Online Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice

Introduction to Criminal Justice

This is an introductory course which examines criminal justice in the United States. The course describes and examines the agencies responsible for the control and prevention of crime. While examining the formal crime control processes in the United States, the students will be introduced to how we examine those processes and their impact on victims, offenders and society. The course provides an overview of the criminal justice process including the police, courts, and corrections.

Corrections in America

Familiarizes the student with the history, current practices, and future directions of corrections. The course will examine how criminal justice social scientists develop, examine and evaluate the impact and successes of the various treatment practices in our correctional system.

First Year Exp in the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services

PRFS 1001 is a first-year experience course to help students to transition to campus successfully. It focuses on helping students to navigate campus resources, develop academic habits and soft skills such as critical thinking and time management, and apply their knowledge and skills to successfully transition to UC and college life. Students in this course are also paired with academic coaches and meet one-on-one throughout the semester.

GenEd: AH

GenEd: MSL

GenEd: SBS

Introduction to Criminology

This introductory level course examines the measurement and nature of crime, the major theoretical explanations of criminal behavior, andthe policies used to reduce the crime problem.

Policing in America

This is an introductory course devoted to the examination of the police and law enforcement in the United States. The course describes and examines the number and variety of policing agencies, their development and evolution, and the operations of police and law enforcement organizations. The course examines the range of U.S. police agencies, with an emphasis on local police. The course also introduces the student to how the discipline of criminal justice examines those roles and operations and evaluates their impact on society.

English Composition

English Composition 1001 is a writing-centered course that emphasizes the careful reading, analytical thinking, and persuasive strategies inherent in researching and writing within an academic community. Students learn that rhetorical knowledge is the basis of composing while learning to write with purpose, audience, context, and conventions in mind. Students develop rigorous academic research practices: how to locate and evaluate primary and secondary sources relevant to their line of inquiry and position their own ideas in conversation with public writing. Students also engage in regular self-reflection: articulating what they know, what they can do, and how to apply their knowledge and skills in various contexts.

GenEd: SBS

Intermediate Composition

Intermediate Composition is a writing-centered course that builds on what students learn in first-year composition and focuses students’ attention on theoretical underpinning of how meaning is made, understood, and communicated within and across various discourse communities and genres. The course emphasizes critical reading and writing, advanced research and analysis skills, and rhetorical sensitivity to differences in academic, professional, and public composing. This course challenges students to engage in substantive projects drawing on primary research and source analysis methods and asks students to document, communicate, and reflect on their research. 

GenEd: NSC

GenEd: AH, CD, ENC, MSL, NSC, OC, SBS

Criminal Procedure

The course material will include the constitutional aspects of criminal procedure. It will specifically examine the appellate process, the history and development of due process, the exclusionary rule, search and seizure, rules of arrest, pre-trial identification, bail, sentencingand interrogation.

GenEd: AH

GenEd: NSC

Criminal Justice Research Methods

This course is designed to provide an overview of methods used by scientists to advance our understanding of crime causation and "what works" to meet the goals of crime control and justice. All stages of the research process except for data analysis will be covered, from the development of research questions through the collection of data to answer these questions. To more fully understand the methods covered in this course, we will assess their applications in some of the more important criminal justice studies conducted to date. Ethical considerations that must be made when conducting related research will also be reviewed.

Criminal Justice Statistics

Basic introduction to research and statistics in acriminal justice setting. Emphasis on measurement,descriptive, and inferential statistical methods.

GenEd: AH, CD, ENC, MSL, NSC, OC, SBS

Preparing for Career Success

This course is designed to provide students with career development prior to starting internship/field placement.  In this course students will learn about writing resumes, cover letters, and job applications; interview etiquette and how to answer interview questions; and workplace rules and appropriate workplace behaviors.  This course provides students an opportunity to learn skills and approaches that will prepare them for securing an internship and future positions in the workforce after graduation.

GenEd: AH, CD, ENC, MSL, NSC, OC, SBS

Criminal Justice Senior Seminar

The University of Cincinnati requires that each undergraduate program have a “culminating experience” in which students demonstrate, with appropriate faculty guidance, the independent ability to use their knowledge to analyze problems central to their degree area. In our Distance Learning Program we use a “Senior Seminar”.  Essentially, it is a paper written on a topic selected by the professor in which students explore relevant conceptual, research, and policy issues. In doing so, students are expected to “demonstrate” their ability to apply or otherwise use the knowledge and analytic skills gained in their coursework.