- Program Overview
- Curriculum Outline
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- Careers/Outcomes
- Center for Criminal Justice
- Academic Catalog
Gain a broad understanding of the justice system and build a solid foundation for a successful career in criminal justice at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio.
Franciscan’s bachelor’s degree program in criminal justice is an intense examination of the justice system and its operations, with emphasis on all systematic, procedural, and substantive components common to the justice model. These include law, evidentiary analysis, judicial operations, policing, private sector involvement, alternative and traditional corrections, and forensic law and science.
You’ll also explore diverse topics in justice studies such as civil justice, administrative justice and its corresponding agencies, the private sector and the emerging privatization of justice services, alternative disposition processes, and complementary community-based initiatives.
Grounded in the Catholic faith and tradition
The program curriculum integrates criminal justice with Western tradition, natural law theory and Catholic philosophy, preparing you to lead and operate in virtue and be a beacon for others in a system often troubled by many pressures, scandal and alienation. With a recurring theme of human law and its relationship to higher forms of law, especially justice theory rooted in natural law reasoning, Franciscan’s criminal justice major emphasizes the dignity of the human person and the nature of justice itself for the victims of crime and other harm, as well as the criminal perpetrator.
Designed specifically for the Transfer student with an associates degree—or approximately 36 college credits—this wholly online program will help you gain a broad understanding of the justice system and build a solid foundation for a successful career in criminal justice at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. The online program is a perfect fit for those who are currently employed and looking to finish a degree while accommodating their everyday life. Online coursework for the pro- gram is structured in such a way that you can complete your studies during your off hours and still tend to your daily life.
Grounded in the Judeo-Christian and Natural Law Tradition
The program curriculum integrates criminal justice with Western, Judeo-Christian philosophy, preparing you to lead in virtue and be a beacon for those that labor in a challenging world of crime and community dysfunction. With a recurring theme of human law and its relationship to higher forms of law, Franciscan’s criminal justice major emphasizes the dignity of the human person—both the victims of crime and other harm, as well as the criminal perpetrator.
Courses include:
- Justice and The Nature of Rights
- Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Process
- Victim Rights and the Justice System
- Cybercrime
- Forensic Law
- Criminal Process
- Evidence, Proof and Adjudication
- Corruption in Justice Operations
- Police Tactics in the Use of Force
- Moral and Ethical Challenges for Law Enforcement
Learn more about transferring to Franciscan University of Steubenville.
Here are just a few other ways Franciscan’s criminal justice bachelor’s degree program stands out from the rest:
- Financial aid and scholarships: The program provides for student groups and associations that have funding opportunities for continued study including Alpha Phi Sigma – the National Criminal Justice Honor Society and Lambda Phi Epsilon- the CRJ professional association. In addition, many private security companies and military branches offer scholarships for criminal justice majors who qualify. Visit the Franciscan Office of Financial Aid for more information.
- Online classes: Fulfill degree program requirements while taking some classes online. Online classes for criminal justice majors offer academic opportunities similar to the classes on campus in Steubenville, Ohio, plus flexibility and accessibility.
- Applied learning: Gain practical experience through real-world interaction with justice operations. As a criminal justice major, you’ll have the opportunity to take a critical approach to discerning best practices in the discipline with a first-hand look at what works and what doesn’t.
- Service learning: Carry out the good works of Franciscan University while putting Catholic faith into action. Service-learning opportunities include working with children and youth in distress, prisons and prisoners, victims of crime and abuse, and distressed police officers and other justice practitioners laboring under severe pressure. Internships play a key role for most CRJ majors and allow for experiences to test long term career goals.
- Undergraduate research: Receive one-on-one mentoring from faculty members who share the Catholic faith. Collaborate with local justice agencies in Steubenville, Ohio, and the surrounding communities in the tri-state area to conduct and analyze research on problems in the criminal justice system. Work directly with faculty who are published authors as research assistants. Become part of the Center for Criminal Justice, Law and Ethics and its many activities- all free to CRJ majors.
- Program faculty: Faculty members are scholar-practitioners who blend theory and practice by advancing the most current and cutting-edge knowledge and protocols in justice operations, then test those concepts in a practical, applied setting. Faculty members are actively engaged in meaningful, applied research that benefits the criminal justice system at large, advances the university’s Catholic mission, and adheres to Catholic ideals and teachings. All faculty in CRJ have high academic and professional expectations for our majors.
The criminal justice career path can follow the diverse tracks that mirror the systematic structure of the justice model, which operates at the state, federal, and local levels and consists of four main parts, namely policing and law enforcement, law and legal processes, justice agencies relating to corrections and alternative disposition- human services and crime and criminality. Criminal justice majors are highly sought after for a wide array of specialty positions in both the public and private sector, including law, policing and law enforcement, security, intelligence, investigative roles, military careers, forensic support services, counseling and juvenile services, and other emerging fields related to criminal justice, especially environmental and hazard mitigation, cybercrime and cybersecurity, forensic accounting and fraud analysis, zoning and code enforcement, and school and educational security.
