 credit hours are not counted toward the major, however, they will count toward the student’s overall credit hours for graduation.

Honors Program

For a general description of the Honors Program at Radford, see here . For specific requirements of the departmental honors program, contact the director of the Honors Academy.

Academic Programs

Criminal Justice, B.A.  

Criminal Justice, B.S.  

Criminal Justice Minor  

Forensic Studies Interdisciplinary Minor  

Graduate Program

The graduate program in criminal justice allows students to prepare for management and other careers in criminal justice and related fields. The program leads to the Master of Arts or the Master of Science degree in criminal justice. A post-baccalaureate certificate in Crime Analysis is also available. For more information, consult the Radford University Graduate Catalog.