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Criminology and Justice Studies - B.A.

The Criminology and Justice Studies undergraduate major combines coursework in law, psychology, sociology and other fields to provide a comprehensive understanding of crime and justice. With experienced faculty and opportunities for research and practical experience, this program prepares you for a successful career in a wide range of criminal justice roles.

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Bachelor's Degree in Criminology and Justice Studies

Broaden your understanding of crime and justice with Kent State’s Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology and Justice Studies. Engage in comprehensive coursework that examines critical areas such as criminal law, data analysis, and the functioning of the justice system. This program is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills needed for careers in law enforcement, corrections, and various roles within the criminal justice system.

Program Information for Criminology and Justice Studies - B.A.

Program Description

Full Description

The Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology and Justice Studies takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of crime, law and justice. The curriculum provides a firm understanding of the basic institutions of the criminal justice system. Students are also exposed to criminological theory and diversity courses, which help them understand the complex relationship between the individual, society and the criminal justice system. The program stresses effective writing and analytical skills. Students are afforded the opportunity to earn credit through internship placements.

Consultations with faculty and advisors enable students to make informed choices about which combination of courses will maximize their preparation for future careers and graduate education. Such specializations include policing; corrections; victimology; law and society; criminology and deviance; and justice and human relations.

Criminology and Justice Studies students may apply early to the and double count 9 credit hours of graduate courses toward both degree programs. See the policy in the University Catalog for more information.

Admissions for Criminology and Justice Studies - B.A.

Admission Requirements

The university affirmatively strives to provide educational opportunities and access to students with varied backgrounds, those with special talents and adult students who graduated from high school three or more years ago.

First-Year Students on the Kent Campus: First-year admission policy on the Kent Campus is selective. Admission decisions are based upon cumulative grade point average, strength of high school college preparatory curriculum and grade trends. Students not admissible to the Kent Campus may be administratively referred to one of the seven regional campuses to begin their college coursework. For more information, visit the .

First-Year Students on the Regional Campuses: First-year admission to Kent State’s campuses at Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas, as well as the Twinsburg Academic Center, is open to anyone with a high school diploma or its equivalent. For more information on admissions, contact the Regional Campuses admissions offices.

International Students: All international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions) by earning a minimum 525 TOEFL score (71 on the Internet-based version), minimum 75 MELAB score, minimum 6.0 IELTS score or minimum 48 PTE Academic score, or by completing the ELS level 112 Intensive Program. For more information, visit the admissions website for international students.

Transfer Students: Students who have attended any other educational institution after graduating from high school must apply as undergraduate transfer students. For more information, visit the admissions website for transfer students.

Former Students: Former Kent State students or graduates who have not attended another college or university since Kent State may complete the reenrollment or reinstatement form on the University Registrar’s website.

Admission policies for undergraduate students may be found in the University Catalog's .

Some programs may require that students meet certain requirements before progressing through the program. For programs with progression requirements, the information is shown on the program's Coursework tab.

Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

  1. Communicate orally and in writing.
  2. Develop skills through experience.
  3. Have substantive knowledge in specific areas of the discipline, namely law, law enforcement, corrections, courts and diversity.
  4. Demonstrate an understanding of ethics.
  5. Describe theoretical issues related to the causes of crime and development of justice practices.
  6. Find and explain research in the field.
  7. Develop critical thinking skills.
Coursework
On This Page

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

Major Requirements (courses count in major GPA)
CRIM 12000INTRODUCTION TO JUSTICE STUDIES 3
CRIM 26704ISSUES IN LAW AND SOCIETY (KSS) 3
CRIM 36702CRIMINOLOGY 3
CRIM 37311MINORITIES IN CRIME AND JUSTICE (DIVD) 3
or CRIM 37411 WOMEN IN CRIME AND JUSTICE (DIVD)
SOC 12050INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY (DIVD) (KSS) 3
SOC 32210RESEARCHING SOCIETY (ELR) (WIC) 13
SOC 32220DATA ANALYSIS 23
SOC 32221DATA ANALYSIS LABORATORY 21
Criminology and Justice Studies (CRIM) Electives 39
Criminology and Justice Studies (CRIM) Upper-Division Electives (30000 or 40000 level)9
Additional Requirements (courses do not count in major GPA)
UC 10001FLASHES 101 1
Foreign Language (see Foreign Language College Requirement below)14-16
6
3
9
6-7
6
General Electives (total credit hours depends on earning 120 credit hours, including 39 upper-division credit hours)35
Minimum Total Credit Hours:120
1

