Criminal Justice
The major in Criminal Justice is one of the 2+2 programs offered by Grand View in collaboration with Des Moines Area Community College. This program is designed to provide students an understanding of both the criminal justice system in America as well as some of the principal psychological, social, and issues that are of concern to those who work in this field. The criminal justice major is for those interested in the interrelationships of institutions, society, and individual freedoms and responsibilities.
Ordinarily students take two years of courses at DMACC, then transfer to Grand View for the final two years of courses. Students who are not transfering credits from DMACC are enrolled in the Criminal Justice concentration and will complete 45 semester credits towards a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice.
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Courses and Requirements
Prerequisite Courses:
Select one of the following two:
- Statistics for Social Sciences OR
- Principles of Statistics
Departmental Courses Required of All Majors:
- National Government
- Introduction to Public Administration
- American Constitutional Law and Development I
- Research Methods for the Social Sciences
- General Psychology
- Abnormal Psychology
- Senior Seminar
- Introduction to Sociology
- Social Psychology
- Social Problems
- Criminology
- Independent Study AS NEEDED
- Internship (The internship may be waived for students who are employed in a criminal justice position approved by Grand View University.)
Six or more credits from the following AND/OR Topics in Criminology:
- Strange and Deviant Groups
- Crime and the Media
- Gangs
- Women and Crime
- Serial Killers
- Violence in the Workplace
- The Sociology of the Weird and Bizarre
- Crime Scene Investigation
- Special Topics AS NEEDED
For detailed course descriptions, please go to the current catalog HERE.
Career Options
Graduates of the Criminal Justice program at Grand View can apply for jobs in all areas of law enforcement.
• Police Officer
• FBI Agent
• Juvenile/Adult Probation Officer
• IRS Agent
• Private Insurance Investigation
• DNR Officer
• Corrections Officer
• Iowa Department of Commerce Investigator
• Private Security Officer
• Postal Inspector
• DCI Officer
Internships
Students pursuing a Criminal Justice degree have the opportunity to work on internships at various criminal justice agencies in Des Moines and the surrounding areas. The internship is an academic experience in a career-related work setting supervised jointly by Grand View and an associated employer. It is an application of classroom experience to the work setting. A maximum of six credits may be earned from internship.
Students have complete internships in many area businesses: Mainstream Living Inc., Fifth Judicial District-Dept. of Corrections, Polk/Warren County Juvenile court, Iowa Department of Human Services and the Altoona Police Department.
Opportunities
Get involved by joining the Criminal Justice Club!
Sponsor: Dr. Ahmadu Baba-Singhri
Rasmussen, Room 129
263-6007
ababa-singhri@grandview.edu