Program Overview

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Criminal Justice Bachelor of Science Degree

Overview

The Criminal Justice Bachelor of Science Degree program at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) provides students with a broad education in law and justice, preparing them for a wide range of careers in federal and local criminal justice agencies. The program combines theoretical perspectives with practical experience, offering a unique blend of academic and professional training.

Why Study Criminal Justice at RIT?

• Future-Focused Approach: The program provides a combination of theoretical perspectives with practical experience, giving students the problem-solving skills necessary to address today's most pressing social issues facing criminal justice.
• Hands-On Experience: Students gain real-world career experience in criminal justice through an optional co-op, setting them apart from the competition.
• Career Readiness: The program attains the skills necessary to advance into a wide range of careers in federal and local criminal justice agencies.
• Teaching Partnership Program Available: 4+1 or 3+2 programs enable students to earn their bachelor's degree at RIT and a master's degree in education at one of their partner universities.
• Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's Available: Students can earn both their bachelor's and master's degrees in less time and with a cost savings, giving them a competitive advantage in their field.

RIT's Criminal Justice BS

The major in criminal justice provides students with a broad education that speaks to their interest in law and justice. The program prepares students for a wide range of careers in federal and local criminal justice agencies and offers a strong academic foundation for graduate or law school.

Criminal Justice Curriculum

The criminal justice bachelor's degree develops students' understanding of crime and the criminal justice system responses. Students explore contemporary public safety issues, especially those involving technology, and evaluate the intended and unintended consequences. This framework offers opportunities to consider policy responses and engage in hands-on research in local agencies.

Center for Public Safety Initiatives

The Center for Public Safety Initiatives is housed in the criminal justice department and works with the Rochester Police Department and other community groups. Students work closely with faculty on various projects, gaining valuable experience working with crime mapping, data gathering, and data analysis.

RIT's Pre-Law Program

Law schools welcome applications from students majoring in a wide range of academic programs. RIT's pre-law program helps students navigate the admission process for law school, explore a range of legal careers, and guide them through course selection to ensure they build the skills and competencies required of competitive law school applicants.

Furthering Your Education in Criminal Justice

Combined Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's Degrees

Today's careers require advanced degrees grounded in real-world experience. RIT's Combined Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's Degrees enable students to earn both a bachelor's and a master's degree in as little as five years of study, all while gaining valuable hands-on experience.

• Criminal Justice BS/MS: The dual degree pathway enables students to earn a BS and an MS in criminal justice, preparing them for positions in crime analysis and policy analysis with local, state, and federal agencies as well as for work as police, probation, and parole officers across levels of the criminal justice system.
• +1 MBA: Students who enroll in a qualifying undergraduate degree have the opportunity to add an MBA to their bachelor's degree after their first year of study, depending on their program.

3+3 Accelerated BS/JD Programs

RIT has partnered with Syracuse University's College of Law and University at Buffalo School of Law to offer accelerated 3+3 BS/JD options for highly capable students. These programs provide a fast track to law school where students can earn a bachelor's degree at RIT and a Juris Doctorate degree at Syracuse University or University at Buffalo in six years.

RIT's Teaching Partnership Programs

Whether students' goal is to go into early childhood or elementary education, become a secondary education teacher with a content area specialty at the middle or high school level, or work in the higher education or counseling fields, RIT's partnership programs with local universities provide a guided pathway to a career in teaching.

Careers in Criminal Justice

Many graduates are engaged in law enforcement careers in agencies at all levels of government, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Secret Service, U.S. Marshals Service, Naval Intelligence Service, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Centers for Disease Control, Department of the Interior, and the National Park Service, among others.

Cooperative Education and Internships

What's different about an RIT education? It's the career experience students gain by completing cooperative education and internships with top companies in every single industry. Students earn more than a degree; they gain real-world career experience that sets them apart.

Field Instruction

During their senior year, students have the opportunity to complete an internship at a number of agencies and organizations in the areas of law, law enforcement, institutional and non-institutional corrections, courts, juvenile advocacy and counseling programs, and security.

Curriculum for Criminal Justice BS

Typical Course Sequence

• First Year:
  • CRIM-100: Seminar in Criminal Justice
  • CRIM-110: Introduction to Criminal Justice
  • YOPS-10: RIT 365: RIT Connections
  • General Education courses
• Second Year:
  • CRIM-300: Quantitative Methods for Criminal Justice
  • CRIM-350: Theories of Crime and Criminality
  • CRIM-400: Research Methods
  • General Education courses
• Third Year:
  • Criminal Justice Electives
  • General Education courses
  • Open Electives
• Fourth Year:
  • CRIM-500: Seminar in Criminal Justice and Public Policy
  • CRIM-550: Field Experience
  • General Education courses
  • Open Electives

Criminal Justice Electives

• CRIM-210: Technology in Criminal Justice
• CRIM-215: Law and Society
• CRIM-220: Corrections
• CRIM-225: Criminal Law
• CRIM-230: Juvenile Justice
• CRIM-235: Crime, Justice and Communities
• CRIM-240: Law Enforcement in Society
• CRIM-260: Courts
• CRIM-265: Women and Crime
• CRIM-270: Current Issues in Criminal Justice
• CRIM-275: Crime and Violence
• CRIM-285: Minority Groups and the Criminal Justice System
• CRIM-290: Computer Crime
• CRIM-299: Crime, Justice, and Ethics
• CRIM-310: Seminar in Law
• CRIM-315: Evidence
• CRIM-489: Major Issues in Criminal Justice

Combined Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's Degrees

Criminal Justice, BS/MS degree, typical course sequence

• First Year:
  • CRIM-100: Seminar in Criminal Justice
  • CRIM-110: Introduction to Criminal Justice
  • YOPS-10: RIT 365: RIT Connections
  • General Education courses
• Second Year:
  • CRIM-300: Quantitative Methods for Criminal Justice
  • CRIM-350: Theories of Crime and Criminality
  • CRIM-400: Research Methods
  • General Education courses
• Third Year:
  • Criminal Justice Electives
  • General Education courses
  • Open Electives
• Fourth Year:
  • CRIM-500: Seminar in Criminal Justice and Public Policy
  • CRIM-550: Field Experience
  • General Education courses
  • Open Electives
• Fifth Year:
  • CRIM-700: Pro-Seminar In Criminal Justice Theory
  • CRIM-703: Advanced Criminology
  • CRIM-701: Statistics
  • CRIM-702: Pro-Seminar in Research Methods
  • CRIM-704: Crime, Justice and Community
  • CRIM-705: Interventions and Change in Criminal Justice
  • CRIM-775: Criminal Justice Capstone

Admissions and Financial Aid

First-Year Admission

• 4 years of English with a strong performance is expected.
• 3 years of social studies and/or history with a strong performance is expected.
• 3 years of math is required and must include algebra, geometry, and algebra 2/trigonometry.
• 2-3 years of science.

Transfer Admission

• A minimum of college algebra is required.

Faculty

• Jason Scott, Department Chair
• Judy Porter, Professor
• Irshad Altheimer, Ellen M Granberg Endowed Professor

Facilities

• Technology and Policy Lab and Crime and Digital Assets Clinic, a CPSI CoLAB
• Race and Justice Lab, a CPSI CoLAB
• Reporting Lab, a CPSI CoLAB

Events

• Donuts with the Dean in the College of Liberal Arts

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