Criminal Justice Studies
Overview
Criminal justice studies is a multidisciplinary degree program with a strong academic foundation in the liberal arts. General topic studies include:
- Theories of crime and delinquency
- Origins and development of criminal law and procedure
- Functions and operations of criminal justice agencies in America, including the criminal justice response to juvenile offenders
- Prevention of crime and delinquency
- Privatization in corrections and policing
- Nature, meaning and purpose of criminal punishment
- Nature and impact of criminal justice policy
- Relationship between criminal justice and human diversity
Hands-on Learning
Hands-on learning is an important component of the program, and all students are required to complete an internship with an organization or agency involved with some aspect of criminal justice. Internship options include:
- Police department
- State or federal prison
- Local jail
- Circuit and municipal court
- Prosecutor’s office
- Private organizations delivering products or services to the criminal justice system
Global Experience
The criminal justice studies program conducts study abroad trips to Ireland and The Netherlands. These global experiences provide students with opportunities to study the police, court systems, and correctional systems of these countries. Learn more about these study abroad opportunities.
What can I do with a degree in criminal justice?
In recent years, career opportunities in fields linked with criminal justice have shown steady growth. While some jobs do not require a university degree, many do, and a degree almost always improves a person’s chances for promotions and other career advancement. Because the criminal justice program at SIUE rests on a strong academic foundation, a wide variety of occupations will be accessible to graduates.
Graduates of the criminal justice program will be well prepared for a wide variety of careers preventing crime and delinquency, working to repair lives that are touched by crime, and so much more:
- Law Enforcement
- Courts/Law
- Corrections
- Federal Agencies
- State and Local Agencies
Additional Resources
- For further research on employment opportunities, this resource profiles nearly 75 criminal justice career options.
- USAJOBS is a great place to start looking for and applying to your next job.
- Here are 101 Resources for the Criminal Justice job hunt.
Law Enforcement
- Police Officer
- Dispatcher
- Border Patrol Agent
- Crime Scene Technician/Crime Lab Technician
- Community Policing
- Police Administration
- Customs Agent
- Detention Officer
- Detective
- Sheriff
- And more!
Courts/Law
- Arbitration
- Attorney
- Prosecutor
- Public Defender
- Defense Attorney
- Bailiff
- Background Investigator
- Court Clerk
- Court Reporter
- Law Clerk
- Legal Research
- Paralegal
- And more!
Corrections
- Correctional Officer
- Correctional Counselor
- Juvenile Detention Officer
- Juvenile Worker
- Psychiatrist/Psychologist
- Health Systems Administration
- Food Service
- Correctional Administration
- Vocational Specialist
- And more!
Federal Agencies
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
- U.S. Secret Service
- U.S. Marshall's Service
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF)
- U.S. Customs Service Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS)
- U.S. Border Patrol
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
- U.S. Postal Inspector's Service
- Department of Homeland Security
- And more!
State and Local Agencies
- State Highway Patrol
- State Agency Investigators
- State Fire Marshall
- Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff
- Municipal Police Officer
- Detective
Additional training and certification may be required after securing employment in law enforcement as well as federal, state and local agencies.
Faculty
View current criminal justice faculty
