What is Criminal Justice?

    The Criminal Justice program is designed to provide basic academic orientation to corrections, law enforcement, and to the judiciary, as well as to provide practical guidelines and experience in the criminal justice system.

    As a student of the Criminal Justice program at Saint Louis University, you will pursue your major area within the context of a liberal arts education in the College of Arts and Sciences.  As a graduate, you will be prepared to seek employment in a variety of posistions within the criminal justice system.   You will also be in a position to seek admission to graduate programs in sociology, political science, counseling, social work, criminology, and criminal justice or to use the program as preparatory training for applying to law school.

    The Criminal Justice program is offered through the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice.  It is feasible to obtain a major in Sociology and Criminal Justice by taking 15 hours of addditional non-criminal justice sociology courses.

The Major

   Each Criminal Justice major must satisfy the general educational requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences for a bachelor's degree, which requires a minimum of 120 semester hours.   Within these 120 hours, you will devote at least 50 hours to your major and related courses, with 30 hours of required courses and six hours of electives.  Many of these hours can be satisfied with courses chosen from a wide array of topics, allowing you academic freedom.

    In Criminal Justice fieldwork, you will work with agencies in the Criminal Justice system.  In many cases, you will be able to deal directly with clients, such as those in pretrial release programs, the juvenile justice system, and adult probation and parole.

    You will arrange a required fieldwork placement of your choice with the assistance of the director of the program, and also will work under the direction of a supervisor from the agency.

    We believe you wil find your fieldwork a significan learning experience and a source of professional contacts for the future.   Students undertake their fieldwork either over the summer or during their final two semesters.

Unique Features of Our Program

   A wide range of agencies and organizations participate in the Criminal Justice fieldwork practicum.   These include agencies working with juveniles and adults; in correctional, court, and law enforcement settings at the federal, state, and local level, and with public and private agencies.

    The department also has practicum sites with neighborhood centers, planning agencies, and a variety of other types of service organizations.