Program Information
The curriculum in criminology and criminal justice utilizes a small-classroom environment to offer both full and part-time day programs leading to a bachelor of science degree. Niagara’s challenging faculty, balanced curriculum, fascinating outside speakers, and stimulating internships provide a broadly based educational experience that combines an education in the liberal arts with a comprehensive background in the field of criminal justice. The primary goals of the program are to prepare students for positions in the field of criminal justice and, for qualified students, graduate work in the social sciences or law.
BS/MS Option
Niagara University’s BS/MS program provides qualified students with the opportunity for advanced education in the administration of various aspects of the criminal justice system. Incoming freshmen (who meet two of the following criteria:
90 percent or higher high school QPA, top 10 percent of graduating class, and/or a combined SAT score of 1100 or higher), senior social science majors and minors, and transfer students with a major or minor in criminal justice may take this option. BS/MS students take a maximum of nine credit hours of graduate course work in the criminal justice department during their senior year. These credits apply to both the undergraduate and the graduate degree. Thus, the program is designed to allow students to complete both their undergraduate and their graduate degrees in 10 semesters (five years) rather than the typical 12 semesters.
At the end of the five-year BS/MS program, students will have a sophisticated and critical understanding of criminal justice processes and related social, economic and political issues. The successful student will develop an appreciation for both quantitative and qualitative research and the relationship between research and policy in the administration of criminal justice. As a result, the successful candidate will be well-positioned in the marketplace for a variety of entry-level criminal justice-related positions, including employment as a practitioner or as a researcher in a government agency or a not-for-profit think tank.
Additionally, the successful BS/MS candidate will be well-suited to compete for admission into Ph.D.-granting institutions or law schools.
International and Interdisciplinary Perspective
Administration skills, computer application, professional ethics, and low student-faculty ratios are combined with interdisciplinary offerings in an international perspective. The courses are taught with an understanding that some students work in Canada.
Several criminal justice classes can be taken as electives in the university’s master’s in counseling program. This makes for an interesting student mix and an engaging classroom experience.
MS in Criminal Justice Administration (33 credits)*
Core Requirements (six courses)
CRJ 500 Seminar in System-/Wide Issues in Criminal Justice
CRJ 510 Seminar in Criminal Justice Management
CRJ 520 Introduction to Statistics
CRJ 530 Seminar in Professional Ethics and Liability
CRJ 540 Research, Planning and Evaluation Methods in Criminal Justice
Policy paper (three credits) OR Master’s thesis (six credits)
Seminar Electives: Students choose five electives or four electives with a master’s thesis. A partial list of electives is listed below:
Seminar in Theories of Crime
Seminar in Problems in the Application of Law and Legal Policy
Seminar in Organized and White Collar Crime
Seminar in Penal Policy and the Management of Offenders
Seminar in Comparative Crime and Justice
Race, Gender and Class in the Criminal Justice System
Seminar in Special Problems in Criminal Justice
Supervised readings in criminal justice
*Three of the courses listed above may be taken during senior year.
Minors
The links below are resources related to various minors in Criminal Justice. To officially declare your minor make sure you fill out the Minor Form. Criminal Justice majors who wish to minor in Computer Crime or Fraud Examination and Economic Crime can use a maximum of 3 major courses toward the minor.
Criminology and Criminal Justice Minor
(Available for Non-Majors only)
Contact Dr. Ireland toi@niagara.edu
Timon Hall
6 Course Units
CRJ 201 Introduction to Criminal Justice 1
CRJ 202 Juvenile Justice 1
Criminology and Criminal Justice 1
Law Enforcement 1
Law Adjudication 1
Penology 1
Computer Crime
Contact Dr. Wagner scwagner@niagara.edu
6 Course Units
CRJ 201 - Introduction to Criminal Justice
CRJ 210 - Criminology
CRJ 350 - Criminal Law
CIS 380 - Data Management (prerequisites: CIS 232 or 260 or permission of instructor) CIS 390 - Visual Systems Integration (prerequisites: CIS 232 and 365, or permission of instructor)
CIS 480 - Management of Computer Information Systems (prerequisites: CIS 380 or permission of instructor)
Fraud Examination & Economic Crime Minor
Contact Professor Oddo aroddo@niagara.edu
Perboyre Hall Room 307
The minor is an interdisciplinary program to introduce
students to fraud examination and economic crime integrating
accounting, computer, and criminal justice issues.
Prerequisites
ACC 111 Financial accounting
ACC 112 Management accounting
ECO 102 Microeconomics
CIS 232 Microcomputer applications for business
6 Course Units
CRJ 201 Introduction to Criminal Justice 1
CIS 380 Data Management 1
CIS 332 Advanced Microcomputer
Applications for Business or
CIS 480 Management of Computer
Information Systems 1
CRJ 315 Organizational Crime 1
ACC 346 Auditing 1
ACC 340 Fraud Examination and Economic Crime
(cross listed with CIS 340 and CRJ 340) 1