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CRJU Course Descriptions

View the schedule of classes to determine course offerings by semester.

  • CRJU 501 Professional Skills in Criminal Justice (3)
    Focuses on professional skills that will prepare students for graduate-level coursework and for future employment. Includes navigating criminal justice databases, interpreting empirical research, writing in a technical style, creating an effective PowerPoint document and strengthening oral presentation skills. Relies on a combination of group and individual exercises in both traditional lecture format and hands-on workshops to address each skill set. Pass/fail grading; to earn a passing grade, students must earn a B or better in this course.

  • CRJU 601 Crime and Policy Development (3)

    Addresses the issue of how crime is measured in the United States and discusses why certain crimes capture the attention of lawmakers and the public more than do others. Examines why lawmakers have adopted certain responses to address crime and critically evaluates whether such strategies are effective in reducing crime. Students research best practices within the field and are introduced to different analytical techniques to evaluate quantitative crime data.
  • CRJU 602 Research Techniques in Criminal Justice (3)
    Provides knowledge of and experience with the methods used in studying social science problems. Emphasis is on research, designs and instruments and policy implications. Critical and analytical skills are developed for use in future research and proposal writing. This course is a prerequisite for CRJU 603.
  • CRJU 603 Criminal Justice Statistics (3)
    Provides knowledge of and experience with the statistics used in studying criminal justice problems. Second semester of a two-part course focusing on the application of statistical methods used in the preparation and evaluation of formal research reports. Required for all criminal justice students. prerequisite: CRJU 602
  • CRJU 605 Graduate Internship (3)
    An opportunity to work 80 hours in a selected agency, institution or office within the criminal justice field. A journal and a research paper are required. Eligible for continuing studies grade. prerequisite: permission of program director
  • CRJU 606 Contemporary Criminal Court Issues (3)
    In-depth analysis of selected current issues pertaining to criminal court systems. Focuses on the current research literature and considers the operational consequences of alternative responses to the issues discussed.
  • CRJU 608 Juvenile Justice (3)
    Overview of the history, legal and philosophical bases, procedures and structures of juvenile justice and related issues. Provides insight into the foundation of the juvenile justice system.
  • CRJU 610 Administration of Justice (3)
    Analysis of the major conceptions of justice and the ways these conceptions affect the manner in which social and legal systems are constituted. Examines theoretical perspectives with a view to understanding the relationships between various institutions and the administration of justice. Presents a comparative and historical focus on local, national and international systems of justice.
  • CRJU 611 Contemporary Corrections (3)
    Examination of the historical and contemporary structure, theory research, problems and solutions in connection with corrections in the United States. Classic and current research and theory are emphasized.
  • CRJU 631 Police and Society (3)
    Analysis of what the police do and why they do it, and the effects of their actions on society. The social and political context of police functioning is examined through current theory and research. Major social science works on the police institution and police behavior are emphasized.
  • CRJU 632 Policing Special Populations (3)
    Examines the research literature related to the special populations and groups of people that the police organization is mandated to manage based on statutory law, operating policies and procedures, and tradition and custom. Helps students understand how and why police intervene in the way that they do with some subgroups within the broader population.
  • CRJU 633 Race/Ethnicity and Gender Issues in Law Enforcement (3)
    Examines the research literature related to the impact of race/ethnicity and gender on the police organization. Examines the various ways that a suspect’s or victim’s race/ethnicity or gender creates problems and makes it difficult for the police organization to effectively meet the law enforcement needs of a particular community.
  • CRJU 635 Youth Problems in Society (3)
    Discusses the role of demographics, developmental issues, family, school, peers and individual roles in youth behavior. Analyzes the major studies and theoretical foundations of juvenile delinquency and identifies and analyzes the current solutions implemented at both system and community levels. Reviews best practices in the control and prevention of juvenile delinquency.
  • CRJU 640 Managing Police Organizations (3)
    Application of managerial and administrative practices to police agencies. Emphasis on executive processes, including planning, decision-making, implementation and evaluation, structuring discretion, providing leadership and dealing with corruption and other abuses. An examination of the role of the police administrator in the community and the governmental structure.
  • CRJU 642 Managing Correctional Organizations (3)
    Application of managerial and administrative practices to correctional agencies, focusing on the particular problems encountered in managing such agencies. Emphasis is on executive processes, including planning, decision-making, implementation and evaluation. Problems specific to secure facilities, probation, parole and community corrections are considered.
  • CRJU 645 Constitutional Law (3)
    Examines the constitutional system of the United States, the judicial function, separation of powers, problems of federalism, procedural and substantive due process, constitutional protection of individual rights including rights of persons accused of crime, freedom of speech and freedom of religion.
  • CRJU 702 The Victim: Crime, Victims and Society (3)
    Analysis of crime and social reaction from the point of view of the offended. Focuses on the relatively recent emphasis on how crime creates problems for those victimized by criminals and analysis of whole populations victimized by persons known to them. Includes an analysis of the idea of restitution.
  • CRJU 703 Seminar in Criminal Justice (3)
    Seminar devoted to a particular topic related to research, theory and/or applications in criminal justice. Sample topics include qualitative research in criminal justice, community crime prevention and juvenile justice history. May be repeated for credit when the topic changes. no prerequisite unless listed in the schedule of classes

