An introduction to criminal justice as a career. The major fields of criminal justice and the typical responsibilities of a criminal justice practitioner are introduced through the use of readings, discussions, and presentations. Offered every semester.
Winter 2025 - Online
This introduction to the study of crime and justice includes theories and methodologies from a variety of social science disciplines. The course introduces the study of social control and to the origins of crime at individual, structural, and cultural levels. Fulfills one of the Foundations - Social and Behavioral Sciences. Offered fall and winter semesters.
Winter 2025 - Online Spring/Summer 2025 - Online
An analysis of crime, criminal behavior, punishment, and the theories of deviancy from historical perspectives. Offered fall and winter semesters. Prerequisite: CJ 101 (may be taken concurrently).
An exploration of the relationships between culture, crime, and justice that seeks to increase students' cultural competence in relation to the administration of justice and the justice professions. Offered fall semester. Prerequisites: CJ 201.
Spring/Summer 2025 - Online
This course involves an examination of basic investigatory methods in criminal justice. Focus is on the logic and theory of criminological research, the formulation and testing of hypotheses, research design, sampling, modes of data production, and the ethics of conducting research in criminology and criminal justice. Offered fall and winter semesters. Prerequisites: STA 215, criminal justice or legal studies major standing, and junior standing.
Survey of the nature and extent of protection of civil liberties and civil rights of the accused under the U.S. Constitution through examination of landmark Supreme Court decisions. Offered fall and winter semesters.
Modern police field investigative techniques in collection and preservation of physical evidence and interrogation and preparation of formal statements of witnesses and suspects. Offered fall and winter semesters.
Functions of law enforcement and the roles of the police in contemporary society. Study of the police from several perspectives: historical, sociological, psychological, organizational, and political. Issues, research, and trends pertinent to law enforcement organizations. Offered fall and winter semesters. Prerequisite: CJ 201.
An in-depth analysis of the historical perspectives, current status components, and opportunities in private security. Special emphasis is placed on technology, internal and external threats, and fire prevention and safety. Offered fall semester.
An in-depth study of crimes committed almost exclusively against women. Such crimes include sexual harassment, rape, and certain types of murder. The course is taught within the framework of feminist theory and research. Cross-listed with WGS 320. Offered fall semester.
A comparative study of criminal justice in relation to past, current, and emerging human rights claims, violations, protections, and enforcement locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Part of the Human Rights Issue. Offered winter semester. Prerequisite: Junior standing.
An examination and discussion of the American correctional process with emphasis on correctional institutions, inmate social system, institutional, and community programs and procedures, probation, parole, and contemporary issues. Offered fall and winter semesters. Prerequisite: CJ 201.
Examination of digital communication and media in relation to crime and victimization as it intersects with the United States and international criminal justice systems. Investigation of the use of digital spaces and media in relation to cultures of privacy, fraud, trafficking, emancipation, terror, and perceptions of expanding and retracting democracy. Part of the Globalization Issue. Cross-listed with DS 335. Offered every semester. Prerequisite: Junior standing.
An examination of the federal, state, and juvenile court systems in the United States, emphasizing comparison of civil and criminal court systems, the roles and responsibilities of the legal actors, the dynamics of courthouse justice from pretrial through postconviction processes, and historical and contemporary challenges to judicial branch authority. Offered fall and winter semesters. Prerequisite: CJ 201.
An analysis of the historical and philosophical foundations of the juvenile justice process and system. Special attention is given to legal and administrative issues, reforms, and controversies. Offered fall and winter semesters. Prerequisite: CJ 201.
The study of the emergence of youth subcultures over the course of the 20th century and its relationship to issues of crime and delinquency. Special attention will be given to the social and cultural context of youth, including the family, neighborhood, media drugs, gangs, guns, race, class, and gender roles. Offered fall and winter semesters.
