Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice

Criminal justice is an academic field which examines the actions of the formal social mechanism we call the criminal justice system.  The system is composed of three subsystems: policing /law enforcement agencies, the courts/judiciary, and correctional agencies.  The study of criminal justice requires an examination of the structure and functioning of each of these subsystems, as well as knowledge about the role behavior of the participants. The study of the criminal justice process involves a critical evaluation of how the administration of justice actually operates in American society, raising fundamental questions and examining the perspectives from which solutions to problems might be drawn.

The content of criminal justice is interdisciplinary, drawing on theory developed in sociology, law, psychology, political science, and related fields. From sociology and psychology are derived theories regarding the causes of crime and delinquency.  Law, political science, and history provide information about the development of law and the applications of sanctions within the legal process. Also, there is a rapidly growing body of knowledge derived from research efforts of practitioners in policing, the courts, and corrections.

The University of Nevada, Reno has developed a general, broad based career-oriented course of study appropriate to criminal justice as a system, problem area, and configuration of professional occupations. The program, while practical in nature, provides the theoretical, conceptual, and analytic background need for the criminal justice practitioner to effectively approach the dilemmas crime presents to contemporary American society.

Students who complete the Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice degree participate in a professional program. They are educated for justice-related positions in both the public and private sectors, graduate study and law school. There are three degree options, the general option and the Pre-law option.  A minimum grade-point average of 2.5 is required for: admission to, transfer into, continuation in and graduation from the criminal justice department.

The general option prepares students for any criminal justice related careers without specializations in any particular area and is the most popular due to its flexibility.
 

Students who complete the Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice degree in the Pre-law option will acquire a contextual foundation of law in our heterogeneous society and have the opportunity to develop critical thinking and analysis skills. This curriculum is designed to prepare student for post-graduate studies in law and related fields.
 

Note: Students can no longer choose the "Minor" option in Criminal Justice