Criminology and Criminal Justice Undergraduate Course Descriptions

Courses with an asterisk (*) are not offered every year.

*AJ 199 Special Studies (Credit to be arranged.)

AJ 200 Criminology and Criminal Justice (4)
An introduction and overview of the criminology and criminal justice major designed to provide students with an understanding of law, crime, and the criminal justice system in America. Examines the law's proactive function in teaching people how to live peacefully within their communities and the law's reactive function in sanctioning criminal behavior. Includes an introduction to various theories of crime causation and an overview of the criminal justice system and its response in processing those who transgress the law.

*AJ 210 Introduction to juvenile justice Process (4)
A general overview of the various activities and decisions involved in the processing of young law violators. Examination of the justice system specially designed to handle children, consideration of the many stages in the system, and considerations of issues in juvenile justice policy formulation.

*AJ 220 Crime Literacy (4)
A comprehensive survey of the historical trends and current picture of crime in America that examines: (1) methods used to collect crime data, (2) factual aspects of specific crimes, including definitions and analytical statistics, (3) characteristics of victims and arrestees, (4) public opinion, and (5) personal protection.

AJ 230 Policing in America (4)
An introduction to the study of policing in the United States. Policing is studied from three perspectives: the police officer-citizen interaction, the agency-community relationship, and the legal and ethical questions of policing in a democratic society. The course considers the history and future of policing, the police task, police strategies, and police relationships with the community and criminal justice system.

AJ 240 Punishment and Corrections (4)
Examination of historical and contemporary approaches to the punishment of adult and juvenile offenders in institutional and community settings. Includes discussion of theories of punishment as they relate to today's correctional policies and practices. Controversial topics like prisoner rights, the death penalty, and mandatory sentencing are covered.

*AJ 250 Criminal Behavior (4)
Examination of psychosocial theories of crime and identification of the individual-level factors associated with the onset, continuity, and desistance of criminal behavior in juveniles and adults. Special topics covered include the relationship between mental illness and violence, psychopathy, sexual deviancy, substance abuse, human aggression, and the rehabilitation of offenders.

*AJ 260 Criminal Justice and Popular Culture (4)
This course analyzes mass media products such as news programs and periodicals, music, film, and fictional literature to investigate the representation of crime and criminal justice in popular culture and the media impact on the criminal justice system.

*AJ 299 Special Studies (Credit to be arranged.)

*AJ 302 Police Dynamics (4)
A critical examination of the various professional and community influences on police behavior, together with the social problems generally created by such forces, and potential remedial actions.

AJ 310 American Courts (4)
Comprehensive survey of the role and function of courts in the United States. Emphasis placed on the operations of trial-level courts hearing criminal cases. Explores the roles and duties of courtroom participants, structure of the judiciary, relationship between the formal rule of law and daily activities of courts, decision-making, and perspectives from which to view the courts. Attention also to appellate courts, juvenile courts, court reform, and issues of gender, race, and ethnicity.

AJ 317 Punishment and Corrections (4)
Examines theories of punishment as they relate to the various treatment and rehabilitation policies and practices that affect offenders in institutional and community settings. Specific approaches being examined include mandatory sentencing laws, offender education programs, institutional and community drug treatment programs, boot camps, house arrest, intensive supervsion probation, work release, and community work service.

AJ 320 Theories of Crime (4)
An overview of historical, sociological, biological, psychological, economic, and Marxist theories of crime causation. Particular attention is made to critically analyzing each theory presented in terms of its internal consistency and logic as well as its fit with data on crime, criminals, and victims. Policy implications stemming from these theories will be discussed.

AJ 330 Crime Control Strategies (4)
An analysis of the methods used to control crime in American society. Emphasis on understanding the sometimes conflicting goals of the criminal justice system; attention is given to the general categories of general and specific deterrence, aggressive enforcement, situational and environmental defensive measures, and modification of the social order. Special attention will be given to how other countries control crime and the problems of comparison because of political and cultural differences.

AJ 340 Crime Analysis (4)
An introduction to the basic methods used in analyzing data from criminal justice agencies, including temporal and spatial analysis of crime patterns, calculation of crime rates, descriptive analyses of victim and offender characteristics, recidivism, and the identification of offense typologies. Students get hands-on experience coding, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting crime data from a number of sources like police homicide reports, the FBI, Department of Corrections, and attitudinal surveys.

*AJ 355 Perspectives on Terrorism (4)
A survey of international and domestic terrorism, the organizations, philosophies, key players, counter-terror organizations, and response. Investigation of the social, psychological, cultural, historical, political, religious, and economic dynamics of the phenomena will provide preparation for discussion of possible approaches to control.

*AJ 360 Victimology (4)
Provides a comprehensive overview of the study of victims of crime. This includes research on the process, etiology and consequences of criminal victimization. The criminal justice's response to crime victims, both historically and more recently, will be discussed in terms of the changing role of victims in the criminal equation. Topics covered may include restorative justice, restitution, and mediation programs now offered through the criminal justice system.

AJ 370 Women, Crime, and Justice (4)
Women as criminals, victims, and professionals in the criminal justice system are the focus of this course. Theories, policies, and relevant empirical studies will be discussed in the context of the historical, socio-political, and cultural forces that shaped them. Topics may include: girls in gangs, female police officers, mothers behind bars, domestic violence, and pregnancy and drug use.

