Fall Visit Schedule:
SEPT VIRTUAL || SEPT 26 AT 6:00 PM Penn State Day || Oct 19 at 9:00 am Oct VIRTUAL || Oct 29 AT 6:00 PM Criminal Justice || Nov 5 at 10:00 am
Complete your Penn State Application on campus with the Application Completion Day Sessions:
Session 1 || Nov 11 at 10:30 am Session 2 || Nov 11 at 2:30 pm
What is Criminal Justice?
Criminal justice is the study of the adult and juvenile justice systems, including law enforcement, the courts, and corrections. It is interdisciplinary and includes understanding the intersections of law, public policy, and behavioral science, in an effort to understand crime as a social problem and improve these systems for the good of society.
You might like this program if...
You have an interest in working in corrections, courts, court administration, law enforcement, and probation and parole. Students completing this course of study are prepared to enter law school and graduate degree programs in more specialized areas. Every student in this degree will participate in an internship at a host agency located in a local, state or federal agency of their choice.
About the Program
Students receiving a baccalaureate degree in criminal justice should understand each of the three main components of the criminal justice system and their interrelationships, be able to evaluate critically both current and future crime control policy proposals and criminal justice research, and understand the complexity of the crime phenomenon and its relationship to individual, social, and cultural factors. This major includes study in law enforcement, courts and corrections individually and as components of a system, plus work in theories of crime causation, and crime control policy. Students should expect reading, writing, and critical thinking skills to be rigorously applied and developed throughout the degree program.