Criminal Justice

A degree in criminal justice can jump-start several career paths that range from law enforcement and homeland security to crime analyzing and preparation for law school. ASU criminal justice students learn about the agencies and organizations involved in criminal proceedings as well as the thought processes of some victims and offenders.

Our criminal justice courses draw from many other areas of study, including sociology, biology, psychology, social psychology and management, among others. Professors use everything from case studies and videos to lectures and discussion to teach classes.

Nearly all professors in the criminal justice program have real-world job experience in the subjects they teach. While entry-level courses tend to be larger, some upper-level classes are more intimate with as few as 10-15 students. Professors encourage students to visit with them after class to discuss career ideas and the latest advancements in the justice system.

Criminal justice majors at ASU have two options for bachelor’s degrees. They can either play to their strengths or challenge themselves:

Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice

Students must take a foreign language and are only required to take two lab sciences from the natural science area for a total of eight hours.

Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice

Students do not have to meet a language requirement, but must take 16 hours of specific lower-level natural science courses.
  
* Note: Students wishing to more deeply investigate working in forensic criminal justice areas should major in an appropriate science area and minor in criminal justice or another science area. Advisers in all these areas can assist students who want to eventually work toward a related master’s degree at Texas Tech or other universities.