Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice

Associate Dean of Continuing Studies: Mark L. Parker 
Program Manager: B. 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 law enforcement, intelligence and security communities. This program is an excellent and logical fit for both civilian and 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 program offers a solid foundation of criminal justice courses as well as a minor in 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 elective courses to self-design their program. Additional requirements include general education courses, a field study course and a capstone course.

Students entering the Criminal Justice degree program may receive the equivalent of up to 90 credit hours for prior college coursework, military training, and/or law enforcement training courses as reviewed for credit by the American Council on Education or a similarly recognized organization. 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 work/military deployment schedule.

Goals:

• Knowledge--Graduates will demonstrate superior knowledge of criminology, criminal law, and the criminal justice system compared to their peers from similar programs.
•  Skills--Graduates will have the critical thinking and communications skills to analyze and articulate the effectiveness, ethical underpinnings and theoretical basis of criminal justice and social policies, programs and practices.
•  Careers--Graduates will possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities to obtain employment in their desired career field, and/or to gain acceptance to graduate school.
•  Values--Graduates will exhibit professionalism, leadership, and a commitment to lifelong learning through their careers and/or in their public service.

Outcomes:

Upon graduation, students will demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of the field as measured by the following assessment indicators of the ETS (Educational Testing Service) Field Test in Criminal Justice:

• Theories of Criminal Behavior
• The Law
• Law Enforcement
• Corrections
• The Court System
• Critical Thinking
• Research Methodology and Statistics
   

Careers for this Major:

• federal law enforcement
• intelligence agents
• private and corporate security personnel
• state and local police officers
• probation and parole officers
• crime analysts

Curriculum Requirements

The Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice (BSCJ) is designed for students with at least 30 credit hours of prior college coursework or its equivalent in eligible military or professional training. The program consists of four curriculum areas: 

• Core Courses
• Degree Electives
• Field Study Courses
• Capstone
   

Minor in Intelligence and Security

Students seeking the minor in Intelligence and Security must complete 18 semester-credits from the following courses. 

Pre-Program Education and Training

Students accepted into the Criminal Justice degree program must have earned a minimum of 30 semester credits from college courses, military training, or other educational experiences such as CLEP tests. A maximum of 90 semester credits may be transferred into the program.

General Education

Students are required to meet general education competencies in writing, literature, history, arts and humanities, science, social science, and math and may do so by transfer credit or enrollment in courses offered through the College of Graduate and Continuing Studies.

Transfer Credit and Student Progress in the Program

CLEP and DSST exams may be accepted for transfer credit by the program manager, depending on the requirements of the Norwich course for which credit is sought. CLEP and DSST transcripts must be applied to a student’s record by the time they have earned 100 credits in their program. No credit derived from CLEP or DSST exams will be applied to the student’s record after this point.

Students must complete all core and elective coursework, including any courses necessary to fulfill required general education competencies, before being enrolled in a field study course unless given prior written approval by the program manager.

Students must complete all required coursework including any required field study courses before being enrolled in a capstone course, unless given prior written approval by the program manager.

All transfer credit must be applied to the student’s record before being enrolled in a capstone course.