UIS Graduate and Undergraduate Catalog
Academic Year 2006 - 2007

CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Bachelor of Arts, Graduate Concentration within the Master of Public Administration degree, Undergraduate Minor

Faculty Leanne Brecklin, Barbara Hayler, Beverly Rivera, Ryan Williams
Adjunct Faculty Chris Bolinger, Jonna Cooley, Robert Jones, Steve Kossman, Bruce Liebe

Contact: (217) 206-6301
crj@uis.edu or www.uis.edu/criminaljustice

In the Peoria area, contact the UIS office at Illinois Central College at (309) 694-5546.

Criminal justice is an interdisciplinary field that studies crime and the ways society responds to crime. The criminal justice curriculum examines the nature and causes of crime, the purposes and activities of the criminal justice system, and the impact of crime on victims and society. Since crime is a social problem, many courses include the study of community-based programs and social service agencies as well as the components of the criminal justice system. The criminal justice department, located within the College of Public Affairs and Administration, emphasizes the study of public policy and change efforts as an essential part of its curriculum. Students have the opportunity to participate in public affairs research projects conducted by department faculty.  

The criminal justice degree program is designed for students interested in the general study of crime and the administration of justice and those pursuing professional careers in criminal justice or related fields. The degree also prepares students for entrance into graduate or professional schools in criminal justice, law, public administration, social work, and the social sciences. Graduate study in criminal justice is available at UIS through the public administration department, which offers a concentration in criminal justice.

The criminal justice major provides an integrated program of study that emphasizes problem-solving and analytical skills, an approach favored by many criminal justice agencies and employers. The curriculum reflects the multidisciplinary character of the field, drawing on a variety of liberal arts and professional areas of expertise. Faculty associated with the department have degrees in fields such as criminal justice, criminology, law, political science, psychology, and sociology. Student majors take a core curriculum that familiarizes them with a range of perspectives, methods, and content areas of the criminal justice field. They may use their electives to take additional courses or to minor in another field. Majors also have the opportunity to study abroad.

All majors participate in experiential learning through the UIS applied study term program. Students have the opportunity to work with state agencies and training centers as well as local criminal justice and social service agencies. Students with extensive career experience may meet this requirement through the credit for prior learning program or may petition to substitute public affairs colloquia and liberal studies colloquia in the UIS requirement. 

THE BACHELOR'S DEGREE
Entrance Requirements
Students who have been admitted to UIS and who have a grade-point average of 2.50 on a 4.00 scale qualify for admission to the criminal justice program. Students admitted to UIS with a GPA below 2.50 may be granted conditional admission to the major, which permits enrollment in up to 12 semester hours of adviser-approved courses during the first semester. The final decision on admission to the major for conditionally admitted students is made after completion of 8 to 12 hours at UIS. 

Program Requirements
Core Courses
CRJ 309 Administration of Justice  4 Hrs.
CRJ 311 Law and Legal Processes  4 Hrs.
Core course in policing or corrections  4 Hrs.
   (either CRJ 312 Policing in America or CRJ 313 Correctional
    Systems)
CRJ 345 Research Methods in Criminal Justice  4 Hrs.
CRJ 421 Criminological Theory   4 Hrs.
CRJ 489 Senior Seminar  4 Hrs.

CRJ electives  16 Hrs.
(up to 8 Hrs. may be taken at the lower-division level; see
    “Transfer Courses” below)

Total CRJ hours   40 Hrs. 

Upper-division general electives   8 Hrs.
(non-CRJ courses selected by student) 

UIS requirements
(See “UIS Requirements” in the Bachelor’s Degree General
   Information section of this catalog. Must include 8 hours of
   AST)  12 Hrs.

Total    60 Hrs. 

Grading Policy
Criminal justice majors must receive a grade of C or better in all required core courses.  

Transfer Courses
Upper-division courses are evaluated for transfer on a case-by-case basis. The department will accept up to eight hours of lower-division criminal justice courses with grades of B or better in partial satisfaction of the CRJ electives requirement. Acceptance of these credits allows students to substitute general electives for CRJ electives, but does not reduce the total number of required upper-division hours.  

Computer Competence
Students must demonstrate competence in the use of computers for word processing, database, and spreadsheet applications by taking an approved lower-division course or CSC 318 Computer Literacy at UIS or by successfully completing the department's competency-based exam process. 

Communication Skills
To satisfy the UIS communication skills requirement, students prepare a portfolio of written work from 300-level core courses with final assessment occurring in the senior seminar. 

THE MINOR IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE
CRJ 309 Administration of Justice  4 Hrs.

One of the following CRJ core courses:
CRJ 311 Law and Legal Processes
CRJ 312 Policing in America
CRJ 313 Correctional Systems  4 Hrs.

Two criminal justice elective courses  8 Hrs.

Total  16 Hrs.

Up to four hours of upper-division CRJ electives may be accepted as transfer credit through the student petition process. 

GRADUATE STUDIES IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE
UIS offers a concentration in criminal justice as part of the M.P.A. degree offered by the public administration department. This is a 48-hour degree program and includes 16 hours of specialized criminal justice graduate courses. Applications for this degree program should be submitted to the public administration (PAD) department.