AJ 380 Criminal Justice Research (4)
Introduction to the basic concepts of social science research including hypothesis testing, research design, causality, sampling, and measurement. Course is intended to provide students with necessary skills to critically evaluate crime and delinquency research as well as design and implement basic research projects.

*AJ 399 Special Studies (Credit to be arranged.)

AJ 401 Research (Credit to be arranged.)

AJ 402 Independent Study (Credit to be arranged.)
Supervised placement in a community criminal justice agency or on a criminal justice research project. Evaluations of students are completed by agency staff and/or University faculty. A minimum of 8 credits is required of CCJ majors. An additional 8 credits can be applied toward CCJ elective credits required of majors. Required: senior status and consent of instructor.

Note: This course has replaced AJ 409 Practicum.

AJ 404 Cooperative Education/Internship (Credit to be arranged.)
For more information about AJ 404, click here

AJ 405 Reading and Conference (Credit to be arranged.)

AJ 406 Projects (Credit to be arranged.)

AJ 407 Seminar (Credit to be arranged.)

AJ 408 Workshop (Credit to be arranged.)

AJ 409 Senior Practicum (Credit to be arranged)
This course has been replaced as a degree requirement by AJ 404 Cooperative Education/Internship.

AJ 410 Selected Topics (Credit to be arranged.)
Special topics courses are elective offerings that draw upon the knowledge of Division faculty and community practitioners. They allow students to delve further into a topic of interest and create a program emphasis that meets their academic and professional goals.

*AJ 415 Counseling Skills for Criminal Justice (4)
A practice-oriented course covering the basic interviewing, assessment, and counseling skills routinely used by professionals in the criminal justice field (e.g., police, correctional staff, probation officers, prosecutors). Includes coverage of techniques for developing rapport with clients, soliciting information, screening for mental illness, threat/risk assessment, and crisis intervention. Recommended prerequisite: AJ 250.

AJ 420 Criminal Law and Legal Reasoning (4)
Study of the basic concepts related to criminal law, including: historical development, legal elements of crime and proof, defenses and mitigation, reasonable doubt, and presumptions of fact; with particular emphasis on the application of logical reasoning to make legal decisions. Prerequisite: senior status.

AJ 435 Crime, Grime, and Fear (4)
Crime, grime, and fear is a course designed to study the social, economic, political, and physical factors underlying neighborhood crime and decline. Special attentoin is given to physical and social incivilities, the "broken windows" theory, police-comunity partnerships, and problem-solving. Students will work on neighborhood-centered projects to explore solutions to neighborhood crime patterns, disorder, and fear of crime, and ideas for strengthening police-citizen relations, and community building. Recommended: AJ 340.

AJ 440 Constitutional Criminal Procedures (4)
A critical examination of the legal controls on the administration of criminal justice, with special attention to current court decisions related to such issues as search and seizure, admissions and confessions, wiretapping and eavesdropping, right to counsel, fair trial, self incrimination, cruel and unusual punishment. Prerequisite: AJ 420. (Normally offered winter term only.)

*AJ 450/550 Comparative Perspective of Criminal Justice (4/3)
An exploration of international criminal justice systems that compares and contrasts the general features and cultural foundations of criminal justice procedures and institutions in different countries throughout the world. Prerequisite for 550: admission to graduate program in CCJ.

AJ 455 Ethical Leadership in Criminal Justice (4)
Ethical leadership is a topic of longstanding theoretical and practical importance for the criminal justice system. Criminal and social justice issues are deeply embedded in the social fabric of the community and ethical leadership issues frequently have ramifications beyond the boundaries of our discipline. Students will be taught to recognize, understand, and analyze the significance of ethical leadership for the criminal justice system and the community within which it exists. Recommended prerequisite: AJ 200.

AJ 460 Court Procedures (4)
General review of the major activities and procedures involved in the conduct of criminal trials, with extensive use of mock trial exercises. Prerequisite: AJ 440. (Normally offered spring term only.)

AJ 465 Criminology and Social Justice Theory (4)
Begins with an analysis of critical criminology theories and their underlying assumptions. Explores the connections between critical criminology and social justice, the social justice movement, and the communities wherein social justice is practiced. Application of social justice theory to criminal justice policy and practice has created a new set of social response mechanisms to crime and delinquency: mediation, restitution, and restorative justice. Prerequisite: AJ 200.

*AJ 470 Morality, Justice, and the Law (4)
Analysis of contemporary problems and issues faced by those working in criminal justice or studying criminology. The course is designed to explore the range of roles, responsibilities, and dilemmas facing professionals in the justice system. Topics may include prosecutorial responsibility, police conduct, and community involvement in criminal justice. Recommended prerequisite: AJ 200.

*AJ 480/580 Community-based Treatment of Offenders (4)
An analysis of the history, philosophy, theory, and function of probation, parole, pardon, halfway houses, work release centers, and other forms of community-based treatment; evaluation of the effectiveness of treatment of the offender in the community; contemporary usage of the presentence investigation report, selection, supervision, and release of probationers and parolees; exploration of current innovations in corrections such as use of volunteers and offenders as correctional manpower resources. Recommended prerequisites: AJ 480: AJ 240; AJ 580: admission to graduate program in CCJ.