Criminal Justice

Undergraduate

Riane M. Bolin*, 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 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 four minors. While emphasizing mastery of a student’s primary field of study, the 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 Minor in Crime Analysis and Criminal Intelligence prepares students for a career analyzing crime, disorder, and victimization for law enforcement agencies, government agencies, non-profits, or private companies. The Interdisciplinary Minor in Conservation Law Enforcement is designed to allow students from a variety of majors to learn about issues surrounding wildlife crime and law enforcement. 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 minimum of 18 hours of course work with CRJU prefixes must be taken at Radford University.

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 College.

Graduate

Riane Bolin, Department Chair
Roberto Santos, Graduate Program Coordinator

Graduate Program

The graduate program in criminal justice allows students to prepare for careers in criminal justice and related fields. The program is designed both to enhance students’ existing capabilities and to develop unique competencies and skills for future academic and career goals.

Admission Requirements

Minimum 2.90 grade point average required for admission. Applicants interested in applying to the graduate programs in criminal justice should review information on the Department of Criminal Justice website here.

Required application materials include:

Official transcripts for all college courses and degrees
Letter of interest describing the applicant’s personal career goals and reasons for pursuing graduate study
Optional: resume, letter of reference, writing sample

Applicants who wish to be considered for funding for Fall semesters (when those opportunities begin) should submit applications by March 1st.

Applications will not be reviewed until transcripts and letter of interest are complete. Please refer here for application deadlines.

Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice

Exceptional undergraduate students at Radford University may complete requirements for baccalaureate and master’s degrees in five years. Successful applicants for the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in Criminal Justice must have a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.50.

For more information, contact the Department of Criminal Justice, the Graduate Admissions Office or consult the web at: https://www.radford.edu/admissions/graduate/index.html.

In addition to the programs below, students may consider the Forensic Studies Interdisciplinary Minor (R, L) .

Programs

Degree

*Programs may have different REAL designations based on the concentration(s) selected. Click on the major for more details.

Academic Minor

To graduate with a minor, a student must have a 2.0 or higher GPA in all courses required for the minor, and should be officially registered for the minor at least one semester prior to graduation. Courses used to fulfill major or minor requirements cannot be used to fulfill concentrations or option requirements within Interdisciplinary Studies.

Master’s

A degree represents the academic level of a program and the general category into which it falls. For example: Master of Arts, Master of Science, etc. At Radford University, the term “Arts” in a graduate degree generally implies a language and thesis requirement. The minimum number of semester hours for a Radford University graduate degree is 30.

Criminal Justice, M.S.

Certificate

The Post-Baccalaureate Certificate is generally a series of 15-18 hours of graduate level coursework related to a focused academic topic or competency area. A Post-Baccalaureate Certificate may enhance the education of matriculated (degree seeking) students as well as provide continuing education to non-matriculated (non-degree seeking) students, generally in a specialized or emerging field.

Crime Analysis Certificate