Built on our strong liberal arts foundation, Rockhurst University’s Bachelors in Criminal Justice introduces students to the complexity of our nation’s criminal justice system.
Program Overview
Built on our strong liberal arts foundation, Rockhurst University’s Bachelor's in Criminal Justice introduces students to the complexity of our nation’s criminal justice system. As a criminal justice major, you’ll explore the causes and prevention of criminal behavior, as well as gain expertise on the meaning and application of the legal process, law enforcement, court management, and correctional treatment.
We aim to be one of the best colleges for criminal justice degrees in Kansas City, and we do so by fostering a humanistic understanding of the study of crime and the criminal justice system. Our criminal justice program emphasizes critical thinking, application and analysis, and is structured to prepare students for graduate programs in criminal justice and related social science fields, as well as preparation for law school or direct entry into one of many fulfilling criminal justice jobs. Graduates go on to find success in criminal justice careers as competent, effective and compassionate leaders.
What is criminal justice?
Criminal justice is a growing field that spans everything from law enforcement to the court system to the justice administration. With a need for increased security across the globe, criminal justice degree graduates are in high demand. Criminal justice jobs are a good fit for those looking for a rewarding career while also giving back to their communities.
Learning Outcomes
Criminal justice degree program graduates will be able to:
- Identify the three primary components of the criminal justice system
- Develop critical thinking skills
- Describe empirically supported correlates of criminal behavior
- Compare rationales for punishment
- Compare criminological theories
Program Outcomes
What can you do with a criminal justice degree? Graduates go on to pursue criminal justice degree jobs in areas such as:
- Law
- Federal or local law enforcement
- Research
Criminal justice degree requirements
The major requires the successful completion of no less than 43 semester credit hours of required coursework, which includes an internship and capstone. Also required are the RU core coursework and 12 semester hours of related upper-division courses chosen under the direction of the major advisor. Successful completion of the Criminal Justice program will require a criminal background check prior to placement in an internship. The presence of any criminal conviction on a student’s record may affect their eligibility for participating in the internship and/or securing a job in the student’s field.
Crime Scene Investigator
FBI Agent
Police Detective
Probation Officer
Security Manager
Forensic Psychologist
Correctional Officer
Private Investigator
Course Map
Degree and class descriptions and requirements can be found by clicking on the course catalog listings below:
Popular Courses
This is an introductory survey course providing an overview of the contemporary criminal justice system. The various fields of study, including corrections, crime, law, procedures, and law enforcement are introduced in this course.
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior. Criminological research areas include the incidence and forms of crime as well as its causes and consequences. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in the behavioral sciences, drawing especially on the research of sociology, psychology and law. Criminological Theory is introduced to explore the nature and causes of crime, typologies, offenders and victims.
The history, theory, subculture, and practice of law enforcement agencies and organizations are reviewed in this course. Law enforcement constitutes one aspect of policing activity. Policing covers an array of activities in different situations, including the preservation of order.
This course explores the scientific literature on psychopathy and its applications in clinical and criminal justice settings. Emphasis is placed on a critical examination of the evolving conceptualization of psychopathy; the measurement of psychopathy; the interaction of biological, psychological, and environmental factors in the development and expression of psychopathy; treatment of psychopathy, and implications of research on psychopathy for criminal justice policy and practice. Students will synthesize, evaluate, and apply research on psychopathy in discussions and written assignments.
Degree Info
- Internships
- Capstone projects
- Instruction from faculty with experience working in criminal justice careers
Midwest Innocence Project
Rockhurst University partners with the Midwest Innocence Project (MIP) to allow Rockhurst criminal justice students to participate in actual criminal case reviews. Students are assigned a criminal case to examine, looking for issues of innocence concerning an incarcerated person. These students are responsible for reviewing the case file, including investigative reports, witness statements, laboratory findings, trial transcripts, and appellate decisions.
Instances have occurred in which a convicted individual has been exonerated due to the discovery the individual is innocent, and each individual claiming his or her innocence must file an application for innocence with the MIP. The semester-long project culminates in producing a paper and an oral presentation to the MIP board describing issues of innocence identified by the students and recommendations that MIP will use to determine whether they will further pursue an attempt to exonerate the individual.
The criminal justice curriculum centers on fundamental aspects of the criminal justice system, including the review of a crime's elements, the necessary and appropriate procedures utilized by law enforcement officials and court personnel, and the appropriate adjudication of the offense. The academic coursework focuses on textbooks and historical Supreme Court cases to identify and reinforce relevant topics.
In the News:
Innocence Project Course Gives Students New Perspective on Criminal Justice System
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