Justice Studies Program - Degree Requirements
The
Bachelor of Science in Justice Studies requires students to earn 125 semester
hours of credit, including 65 hours of general academic requirements and 60
hours of credit specific to the program. Please consult the current Georgia
Southern University catalogue for specifics. The B.S. in Justice Studies seeks
to provide students with a broad social science background that will help
in the development of cognitive and social skills allowing for better adaptation
to a constantly changing social and professional environment.
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Justice Studies students must take a core set of classes for the major. All students take: 1) Introduction to Criminal Justice; 2) Justice and Ethics; 3) Careers in Criminal Justice; 4) Corrections; 5) Policing; 6) Judicial Process; 7) Comparative World Criminal Justice Systems; 8) Criminology or Criminal Behavior; and 9) Research Methods. The purpose of the core major classes is to ensure that all students have a foundation in the primary aspects of the criminal justice system.
Students may then choose from among several upper division Justice Studies courses to complete their hours in the major. Students may choose from a variety of courses including, but not limited to: Community Based Corrections; Offender Counseling; Criminal Law; Investigations; Criminal Justice, Politics, and Government; Criminal Justice Administration; Theories of Crime and Justice; and Juvenile Justice. Special seminars on contemporary issues, such as the death penalty, criminal justice and the media, privatization, hate crimes, victimology, and women and crimes, complete the course of study. These courses are designed to provide students with choices leading to a more coherent, individualized program of study.
Finally, to complete the degree requirements, students must take twelve hours from a selection of multidisciplinary courses. Students must take at least one class in diversity, one in human behavior, and one in institutional processes. The fourth course may be taken in any one of these areas. Students may take political science, sociology, psychology, health, Africana studies, and/or history courses to fulfill these requirements. Students in Justice Studies also have eighteen hours of elective credits. Students are encouraged to seek an internship position as part of their elective hours.
Students are expected to develop critical thinking skills while developing knowledge of the criminal justice system and its political and social contexts. The faculty also anticipate that students who complete the Justice Studies program requirements will be equipped to pursue and succeed at graduate studies in criminal justice, criminology, and related academic disciplines, such as public administration.