  • CRJU 704 Best Practices in Victim Services (3)

    Introduces the emerging field of victim services in context with the underlying legal structure of crime victims' rights. The impact of the legal structure of crime victims' rights has influenced both formal and informal responses to crime victims' needs. A thorough analysis of the system of services, both within the criminal justice system and through other allied professions, is examined. Best practices in victim assistance programs—from law enforcement through the courts and corrections systems to financial remedies, community-based advocacy, and treatment and support services—are also examined.
  • CRJU 707 Community Corrections (3)
    Analysis of the types, procedures, problems, theories and evaluation of supervision of adults and juveniles in the various forms of community-based corrections. Students will be responsible for understanding classic and contemporary research on this subject matter.
  • CRJU 710 Advanced Criminology (3)
    Studies of classical and contemporary theories of criminal behavior. Causal and noncausal models of criminological theory. Cultural components of crime peculiar to the 20th century are examined. Also considers the contributions of modern psychology and sociology to criminological analysis.
  • CRJU 711 Criminal Justice Planning/Systems Applications (3)
    Application of planning theory and techniques to the criminal justice system as well as to agency-specific problems. Emphasizes problem identification, goal setting, forecasting and the selection of alternative courses of action. Students become familiar with computerized data analysis and simulation applied within the context of criminal justice planning. prerequisite: CRJU 603
  • CRJU 712 Seminar in Law Enforcement (3)
    Evaluation of police problems of crime control, prevention and maintenance of order. Review of latest research on the effects of police policies, programs and practices.
  • CRJU 713 Seminar in Judicial Administration (3)
    Evaluation of management problems relating to courts and the role of court functions and personnel. 
  • CRJU 715 Directed Studies/Readings in Criminal Justice (1-3)
    Designed to give the graduate student academic flexibility. Eligible for continuing studies grades. prerequisite: permission of program director
  • CRJU 720 Integration of Criminal Justice Policies and Practices (3)
    Seminar that helps students learn how theory and action are integrated into policy and practice. Students develop a profile of crime at the national and local levels and compare and contrast those trends from an empirical as well as theoretical perspective. They then identify emerging policies or issues that have a direct effect on the efficiency of the criminal justice system as a whole as well as within their area of specialization (law enforcement, courts and law, corrections or juvenile justice) and develop a series of action plans to address those issues.
  • CRJU 798 Continuous Enrollment (1)
    Provides continuing faculty direction, academic support services and enrollment services for students who have completed all course requirements for the degree but have not completed a thesis or final project. Students continue the independent work leading to finishing the thesis or final project that is significantly under way. Course may be repeated for credit as needed. Eligible for continuing studies (CS) grade; otherwise grading is pass/fail. prerequisite: completion of all course requirements for the degree program
  • CRJU 799 Thesis (3-6)
    Supervised preparation of an original work displaying research and writing skills. 6 hours, plus defense. Students may register for 3 hours in each of two semesters or 6 hours in one semester. Eligible for continuing studies (CS) grade; otherwise grading is pass/fail. prerequisite: permission of program director