Planning Your Program
Richmond offers one major and one minor through the criminal justice program.
Students enjoy the richest experience in the program when they plan their major thoughtfully, combining program-specific courses with electives that complement their major coursework. Once students declare the criminal justice major, typically during their sophomore year, they begin to meet with the criminal justice advisor.
Criminal justice majors take 36 semester hours of coursework related to the discipline. Those courses include courses in political science, sociology, philosophy and psychology, along with introductory criminal justice courses like “Fundamentals of Criminal Law” and “Fundamentals of Criminal Procedure.”
All seniors are expected to enroll in Criminal Justice 490, otherwise known as the “senior seminar.” The seminar introduces students to independent research practices comparable to the work that would be expected of students who pursued graduate level research in criminal justice. Students undergo in-depth discussions and analysis of major components of the criminal justice system: police, courts and corrections.
All students are encouraged to participate in experiential learning opportunities such as independent research, internships and study abroad.