A minimum C grade must be earned to fulfill the writing-intensive requirement.

2

Students declared in both the Psychology major and Criminology and Justice Studies major may substitute in place of and .

3

POTA 11001 may count toward lower-division Criminology and Justice Studies electives.

Graduation Requirements

Minimum Major GPA Minimum Overall GPA
2.000 2.000

Foreign Language College Requirement, B.A.

Students pursuing the Bachelor of Arts degree in the College of Arts and Sciences must complete 14-16 credit hours of foreign language.1
To complete the requirement, students need the equivalent of Elementary I and II in any language, plus one of the following options2:

  1. Intermediate I and II of the same language
  2. Elementary I and II of a second language
  3. Any combination of two courses from the following list:
  • Intermediate I of the same language
  • ARAB 21401
  • ASL 19401
  • CHIN 25421
  • MCLS 10001
  • MCLS 20001
  • MCLS 20091
  • MCLS 21417
  • MCLS 21420
  • MCLS 22217
  • MCLS 28403
  • MCLS 28404
1

All students with prior foreign language experience should take the foreign language placement test to determine the appropriate level at which to start. Some students may start beyond the Elementary I level and will complete the requirement with fewer credit hours and fewer courses. This may be accomplished by (1) passing a course beyond Elementary I through Intermediate II level; (2) receiving credit through one of the programs offered by 5XÉçÇø; or (3) demonstrating comparable to Elementary II of a foreign language. When students complete the requirement with fewer than 14 credit hours and four courses, they will complete remaining credit hours with general electives.

2

Certain majors, concentrations and minors may require specific languages, limit the languages from which a student may choose or require coursework through Intermediate II. Students who plan to pursue graduate study may need particular language coursework.

Roadmap

Roadmap

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this major. However, courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

Plan of Study Grid
Semester OneCredits
!CRIM 12000 INTRODUCTION TO JUSTICE STUDIES 3
UC 10001 FLASHES 101 1
Foreign Language 4
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours14
Semester Two
SOC 12050 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY (DIVD) (KSS) 3
Foreign Language 4
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours16
Semester Three
CRIM 26704 ISSUES IN LAW AND SOCIETY (KSS) 3
Criminology and Justice Studies (CRIM) Elective 3
Foreign Language 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Four
Criminology and Justice Studies (CRIM) Elective 3
Foreign Language 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Five
CRIM 36702 CRIMINOLOGY 3
CRIM 37311
or CRIM 37411
 MINORITIES IN CRIME AND JUSTICE (DIVD)
or WOMEN IN CRIME AND JUSTICE (DIVD)
3
!SOC 32210 RESEARCHING SOCIETY (ELR) (WIC) 3
General Electives 6
 Credit Hours15
Semester Six
!SOC 32220 DATA ANALYSIS 3
!SOC 32221 DATA ANALYSIS LABORATORY 1
Criminology and Justice Studies (CRIM) Elective 3
Criminology and Justice Studies (CRIM) Upper-Division Elective 3
General Elective 3
 Credit Hours13
Semester Seven
Criminology and Justice Studies (CRIM) Upper-Division Elective 3
General Electives 12
 Credit Hours15
Semester Eight
Criminology and Justice Studies (CRIM) Upper-Division Elective 3
General Electives 14
 Credit Hours17
 Minimum Total Credit Hours:120
Program Delivery
  • Delivery:
    • Mostly online
    • In person
  • Location:
    • Ashtabula Campus
    • East Liverpool Campus
    • Kent Campus
    • Salem Campus
    • Stark Campus
    • Trumbull Campus
    • Tuscarawas Campus
Combined BA/MA Program

Qualified Kent State undergraduate students can apply for early admission into the Master of Arts in Criminology & Criminal Justice program. Students in the combined BA/MA program take up to nine credits of graduate-level coursework as undergraduate students, thus enabling courses to be applied toward both degree programs. Upon completion of undergraduate requirements, students are awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree and continue in the graduate program.

