The criminal justice major prepares students to enter the field of law enforcement. The program centers on an understanding of the justice system in the United States and a behavior-based curriculum in combination with ethical considerations. Its approach is interdisciplinary, including courses in the psychology, forensic science, and social work disciplines.
Criminal Justice is a social science discipline; research should synthesize social theories with empirical data. As the department's approach is on crime prevention, research aims to predict criminal activity. This discipline explores ethical considerations as an essential aspect of research design and implications for practice. Required skills include the ability to analyze the community impact of crime and apply an understanding of human behavior in the framework of the American justice system. Students must also be able to use government sources to apply relevant law and analyze public data.
Field research is an elective component of the major at Cedar Crest, which requires the ability to apply classroom knowledge in real-world settings. The Crime and Community Mapping concentration is an applied specialty which uses mapping technology to explore criminal justice research.