Criminal Justice B.S., Law Enforcement and Homeland Security Concentration

The Law Enforcement and Homeland Security concentration is designed to provide Criminal Justice majors with a more in-depth and focused understanding of contemporary issues and problems in law enforcement and homeland security. This concentration will be particularly relevant for students who are interested in pursuing careers in law enforcement and those who are interested in understanding the balance between public safety and civil rights and liberties. The concentration is open to all Criminal Justice majors.

Requirements for the Criminal Justice Major

The Criminal Justice major consists of 42 credits. All students must complete at least 21 credits of Criminal Justice coursework at Westfield State University. There are six required courses in the major (Major Core) that comprise 18 of the 42 required credits. All Criminal Justice majors must complete the Major Core courses with a minimum grade point average of 2.5, and no grade in any of the Major Core courses may be below a C-. Students may repeat any of these courses in order to meet this requirement, in accordance with the University’s Course Repeat Policy.

Students are not required to take a concentration for the Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Degree
Students may take only one concentration for the Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Degree, even if they have completed the coursework for more than one concentration

Major Core Courses

CRJU 0101 - Introduction to Criminal Justice Credits: 3
CRJU 0121 - Theories of Crime Credits: 3
CRJU 0201 - Law Enforcement and Society Credits: 3
CRJU 0202 - Introduction to Corrections Credits: 3
CRJU 0205 - American Judicial System Credits: 3
CRJU 0231 - Research Methods in Criminal Justice Credits: 3
ENGLISH

Criminal Justice Majors must take ENGL 0204 - Composition II: Rhetoric and Research (3 credits), preferably during their Sophomore year.

Requirements for Law Enforcement and Homeland Security Concentration

UPPER-DIVISION ELECTIVES

Students choose upper-level electives in the major to complete 21 credits for the major, 18 of these upper-division elective credits must be from the courses listed below, to complete the 42-credit requirement. Students may take any other 3 upper-division credit Criminal Justice elective to complete the 21-credit upper-division credit requirement for the major.

CRJU 0302 - Criminal Law Credits: 3
CRJU 0305 - Principles of Evidence and Proof Credits: 3
CRJU 0307 - Contemporary Problems in Law Enforcement Credits: 3
CRJU 0309 - Principles of Criminal Investigation Credits: 3
CRJU 0312 - Women in the Criminal Justice System Credits: 3
CRJU 0316 - Civil Liabilities of Criminal Justice Professionals Credits: 3
CRJU 0317 - Evolution of American Law Enforcement Credits: 3
CRJU 0322 - Youth Gangs Credits: 3
CRJU 0326 - Planned Change in Criminal Justice Credits: 3
CRJU 0327 - Race and Ethnicity in the Criminal Justice System Credits: 3
CRJU 0328 - Computer Application in Crime Analysis Credits: 3
CRJU 0330 - Criminal Justice Administration Credits: 3
CRJU 0333 - Terrorism Credits: 3
CRJU 0336 - Supervisory Practices in Law Enforcement Credits: 3
CRJU 0337 - Criminal Justice Ethics Credits: 3
Any CRJU Special Topics course with content appropriate to Law Enforcement and Homeland Security
CRJU 0359 - Geographic Information Systems Applications in Crime Analysis Credits: 3
CRJU 0365 - Evidence-Based Crime Policy Credits: 3
CRJU 0398 - Field Practicum in Criminal Justice Credits: 3-6 (must be Law Enforcement/Homeland Security related; up to 3 credits may be applied to the concentration)
CRJU 0399 - Independent Study Credits: 3-6 (must be Law Enforcement/Homeland Security related; up to 3 credits may be applied to the concentration)
Students may petition the department chair to apply relevant courses from other majors to be applied to Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement and Homeland Security Concentration.

Additional Graduation Requirements

All students must meet the University Graduation Requirements and complete a general education or common core of studies, distributed among the different academic areas as detailed in General Education: WISE or Common Core .