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The Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies is committed to its students and to helping them achieve success. The Criminal Justice Undergraduate Program offers both a Bachelors of Arts and a Bachelors of Science Degree in Criminal Justice, each of which provide a comprehensive curriculum so that graduates can enter the job market prepared to fully participate as informed, educated justice professionals. The Criminal Justice Undergraduate Program has articulated discipline specific knowledge, skills, behavior and values outcomes; critical thinking outcomes; communication outcomes; and assessment of Criminal Justice outcomes that are specified in our Academic Learning Compact (click on link below).
Academic Learning Compact
The criminal justice undergraduate program at UCF is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of crime and society's control mechanisms as well as prepare them for professional careers in criminal justice and related agencies. The program offers four areas of concentration:
- Law Enforcement
- Corrections
- Justice Administration
- Security Administration
As a multidisciplinary field of study, criminal justice incorporates the substance and perspectives of psychology, sociology, political science and law. The curriculum draws on the methods of the social sciences and requires students to take several supporting courses outside of criminal justice. The department provides an opportunity for an internship experience for students in various criminal justice settings. This gives students the opportunity to affirm their career decision as they relate class material, presentations and discussions to the real world. Many students use the degree as preparation for graduate school.
In addition to the required completion of UCF's General Education Program and Foreign Language requirements, the following courses are suggested, but not required, for entrance into the criminal justice program:
- American National Government
- Introduction to Psychology
- Introduction to Sociology
- Economics
Program Of Study
All students are required to take core courses in the areas of crime prosecution, corrections, police and research. Students will also take additional hours of upper-division course work from various criminal justice restricted electives and supporting electives outside the criminal justice program. As part of the criminal justice undergraduate program of study, students will be required to take classes in such subjects as:
- Criminal Justice System
- Crime in America
- Prosecution and Adjudication
- Corrections and Penology
- Police and Society
- Research Methods in Criminal Justice
Students are required to take restricted electives courses selected from all the offerings in criminal justice. They are also are required to take several supporting courses or electives, based on the guidance of their faculty advisor. These electives may be selected from a list of courses provided by the Department, although other courses may be included with the approval of the Program Coordinator. The courses will vary depending on the individual needs and objectives of the student but the list includes courses from public administration, legal studies, psychology, sociology, and political science. Students seeking a Bachelor of Arts degree are required to successfully complete a one-year college-level proficiency in a foreign language. Seniors can use a limited number of internships and/or directed independent studies credits toward fulfilling the supporting course requirement. However, all program standards must be met to be eligible for either internship or independent study credit. Electives are available in the following subjects:
- Criminal Justice System
- Criminal Law in Action
- Prosecution and Adjudication
- Congress and the Legislative Process
- American Constitutional Law
- American Political Thought
- American Economic History
The official program of study for the Bachelor of Arts/Science in Criminal Justice is available online in the Undergraduate Catalog.
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