This course explores connections between U.S. PK-12 education systems and juvenile justice systems. Emphasis will be placed on ways these two systems interact and how different groups are served. Topics include the school-to-prison pipeline, zero tolerance policies, restorative practices, and roles of racism, gender, family, and communities. Cross-listed with EDF 365. Offered spring semester. Prerequisite: Junior standing
This course examines environmental crime, the laws designed to prevent and/or mitigate it, enforcement of those laws, and the relationship between race, class, and exposure to environmental harm around the world. Offered once per year during winter, spring, or summer semester. Prerequisite: Junior standing.
Focuses on topics not ordinarily dealt with in other courses. Topics will be determined by faculty interest and student request. While the course can be repeated, no more than six credits can be applied to a criminal justice or legal studies major. Offered on sufficient demand.
This course examines qualitative methods focusing primarily on participant observation, asking questions, writing field notes, and the transformation of these primary field data into written ethnographic documents. Students will also explore unstructured and semi-structured interviewing, direct observation, open-ended survey questions, and sampling from preexisting texts. Offered fall and winter semesters. Prerequisites: CJ 300 and junior standing.
A survey of modern domestic and international terrorism. Examines the structure and dynamics of terrorist groups, types of terrorist violence, and justification of violence. Analyses of geographical regions, religion, ideology, technology, counter measures, media, and mass destruction. Offered fall and winter semesters. Prerequisite: Junior standing.
Examines patterns, current practice and trends concerning crime victims, including the role of victims in crime, their treatment by the criminal justice system, victims blaming arguments, victims' decisions to report crimes and help prosecute offenders, victim assistance programs, victim compensation and restitution, and victim empowerment. Offered fall semester of even-numbered years. Prerequisite: Junior standing.
Internship in local agencies with individual faculty supervision to apply academic knowledge to actual and professional experience. May be repeated for up to nine credits. Offered each semester. Prerequisites: Junior standing and permission of internship coordinator. Corequisite: CJ 491
This course assists students in understanding and achieving competence in their internship setting, including the assessment and evaluation of client populations, criminal justice operations, and issues related to agency policy and functioning. Offered each semester. Corequisite: CJ 490. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Winter 2025 - Hybrid Spring/Summer 2025 - Hybrid
A Capstone course that will entail readings and discussion on contemporary criminal justice issues, ethics, and trends resulting in a senior paper/project. Offered fall and winter semesters. Prerequisites: CJ 201 and senior standing.
This course examines basic and advanced concepts of quantitative research methodology and data analysis. Students will become familiar with research and data analysis techniques necessary for review of criminal justice issues. Students will learn to critically evaluate research, and understand how to create professional, empirical, and evaluation research proposals. Offered winter semester. Prerequisite: Admission to a CCPS graduate program.
Winter 2025 - Hybrid
Examines crime victim advocacy and services, including the crime victims' rights movement and associated legislation, the criminal-legal process for crime victims, advocacy and services for crime victims, culturally competent and trauma-informed responses to crime victims, and managing secondary traumatic stress for those who serve crime victims. Offered as needed. Prerequisites: Admission to GVSU graduate program or with permission of the MCJ graduate program director.
This course examines trauma-informed responses in the criminal justice system, including why criminal justice system professionals need to be aware of and understand trauma, the types of trauma among and impacts on justice-involved individuals, trauma-informed responses to justice-involved individuals, and methods for criminal justice professionals to manage secondary traumatic stress. Offered as needed. Prerequisites: Admission to GVSU graduate program or with permission of the MCJ graduate program director.
A graduate level seminar that will integrate learning from the core master's degree coursework. This course will synthesize material pertaining to criminal justice systems theories, criminology, empirical research, and program creation and implementation. The culminating outcome of the class will be a master's level research paper and presentation. Offered winter semester. Prerequisites: Admission to the MCJ program, with completion of 18 credits, including all MCJ core classes.
A seminar for the study of important topics not ordinarily covered in other courses. Course may be taken more than once when topic is different. Offered as needed. Prerequisite: Admission to criminal justice graduate program or permission of graduate director.
