Criminal Justice Program
Criminal Justice Program
Texas A&M University-Texarkana offers a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and a Minor in Criminal Justice. While studying the three basic components of criminal justice: law enforcement, courts, and corrections using research-based knowledge of crime, criminal justice, and society, our students have the opportunity to develop skills in analytical thinking, research, and writing that increase their value to current and future employers.
The BS-CJ degree is oriented to pre-service and in-service criminal justice employees, particularly those who wish to be promoted to supervisory and management roles, work in state and federal agencies, or attend graduate school. Graduates of the program work at local, state, and federal agencies. Other students who commonly seek the BS-CJ are those with career interests in social service and rehabilitation organizations working with children or families in need. Faculty will help students customize their degree plan based on the individual student's interests and goals. Students may specialize in interests such as law enforcement, community corrections, juvenile justice, pre-law, incarceration, management & leadership, human behavior, forensic science, social justice, or other areas.
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Criminal Justice students are typically interested in:
- Law Enforcement (local, state, federal)
- Community Corrections and Rehabilitation
- Juvenile Justice
- Victim Advocate
- Probation/Parole Officer
- Forensics/Investigations
- Homeland Security
- Children or family protective and social services
- Law school
What You Will Learn
- Students will learn the basic foundations of the Criminal Justice System in the United States
- Students will learn that Criminal Justice is an interdisciplinary that include psychology, sociology, law, advocacy, juvenile justice, etc.
- Students will learn criminological theories and how they seek to explain deviant behavior of individuals and behavior in society
Featured Courses
CJ 340 - Criminal Law and Procedures
This course covers the history and philosophy of modern substantive criminal law with an emphasis on the Texas Penal Code. The course provides definitions and elements of principle crimes, criminal liability, and defenses to criminal penalties.
CJ 350 - Types of Crime
This course provides a detailed analysis of four major categories of crime: white collar, street crime, organized and consensual crime, and violent crime.
CJ 311 - Drugs, Crime and the Law.
This is a survey of the historical, social, and political discourse on the relationship between drugs, people, and policy in the U.S. focusing on the criminalization of certain substances. It includes historical patterns of drug abuse in the U.S., drug laws, contemporary drug use, the connection of drug use to crime and violence, and the "War on Drugs".
CJ 312 - Guns and Violence in American Society
This course explores philosophical, Constitutional, and empirical questions and claims about firearms and their place and effects in U.S. Society. Special attention is given to debate over the Second Amendment and competing hypotheses about the relationship of guns to violence.
CJ 355 - Victimology
Students will learn about the history of victimology theories explaining victimization, victims rights and remedies, and will cover specific crimes and how they affect crime victims.