Criminal Justice Studies
Bachelor of Science
Quick Facts
Top 3%
Online Bachelor's
Program in the Nation
- U.S. News & World Report, 2025
TOP 25
Public Flagship
University
- U.S. News & World Report, 2024
Earn a degree that explores the criminal justice system and how it works to uphold the law. The Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Studies provides the foundation to understand how to keep societies safe while advancing justice and equality.
This program begins with traditional public administration courses that impart skills in leadership, ethics, and public management. You will explore the core criminal justice institutions – police, courts, and corrections – and examine how these institutions interact with public policy and society. Throughout the program, courses examine inequalities and how to address them across the criminal justice system.
The Criminal Justice Studies program graduates are well-positioned for careers within law enforcement, courts, corrections, and the larger public and nonprofit sectors. Completing this degree will prepare you to think critically in an increasingly complex and politicized society.
This College of Social and Behavioral Sciences major requires a minor (or double major).
Completing an internship is required as part of this degree program. This internship may be completed virtually or in person.
*Residents of some U.S. Territories may not be eligible. Please see our Eligibility & State Authorization page for more information.
The core curriculum for this program includes:
This course offers a general survey of the constitutional bases, organization, and functioning of the American national government.
Examine the theory and practice of executive agencies, including policy making, additional functions and processes, personnel and fiscal management, and administrative law.
Explore the theory and practice of criminal justice organizations, including police, courts, and correctional institutions.
This is an applied ethics course that allows you to view the systems and issues within it from the basic philosophical positions of teleology, deontology, and virtues ethics. Using those frameworks allows you to view ethical issues from the basic ethical standing points.
This course provides an exploration of public organization theory and behavior in the context of issues confronting upper echelon public administrators on local, state, and federal levels.
Outcomes
Skills
Earning your Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Studies will build core skills, including:
- Communication
- Critical thinking
- Digital literacy
- Ethical decision making
- Problem solving
- Professionalism
- Research
- Self-motivation
- Time management
- Work ethic
Potential Career Paths
Graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Studies program will be prepared to pursue the following careers:
