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Bucks County Community College

Catalog

  Catalog  —  Majors and Certificate Programs  —  Social and Behavioral Science  —  Criminal Justice

Criminal Justice

Associate of Arts

Transfer Major

Decisions on the transferability of courses are made by the four-year colleges and differ from school to school. Students enrolled in this major should contact the Transfer Services Office early in their academic program to determine which courses will transfer to the college of their choice.

School of Social & Behavioral Science
Grupp 301 • Phone (215) 968-8270
Curriculum Code No. 1189

The transfer major has the following objectives

  • to provide students with a solid foundation in Criminal Justice as an academic field of study in preparation for transfer to a four-year institution;
  • to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the functioning of the criminal justice system's major components- police, courts, and sanctions; and
  • to provide students with an understanding of the purposes, scope, and sources of criminal law

Graduates of this program are able to:

  • apply their knowledge of the function and roles of the police to representative situations
  • describe the function and roles of the courts and apply to representative situations
  • analyze the function and roles of sanctions and apply to representative situations
  • examine the constitution, elements of crimes, and defenses and apply to appropriate legal cases
  • analyze evidentiary data using software programs.

Upon completion of this associate degree program, the student will be qualified to apply for a position as a police officer, sheriff deputy, or correctional officer.

Degree Course Requirements

Course Credits
BIOL101
Biological Science I C,E,7
4
COLL101
Orientation to College
1
COMM110
Effective Speaking C,4,5
3
COMP110
English Composition I A,C,2,10
3
COMP111
English Composition II C,2,4,10
3
CRIJ100
Introduction to the Administration of Criminal Justice E
3
CRIJ110
Introduction to Criminal Law D
3
CRIJ130
Criminal Investigation/Forensics D,9
3
CRIJ160
Introduction to Juvenile Justice D
3
HIST151
U.S. History: Young America 1,2,3
3
HIST152
U.S. History: Modern America 1,2,3
3
MATH101
Mathematical Concepts A,C,H,2,6
3
POLI120
American State and Local Government
3
PSYC110
Introduction to Psychology A,E,2,3,8
3
SOCI110
Introduction to Sociology 2,3,8
3
SOCI150
Criminology
3
Criminal Justice Electives D,F 9
Electives G 6
Total Credit Hours 62

Recommended Semester Sequence

The recommended course sequence is designed for full-time students who average 15 credit hours per semester. Students may need more time to complete major requirements based on placement testing. This additional time will entail some adjustments to the sequence recommended.

First Semester

Course Credits
COLL101
Orientation to College
1
COMP110
English Composition I A,C,2,10
3
CRIJ100
Introduction to the Administration of Criminal Justice E
3
SOCI110
Introduction to Sociology 2,3,8
3
POLI120
American State and Local Government
3
HIST151
U.S. History: Young America 1,2,3
3
Total Credit Hours 16

Second Semester

Course Credits
COMP111
English Composition II C,2,4,10
3
CRIJ110
Introduction to Criminal Law D
3
CRIJ160
Introduction to Juvenile Justice D
3
PSYC110
Introduction to Psychology A,E,2,3,8
3
HIST152
U.S. History: Modern America 1,2,3
3
Total Credit Hours 15

Third Semester

Course Credits
MATH101
Mathematical Concepts A,C,H,2,6
3
COMM110
Effective Speaking C,4,5
3
CRIJ130
Criminal Investigation/Forensics D,9
3
Criminal Justice Elective D,F6
Total Credit Hours 15

Fourth Semester

Course Credits
BIOL101
Biological Science I C,E,7
4
SOCI150
Criminology
3
Criminal Justice Electives D,F 3
Elective G 6
Total Credit Hours 16

A Placement testing required.
B Pre-college level courses do not meet this requirement.
C Course requires prerequisite.
D Course requires prerequisite or co-requisite of CRIJ100.
E Prerequisite: Reading Placement Test score Level 3 or Read110 (C or better), or Co-requisite: Reading Placement Test score Level 2 and enrollment in a paired section of READ110.
F Students may choose any elective within Criminal Justice or other course outside of Criminal Justice with prior written approval from the Criminal Justice Coordinator or the Assistant Academic Dean. Criminal Justice electives include: CRIJ 115, CRIJ 116, CRIJ 120, CRIJ 140, CRIJ 210, CRIJ 220, CRIJ 250, CRIJ 260, CRIJ 275, CRIJ 280, CRIJ 285.
G Pre-college level courses do not meet this requirement.
H Depending on career choice and transfer institution, MATH115 may be substituted. Students should consult an academic advisor.

1 Satisfies Arts/Humanities
2 Satisfies Critical Thinking
3 Satisfies Cultural Competency
4 Satisfies Information Literacy
5 Satisfies Oral Communication
6 Satisfies Quantitative Literacy
7 Satisfies Scientific Literacy
8 Satisfies Social Sciences
9 Satisfies Technological Competence
10 Satisfies Writing

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Social & Behavioral Sciences

215-968-8270 sb@bucks.edu Grupp 301


Social & Behavioral Sciences

215-968-8270 sb@bucks.edu Grupp 301
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