Graduate Programs for Criminal Justice Majors
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice
- Master of Science in Law and Society
- Master of Science in Law and Policy
- Master of Science in Legal Studies
- Master of Science in Security Management
- Master of Science in Homeland Security
- Master of Science in Emergency Management
- Master of Science in Computer Science
- Master of Science in Cybersecurity
- Master of Science in Forensic Science
Career Opportunities
- Accounting Forensics
- Airport Security
- ATF Agent
- ATF Investigator
- ATF Technician/Professional
- Animal Cruelty Investigator
- Bail Enforcement Agent
- Bailiff
- Border Patrol Agent
- CIA Agent
- CIA Interrogators and Language Specialists
- Compliance Officer
- Computer Forensics
- Corrections Officer
- Corrections Counselor
- Counter Terrorism
- Court Reporter
- Court Clerk
- Crime Laboratory Analyst
- Crime Prevention Specialist
- Crime Scene Investigator
- Crime Scene Technician
- Criminal Profiler
- Criminalist
- Criminologist
- Customs Agent
- DEA Agent
- DHS Agents
- DHS: TSA
- DHS: ICE
- DHS: Intelligence
- DHS: Coast Guard
- DHS: Technology Specialists
- DHS: Cybercrime
- Department of State: Diplomatic Security
- FBI Agent
- Federal Air Marshal
- Federal Corrections Officer
- Federal Probation Officer
- Federal Protective Service
- Fingerprint Technician
- Fish & Game Warden
- Forensic Accountant
- Forensic Anthropologist
- Forensic Engineer
- Forensic Science
- Forensic Odonatologist
- Forensic Pathologist
- Forensic Psychology
- Fraud Investigator
- Immigration Agent
- Information Security
- INS Agent
- IRS Special Agent
- Jail Screener
- Judge
- Juvenile Probation Counselor
- Loss Prevention
- NSA Police Officer
- Paralegal
- Park Ranger
- Penologist
- Police/Homicide Detective
- Police Officer
- Prison Warden
- Private Security: Energy Sector
- Private Security: Higher Education
- Private Security: Corporate and Industrial
- Private Security: Contract
- Private Security: Agro-Farming
- Private Security: Critical Infrastructure
- Private Investigator
- Probation/Parole Officer
- Psychological Profiler
- School Security Officer/Specialist
- Secret Service Agent
- Security Analyst
- Sheriff
- State Trooper
- Substance Abuse Counselor
- Surveillance Officer
- TSA Screener
- US Capitol Police
- US Marshal
- US Military: Police
- US Military: Corrections
- US Military: Intelligence Officers
- US Postal Inspectors
- Youth Correctional Counselor
Potential Job Titles for Criminal Justice Majors
- CIA Agent
- Counter Terrorism Officer
- Criminal Profiler
- FBI Agent
- Forensic Psychologist
- Judge
- Lawyer
- Police Officer
- Private Investigator
- Secret Service Agent
Live Criminal Justice Job Board
The Center for Criminal Justice, Law, and Ethics at Franciscan University seeks to change the landscape of the justice system nationally and internationally by:
- forming justice professionals who measure justice by perennial principles of the natural law and Catholic moral tradition,
- advancing the integration of natural law principles into justice operations
Founded on the understanding that the most effective justice system be grounded in the natural law, the Center for Criminal Justice, Law, and Ethics achieves its goals through initiatives that reach into the professional practitioner community and university students in order to ethical leaders who act consistently with the principles of the natural law and our Judeo-Christian and Catholic heritage.
View the Criminal Justice Program on the Undergraduate Catalog.
Get involved on campus and in the surrounding Ohio community through student clubs and events, such as:
• Alpha Phi Sigma honor society
• Lambda Alpha Epsilon criminal justice professional society
• St. Thomas More Society for Catholic law
• Career Days for jobs in criminal justice
Criminal justice majors and their clubs often sponsor crime awareness events, such as “Take Back the Night”.
In addition to Franciscan’s study abroad program in Gaming, Austria, you’ll have opportunities for international studies, travel, and experiences through the criminal justice degree program’s relationships with Scotland Yard and the Australian and Canadian police systems, as well as partnerships with justice agencies in countries willing to articulate with Franciscan University.
With an intentionally designed curriculum rooted in the Catholic faith, Franciscan University’s degree program in criminal justice has a long-term goal to earn accreditation by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
Still undecided? You might also be interested in these other undergraduate degree programs at Franciscan that are similar to the criminal justice bachelor’s degree.
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