Academics
Undergraduate Programs: Majors and Minors
Undergraduate Programs: Majors and Minors
Criminal Justice, B.S.
About the Program
Criminal justice is a multidisciplinary academic program that examines the characteristics and operations of the criminal justice system and relationships between crime and crime control within the context of a democratic society. The program explores social, cultural, political, and organizational influences on criminal justice policies and operations from both theoretical and real-world perspectives.
About the Criminal Justice Department
C114 Classroom Building
1300 Elmwood Ave
Buffalo, NY 14222
Phone: (716) 878-4517
Fax: (716) 878-3240
www.buffalostate.edu/criminaljustice/
Contact Faculty and Staff in the Criminal Justice Department
Admission Requirements
Students are not accepted to the criminal justice major during their first semester at Buffalo State. However, students can be admitted as premajors to receive the benefit of departmental information and advisement. A minimum of 12 credit hours of coursework must be completed with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5. A student is then eligible to apply for admittance as a criminal justice major. Transfer students from community colleges are accepted based upon their academic average and according to their date of application.
Career Information
Criminal justice majors are prepared for positions as law-enforcement and corrections officers on the local, state, and federal levels and for positions with community agencies that deal with crime, the criminal justice system, and victims of crime. Students who choose graduate school typically pursue doctoral programs in criminal justice or law schools.
Recent graduates have been hired by the Buffalo Police Department, the Erie County Sheriff's Department, the Erie County Probation Department, the New York State Police, the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Customs and Immigration, and Erie County Victim Services.
Program Requirements
Intellectual Foundations Requirements 39–66 cr
Total Required Credit Hours in Criminal Justice 42 cr
1. ECO 305, PSY 306, MAT 311, SOC 301, or an approved statistics course is a prerequisite for CRJ 315.
2. CRJ 495 and CRJ 499 require senior class standing and a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 at Buffalo State.
A. Core Courses (12 cr)
CRJ 101 Introduction to Criminal Justice
CRJ 303 Criminal Justice Theory and Ideology
CRJ 315 Research Methods in Criminal Justice
CRJ 470 Advanced Seminar in Criminal Justice
B. Supporting Courses (12 cr)
Select four courses from the following:
CRJ 201 Criminal Law
CRJ 202 The Police Process
CRJ 204 The Correctional Process
CRJ 250 Introduction to Intelligence Analysis
CRJ 301 Police Organization and Management
CRJ 302 Criminal Justice and the Community
CRJ 305 The Juvenile Justice System
CRJ 306 Probation, Parole, and Community Corrections
CRJ 307 Comparative Criminal Justice Systems
CRJ 308 Crime Prevention
CRJ 317 Constitutional Issues in Criminal Justice
CRJ 320 Criminal Courts
CRJ 350 Advanced Intelligence Analysis
C. Criminal Justice Electives (9 cr)
CRJ 425 Race, Ethnicity, and the Administration of Justice
OR
CRJ 430 Gender and the Administration of Justice1
Select two courses from the following:
CRJ 402 Advanced Administration in Criminal Justice
CRJ 404 White-Collar and Corporate Crime
CRJ 406 Correctional Institutions and Programs
CRJ 408 Proseminar in Criminal Justice
CRJ 409 Advanced Issues in Law Enforcement
CRJ 410 Organized Crime
CRJ 420 Advanced Issues in Punishment and Corrections
CRJ 440 Drugs, Crime, and Drug Policy
CRJ 450 Terrorism and Criminal Justice
CRJ 485 Moot Court
CRJ 488 Internship
CRJ 495 Special Project
CRJ 499 Independent Study
D. Professional, Behavioral, and Social Science Electives2 (9 cr)
Select three courses from the following:
ANT 307 Urban Anthropology
ANT 325 Skeletal Investigations: Forensic Anthropology
BIO 322 Human Heredity
BUS 312 Financial Accounting
BUS 313 Managerial Accounting
BUS 334 Business Law I
BUS 360 Principles of Management
BUS 410 Accounting Analysis
CHE 312 Chemistry and Criminalistics
SPC 306 Public Speaking
CRS 302 Creative Approaches to Problem Solving
ECO 305 Statistics for Economics
ECO 312 Urban Economics
ECO 350 Public Finance
ECO 360 Introduction to the Economic Analysis of Law
EDF 311/SOC 311 Family Violence
ENG 300 Writing for the Professions
GEG 425 Fundamentals of GIS
HIS 341 African Americans and Civil Rights
HIS 342 English Legal History
HIS 343 Introduction to American Legal History
LIB 300 Advanced Library Research Methods
MAT 311 Introductory Probability and Statistics
PHI 304 Philosophy of Law
PHI 323 Moral Issues
PSC 315 State and Local Government Politics
PSC 316 Urban Ethnic Politics
PSC 320 U.S. Constitution/Civil Liberties
PSC 350 Introduction to Legal Thought
PSC 360 Public Administration
PSC 364 American Public Policy
PSY 306 Statistics in Psychological Research
PSY 325 Social Behavior
PSY 367 Organizational Behavior
PSY 375 Forensic Psychology
PSY 376 Health Psychology
PSY 411 Abnormal Psychology
SOC 301 Social Statistics
SOC 351 Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
SOC 353 Environment and Society
SOC 380 Sociology of Crime
SOC 382 Sociology of Law
SOC 390 Sociology of Juvenile Delinquency
SPA 201 Intermediate Spanish I
SPA 202 Intermediate Spanish II
SPC 306 Public Speaking
SWK 319 Dynamics of Poverty
SWK 320 Social Services Organizations
SWK 346 Child Abuse and Neglect
1 One of these courses must be included as an elective.
2 No more than 7 credit hours from one course area (i.e., two PSC courses, two PSY courses,
or two SOC courses) allowed.
All College Electives 12–39 cr
Total Required Credit Hours 120 cr
