Criminal Justice Courses

CJ 501 - Sem in Police and Law Enf
Hours: 3
Seminar in Policing and Law Enforcement This course is an advanced approach to policing and law enforcement. The focus of the class will be on the operations and functioning of policing and law enforcement departments at the local, state and federal levels. The course will examine related areas such as personnel, practices, procedures and issues in policing and law enforcement. This course will investigate additional areas such as use of technology in policing, police subculture and community policing.

CJ 505 - Terrorism
Hours: 3
Terrorism - Three semester hours This course will provide a theoretical and empirical explanation of terrorism. It will identify various forms and typologies of terrorist activities, their consequences and preventive measures, particularly those that are relevant to the criminal justice system in the United States.

CJ 514 - Family Violence
Hours: 3
Family Violence. Three semester hours. (Same as SOC 514) A thorough and critical examination of family violence from a sociological perspective. Topics include the meaning, nature, and types of family violence; biological, psychological, anthropological, and sociological theories which attempt to explain hostility, aggression, and violence among intimate people; the philosophy of non-violence; the consequences of violence; and preventive measures and strategies for dealing with violence in the family. Although the course focuses on the American family, illustrations of family violence from other cultures are provided.

CJ 515 - Homeland Security
Hours: 3
Homeland Security - An introduction to various aspects of terrorism and homeland security as both affect the United States today. Much of the focus will be the problems and challenges stemming from 9/11 that create today's world situation. To understand what is going on currently we will examine the historical context of terrorism, national security, emergency management and civil liberties.

CJ 516 - Counterintelligence
Hours: 3
This course will introduce the students to the concept of counterintelligence (CI) and its importance in the U.S. today. This course will examine various aspects of CI including what is CI, CI operations (both offensive and defensive), case studies, and CI in the age of the internet.

CJ 520 - CJ Admin and Mgmt
Hours: 3
Criminal Justice Administration and Management This course will provide students with a conceptual and theoretical foundation upon which to study criminal justice administration and management through critical evaluation and application of the research literature to present-day criminal justice challenges and concerns.

CJ 525 - Red Teaming
Hours: 3
Red teaming is the process of viewing a problem from the perspective of an adversary or competitor in order to serve as a complement to security, vulnerability, risk and strategy assessments. This course will provide students with experience in thinking like an adversary, while also examining the principals, goals, challenges and constraints of red teaming.

CJ 530 - Seminar in Criminology
Hours: 3
Seminar in Criminology - Three semester hours This course examines crime and delinquency in America from several theoretical perspectives. The course provides an in-depth investigation into major criminological theories that explain the causation, occurrence and development of criminal behavior. A wide spectrum of criminological theories are introduced, applied and critiqued in this course.

CJ 531 - Issues in Crim Law and Courts
Hours: 3
Issues in Criminal Law and Courts - Three semester hours The course will focus on critical thinking related to issues concerning principles of criminal law and court procedures as well as selected practices particularly relevant to the United States. Issues will include: justice for all, freedom and privacy of the individual, cruel and unusual punishment, use of deadly force in law enforcement, trial by jury, election of judges and morality and the law.

CJ 532 - Juvenile Delinquency
Hours: 3
The class will consider the subject of juvenile delinquency from various perspectives including psychological, physiological and sociological. Particular attention will be paid to the role of family, the school, and the peer group in promoting delinquency. This course will provide students with the tools to analyze and evaluate juvenile justice policies and programs. The course will explore various topics such as the nature and extent of delinquency, theories of delinquency, research on the causes of delinquency,and strategies for controlling and preventing juvenile delinquency.

CJ 533 - Gender and Crime
Hours: 3
This course is designed to explore the important and under-studied intersection between gender/women and crime. We will explore the nature and extent of women as victims, offenders, and workers in the criminal justice system. This course will also allow students to become familiar with criminological theories as they relate to women.

CJ 534 - Drugs and Society
Hours: 3
Our focus in the course will be on the social reality of drug use and drug users within contemporary society. It will include a historical analysis of the social construction of drug use, drug users, abuse, and addiction. We will be investigating the complex relationships between individual and group behavior, and social structure. Central concepts such as social learning, labeling, power, and inequality, as well as socio-cultural definitions of drugs, behavior, and the people who use drugs will be the tools of our analysis. Special attention will be given to the complex legal history surrounding drug use, the link between drugs and crime, the impact of the medicalization of human behavior, and varying perspectives on doing something about drugs.

CJ 565 - Offender Reentry
Hours: 3
Offender Reentry - Three semester hours Offender reentry is the process of transition of offenders from prisons/jail to the community. The class will provide students with an in-depth analysis of issues impacting offender reentry, including employment, access to various forms of treatment, family reunification, housing issues as well as barriers and impediments to offender reentry.

CJ 568 - Seminar in Corrections
Hours: 3
Seminar in Corrections. Three semester hours. A study of popular issues in community-based and institutional corrections with emphasis on organizational goal setting and achievement, program evaluation, client supervision, agency administration, and problem solving. An analysis of current research and its applicability to the criminal justice system and society will be performed.

CJ 575 - Research Methods in CJ
Hours: 3
This course will provide students with the fundamentals of conducting and evaluating research in criminal justice. Topics include: defining research problems, ethics in criminal justice research, selecting and measuring variables, stating hypotheses, sampling, and developing experimental research design.

CJ 576 - Data Analysis and Interpretation
Hours: 3
This course continues students’ exploration of research in criminal justice. In this course, students are exposed to different methods of data collection and the principles of data analysis. Emphasis will also be placed on teaching students how to interpret data as presented in published reports, articles, and books. Prerequisites: CJ 575.

CJ 577 - CJ Planning and Eval
Hours: 3
Criminal Justice Planning and Evaluation - Three semester hours The class will acquaint students with scientific techniques used for analyzing criminal justice problems and developing solutions. This course will provide students with the tools to analyze and evaluate criminal justice policies and programs.

CJ 583 - Criminal Justice Policy
Hours: 3
Criminal Justice Policy - Three semester hours This course will evaluate various policy dimensions of crime and criminal justice. Students will learn the process through which policy is made, will critically evaluate current criminal justice policies and will study the impact of policy decisions on criminal justice practice.

CJ 589 - Independent Studies
Hours: 1-4
Independent Study - Hours: One to four Individualized instruction/research at an advanced level in a specialized content area under the direction of a faculty member. Prerequisites Consent of department head. Note May be repeated when the topic varies.

CJ 595 - Research Literature and Techniques
Hours: 3
Students will write a formal research paper designed to broaden students’ perspectives and to provide an opportunity for the integration of course concepts. Emphasis will be placed on methods of interpretation, writing, and critical thinking related to criminal justice topics/issues. Prerequisites: CJ 575 and CJ 576 include permission of Department Head/Director/Advisor of Masters Program.

CJ 597 - Special Topics
Hours: 1-4
Hours: One to four - Organized class Note May be graded on a satisfactory (S) or unsatisfactory (U) basis. May be repeated when topics vary