Career Development Center
University Center South 106, (812) 941-2275, webjob@ius.edu
Description of Criminal Justice and Criminology Major
The Bachelor of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice is designed to study the origins, nature, and causes of norm-violating behavior as well as societal reactions to this behavior. The study of criminal justice begins with a study of the entire criminal justice system and its interrelation with society. Advanced study inquires into the political, organizational, social, and behavioral aspects of various components of the criminal justice system. Research courses give students the tools to analyze criminal justice and the skills important for career development. Legal courses provide an awareness of the values of due process and the limits of government power in a democratic society.
Criminology and Criminal Justice is multidisciplinary, drawing on broad fields of knowledge, including law, the social and behavioral sciences, and the natural sciences. Indiana University Southeast offers a Bachelor of Science degree through the School of Social Sciences. A major in criminology and criminal justice provides an excellent liberal arts background for a wide variety of career fields. Career opportunities in criminal justice include police agencies, prosecutors, defense attorneys, courts, and correctional agencies. Other specialized roles in criminal justice include juvenile probation officers, volunteer administrators, criminologists, forensic scientists, forensic psychologists, medical examiners, and policy analysts. The criminal justice program offers undergraduate students an opportunity to pursue studies leading to law school, graduate school or a career in the administration of justice.
Those who seek employment after completing their degree requirements have generally good prospects in such areas as correctional counseling, court administration, law enforcement and private security. In addition, many public and private agencies will have criminal justice related job openings for planners, researchers, data analysts and others who have sharpened their skills in statistics and computer science.
RELATED SKILLS:
Written and presentation skills
Research strategies
Understanding societies' reaction to crimes
Ethics and moral values
Considerations of gender and race
Interviewing skills
Quantitative skills
Strong background in humanities, social science, and natural science
Skills in research and scientific methodology
Broad understanding of criminal law and the criminal justice system
Critical thinking
Computer literacy
Understanding nature of crimes
Ability to identify and analyze social problems and develop solutions
Decision-making
Knowledge of legal structures
Patience supervision and management skills
Click on one of the links to the right to find possible job titles, employers, and web sites related to this major.
Explore Majors - What Can I Do With A Major In?
Your major is not your career. Of course it can be.
A chemistry major can become a chemist, a history major can become an historian. But it is much more likely that your career choices will be enormously varied, and not tied to a specific major at all.
The 21st century workplace will challenge you to have many different jobs and most probably multiple careers. Your major will provide you a broad range of skills which will enable you to stay marketable in the fast-changing work world.
As you explore majors, be sure and take advantage of the following areas: college course bulletin, professors, upperclassmen, college alumni, family, friends and your Career Development Center Networking Program -- most importantly, don't panic! We're here to help.
In addition to the majors listed at the right, IU Southeast offers a number of certificate programs and academic minors to help students round out or expand their academic profile.
Learn more about our certificate programs and minors.
