The Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice Program is designed to help you become an educated citizen, as well as prepare for a career. In addition to the core courses, you will complete social science foundation courses. As you get ready to graduate, you will also be given the opportunity to specialize in one of three areas: law enforcement, pre-graduate criminology, or social justice.
Interested in going to Law School? Learn more about the 3+3 Pre-Law Degree Path with Gonzaga University.
The following information comes from the official EWU catalog, which outlines all degree requirements and serves as the guide to earning a degree. Courses are designed to provide a well-rounded and versatile degree, covering a wide range of subject areas.
Criminal Justice Major, Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Note: two years of a single high school world language or one year of a single college-level world language is required.
Required courses in the following program may have prerequisites. Reference the course descriptions for clarification.
| Required Introduction Course | ||
| CRIM 300 | INTRODUCTION TO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM | 5 |
| Foundation Courses | ||
| CRIM 330 | SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH METHOD | 5 |
| or SOCI 357 | METHOD FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH | |
| SOCI 301 | SURVEY OF CRIMINOLOGY | 5 |
| SOCI/CRIM 356 | INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL STATISTICS | 5 |
| or CSBS 320 | STATISTICS FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENCES | |
| Disciplinary Core Courses | ||
| CRIM 340 | ETHICS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE | 5 |
| or PHIL 212 | INTRODUCTORY ETHICS | |
| PSYC 302 | ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY | 5 |
| Recommended Electives–choose 40 credits approved by a department advisor. | 40 | |
| SURVEY OF ALCOHOL/DRUG PROBLEMS | ||
| CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS AND DEVELOPMENT | ||
| FORENSIC INQUIRY | ||
| FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY | ||
| WOMEN IN PRISON | ||
| VICTIMOLOGY | ||
| CRIMINAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION | ||
| FORENSIC IDENTIFICATION | ||
| CRIME AND MEDIA | ||
| COMPARATIVE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS | ||
| PEACEMAKING CRIMINOLOGY | ||
| RESTORATIVE JUSTICE | ||
| HOMELESSNESS AND JUSTICE | ||
| PENOLOGY | ||
| POLICE SYSTEMS AND PRACTICES | ||
| INTERNSHIP | ||
| CRITICAL GIS | ||
| CRIMINAL PROCEDURE | ||
| JURISPRUDENCE | ||
| BASIC CONCEPTS OF CRIMINAL LAW | ||
| CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT | ||
| CARE AND CUSTODY OF FEMALE OFFENDERS | ||
| DRUGS AND BEHAVIOR | ||
| PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LEGAL SYSTEM | ||
| SOCIOLOGY OF DEVIANCE | ||
| JUVENILE DELINQUENCY | ||
| CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORY | ||
| Required Capstone | ||
| CRIM 490 | CRIMINAL JUSTICE SENIOR CAPSTONE (a UGR–senior capstone) | 5 |
| Total Credits | 75 | |
The following plan of study is for a student with zero credits. Individual students may have different factors such as: credit through transfer work, Advanced Placement, Running Start, or any other type of college-level coursework that requires an individual plan.
Courses may be offered in different terms and not all courses are offered every term, checking the academic schedule is paramount in keeping an individual plan current. There may be some courses that have required prerequisites not listed in the plan, review the course descriptions for information. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.
All Undergraduate students are required to meet the Undergraduate Degree Requirements.
This major requires the completion of the World Language requirement. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree must complete two years of a single language in high school or one year of a single language in college.
| First Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| CRIM 300 | 5 | ENGL 201 | 5 | Diversity - graduation requirement1 | 5 |
| ENGL 101 | 5 | Humanities & Arts BACR 11 | 5 | Humanities & Arts BACR 21 | 5 |
| MATH 107 | 5 | Natural Science BACR 11 | 5 | Social Science BACR 11 | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Second Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| CRIM 340 or PHIL 212 | 5 | PSYC 302 | 5 | CRIM 356, SOCI 356, or CSBS 320 | 5 |
| Natural Science BACR 21 | 5 | SOCI 301 | 5 | Criminal Justice Elective2 | 5 |
| Social Science BACR 21 | 5 | Criminal Justice Elective2 | 5 | Global Studies - graduation requirement1 | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Third Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| Criminal Justice Elective2 | 5 | Criminal Justice Elective2 | 5 | Criminal Justice Elective2 | 5 |
| Criminal Justice Elective2 | 5 | Criminal Justice Elective2 | 5 | Criminal Justice Elective2 | 5 |
| Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Fourth Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| CRIM 330 or SOCI 357 | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | CRIM 490 (Senior Capstone - graduation requirement) | 5 |
| Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Total Credits 180 | |||||
University Graduation Requirements (UGR) and Breadth Area Course Requirements (BACR) courses may be less than 5 credits and additional credits may be required to reach the required 180 total credits needed to graduate. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.
Recommended Electives–choose 40 credits from approved list or approved by a department advisor.
Students who earn a BA in Criminal Justice from EWU should be able to:
Pre-requisites: PSYC 100 recommended.
An introduction to the action, use, and abuse of psychotropic agents from analgesics to hallucinogens. Special attention given to drug abuse.
In this course, we will explore major ethical theories with an emphasis on their application to components of the criminal justice system. We will analyze current issues and ethical dilemmas that criminal justice professionals deal with. We will examine the complex process of moral and ethical decision making in the criminal justice system.
Cross-listed: GWSS 360.
In this course, we examine the socio-structural relationships between women’s lives and women’s crimes and explore how race, class and gender assumptions shape the experiences of female correctional officers and female inmates. In addition, we analyze how the prison rules and regulations that girls and women have to abide by are deeply gendered. Since the 1980s, the number of women and girls incarcerated has increased drastically. Yet, we know very little about female criminality.
This course in an examination of the philosophic and legal bases for the protection of the rights of the criminally accused, with emphasis on Supreme Court decisions on the 4th, 5th, and 6th amendments and on the due process clause of the 14th amendment.