Criminology and Justice Studies Internship Program

Criminology and Justice Studies Internship Program (CRIM 46792)

Internship forms can be downloaded here (Word)

The internship course involves work experience under direction of a supervising faculty member in a private, federal, state or local Justice agency or law agency.    

Students should have completed 9 credit hours of Criminology and Justice Studies (CRIM) coursework, including CRIM 12000, and possess 2.00 major and overall GPAs.

This course is open to Juniors and Seniors. Students may register for up to 12 hours of Internship, in 3 hour increments.

Criminology & Justice Studies majors can choose from a wide variety of internship sites. These include:

  • Law enforcement agencies (police departments, sheriff’s offices, state and federal agencies)
  • Adult and juvenile correctional facilities (community corrections/probation and parole; detention centers), local, state, and federal agencies
  • Adult and juvenile courts; public defender’s and prosecutor’s offices
  • Victim services programs (including domestic violence, substance abuse, crisis intervention)
  • Loss prevention and private security
  • National/homeland security

Click for the CRIM 46792 Internship Manual (PDF).  Please consult the Internship Coordinator, Susan Kunkle, or the Sociology Department's Academic Advisor for more information.

Specializations

Criminology & Justice Studies prepares its graduates for professional roles in the varied fields of criminal and juvenile justice and for graduate study in the social sciences or law school.  To accomplish that, we offer optional course specializations in the following subjects: 

  • Policing is for students intending careers in law enforcement and other occupations related to security and public safety. 
  • Corrections is for students interested in pursuing careers in fields such as community corrections (probation and parole) or institutional corrections for adults or juveniles.
  • Criminology & Deviance is for students interested in understanding the origins and nature of crime and deviance, their patterns and society’s responses; this specialization is appropriate for students preparing for graduate studies in criminology, criminal justice, sociology, public policy and social work.
  • Justice & Human Relations is for students interested in such fields as social work, counseling and treatment, clinical psychology, victimology, victim advocacy, juvenile justice, public/community relations in criminal justice, community organizing, diversity or social justice (note that interdisciplinary training and/or specialized graduate training are necessary for careers in many of those fields). 
  • Law & Society is for students interested in the social relevance of law and social influences on law; this specialization is appropriate preparation for law school or graduate studies in the social sciences. 
  • General Criminology & Justice Studies is for students who either choose not to pursue a specialization within the major or wish to pursue an individualized program of study (through general electives) which does not align with the other specializations.  
  • Victimology is relevant for students interested in the scholarly study of crime victims, their treatment in the justice systems, and programs that serve victims. It is useful for those interested in victim advocacy. 
    ​

Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries for Criminology and Justice Studies - B.A.

Graduates of 5XÉçÇø's Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Justice Studies can pursue careers in law enforcement, social services, and business. They are prepared for roles as police officers, probation officers, and paralegals, where they can apply their understanding of criminal justice systems, advocate for justice, and contribute to public safety and legal processes.

First-line supervisors of correctional officers

-7.8%

decline

48,700

number of jobs

$60,910

potential earnings

First-line supervisors of police and detectives

5.2%

faster than the average

126,100

number of jobs

$92,970

potential earnings

Public safety telecommunicators

6.2%

faster than the average

98,300

number of jobs

$43,290

potential earnings

Notice: Career Information Source
* Source of occupation titles and labor data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' . Data comprises projected percent change in employment over the next 10 years; nation-wide employment numbers; and the yearly median wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.
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