Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice

Program Overview

Chair, Department of Continuing Studies: Mark Parker
Program Manager: Allison Crowson

The Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice program (BSCJ) is a degree completion program designed for experienced law enforcement and criminal justice professionals who seek to complete their bachelor's degree thus enhancing opportunities for advancement within their careers or opportunities within the intelligence and security community. This program is an excellent and logical fit for the military population and specifically, soldiers within Army Special Operations (USASOC) and the Marine Corps who have specialized training in the areas of law enforcement, security, and intelligence. The 63-credit program (of the 123 credits needed for degree) offers a solid foundation of criminal justice courses as well as two minor areas of study:

• Public Safety and Law Enforcement
• Intelligence and Security Management

 
In addition, the program offers an option in which students complete foundation courses and then draw from a wide range of courses to self-design their program. Additional requirements include general education courses and electives. Students will complete a field study course and a capstone as part of the degree requirement.

Students entering the Criminal Justice program degree program may receive the equivalent of up to 60 semester credits for military training and/or law enforcement training courses as reviewed for credit by the American Council on Education or a similarly recognized organization. Students may also transfer up to an additional 24 semester-credit hour equivalent from other accredited institutions of higher education for courses that meet specific course requirements in the BSCJ program. Students complete the remaining credits through Norwich University in a structured program that will typically require two to four years to complete, depending upon a student’s full-time or part-time enrollment status and military deployment schedule.
 

Curriculum Requirements

Students accepted into the Criminal Justice degree program must have earned a minimum of 60 semester credits from college courses, military training, or other educational experiences such as CLEP tests. A maximum of 84 semester credits may be transferred into the program.General education courses listed below are required unless applicants transfer in approved coursework or training from other institutions. 

General Education Courses (3-credit courses)
Students must complete all of the following:
ENGL 250 - Crime in Literature
SSHI 310 - Historical Studies
SSRE 300 - Comparative Religion
SCIE 202 - Procedures in Forensics
SSES 301 - Environmental Science
SSMA 232 - Elementary Statistics

Foundation Courses (3-credit courses)
Students must complete all of the following:
CRMJ 201 - Foundations of Criminal Justice
SOCI 209 - Methods of Social Science Research*
SOCI 220 - Cultural Issues and the Criminal Justice System*
COMM 302 - Data Analysis and Writing*
PHLS 324 - Criminal Justice Ethics*
(*course under development)

Degree Electives (3-credit courses):
Students must complete 18 credits from the following courses:
COMM 312 - Intercultural Communication*
CRMJ 303 - The Study of Crime*
CRMJ 306 - Procedural Due Process*
CRMJ 351 - Law Enforcement Administration*
INOP 302 - Cyber Crime and Security*
INOP 310 - Emergency and Disaster Relief*
INOP 316 - Information Operations and Infrastructure*
INSC 311 - Homeland Security and Intelligence*
INSC 313 - Global Security and Intelligence*
INSC 315 - Security Coordination and Collaboration*
INSC 320 - Intelligence Management*
SSPO 302 - National Security Policy
POLS 316 - Domestic Terrorism*
POLS 325 - Immigration Law and Policy*
SOCI 322 - Drugs and Gangs*
SOCI 325 - Public Safety in a Diverse Society*
(*course under development)

Field Study and Capstone Courses
Students select one of the following Field Study courses plus the required capstone course.
SSSO 401 - Cultural Field Study
SSSO 406 - Area/Geographic Field Study
SSEC 401 - Socio-Economic Field Study
GU 490 - Selected Topics
SSDA 400 - Capstone (required)