Criminal Justice

The interdisciplinary major in Criminal Justice, offered by the School of Social Sciences, is designed to provide students with a series of academic courses and related experiences appropriate for career interests in the following areas: probation and parole, law enforcement, juvenile justice, courts and corrections. The sequence of courses will enable students to understand the psychological, sociological, and political factors underlying criminal, delinquent, asocial and anti-social behavior. A seminar at the senior level provides an integration of material regarding issues within the major areas of the criminal justice system.

The criminal justice major is also intended to provide students with academic preparation for graduate school in criminal justice or law and/or help prepare the student academically to become a practitioner in the criminal justice system. In order to “bridge” the transition from University to the world of work within the criminal justice system, students are strongly encouraged (optional) to complete a field experience (internship) in an area pertaining to their career aspirations. There are a variety of internship opportunities in the areas of local law enforcement, federal law enforcement, juvenile justice, probation and courts/law. Students should be aware that opportunities may vary from year to year; also, some internships are competitive in nature and require substantial lead time in terms of the application process.

The program in criminal justice is designed as both a four-year major and as an affiliated program for students transferring from community colleges. Students transferring to Baldwin Wallace after completion of the A.A.S. (Associates of Applied Science) degree in law enforcement, criminal justice or police science will be awarded up to 62 semester hours of transfer credit as Criminal Justice majors if the A.A.S. degree is from Cuyahoga Community College or Lakeland Community College. A.A.S. degrees from other institutions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Direct all questions related to the major in Criminal Justice to Dr. Louis San Marco, Director of the Criminal Justice Program, in the Department of Sociology.