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Criminal Justice Studies Major Approved

The Indiana Commission for Higher Education has approved a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice studies program to be offered at the University of Southern Indiana. The first degrees in the major will be conferred in spring 2009.

According to a 2007 report by the Indiana Workforce Development Agency, job opportunities in criminal justice fields will grow by 10 to 18 percent over the next 10 years, which translates into over 2,000 criminal justice-related positions in southwestern Indiana alone. The need for the program also was identified by the University’s 2007 Presidential Task Force on Workforce and Economic Development.

Dr. Ronda Priest, chair of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice Studies, said, “The new criminal justice studies major is a great addition to our curriculum. I know the final approval couldn’t come fast enough for some of our students who are set to graduate with this degree in the spring.

“The community and administrative support has been outstanding. It’s allowed us to bring even more opportunities to our students in criminal justice studies and to the community. We’ve expanded our internship program, built a new Geographic Informational Systems lab, and added several new elective courses such as a policing course on discretion.”

The criminal justice studies program will accommodate at least four distinct student constituencies: students entering USI directly after high school seeking to enter the criminal justice field; in-service criminal justice practitioners seeking to advance their skills, knowledge, and careers; current USI criminal justice minor program students continuing coursework to fulfill the major; and students from community college law enforcement and criminal justice programs completing a baccalaureate program in criminal justice studies.

The Bachelor of Science in criminal justice studies will be comprised of 124 semester hours in three content areas: 39 hours of criminal justice studies and related courses; 51 hours of University Core Curriculum; and 34 hours of general University electives. The 39 criminal justice studies major hours are distributed as 12 hours pre-criminal justice studies required courses; 15 hours criminal justice studies major required courses; and 12 hours criminal justice studies elective courses. Subject areas covered in the required courses include corrections, criminology, law enforcement, and law adjudication.

New students will enter the program designated as pre-criminal justice studies majors. During their freshman and sophomore years, students will complete a series of required courses. To be admitted into the criminal justice studies major program, students must meet specific GPA and course completion requirements. Once admitted, students will be designated as criminal justice studies majors.

Employment areas for criminal justice studies graduates include police officers at the local, state, and federal levels and other law enforcement occupations; correction and probation officers; criminal investigators; legal assistants; private security; and related social service occupations.

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