Criminology and Justice Studies
Major: Criminology and Justice Studies
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Science (BS)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 181.0
Co-op Options: One Co-op (Four years); No Co-op (Four years)
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 45.0401
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 21-0000
Crime Science and Analysis Concentration
With its thematic concentration in Crime Science and Analysis, Drexel University has transformed the traditional criminal justice degree program to produce graduates who possess knowledge and skills that are highly valued by criminal justice agencies in the 21st century. Namely, the program draws from criminology and criminal justice, as well as data science and cyber security, to produce globally aware and analytically proficient graduates who bring information-led approaches to solving the problems crime creates for society.
Each exposure to the criminal justice system represents a data collection point, which becomes part of a massive repository of data held by government entities. Crime Science and Analysis students will learn how to collect, manage, visualize, and analyze large sources of information so that they can bring their expertise into the crime and justice occupational arena and/or graduate school. In addition to learning to work with large sets of open data in the public justice arena, students will learn how to identify, collect, manage, and use data from the expansive—and rapidly growing—private system of justice and security to create innovative solutions for identifying, solving, and preventing crime.
Graduates of Drexel's Crime Science and Analysis concentration will be ideally suited to meet the demands of the growing job market for crime analysts among criminal justice, defense, and intelligence agencies and in the private-sector security community. Crime analysts have become an essential part of the modern criminal justice agency. They have become vital to, for example, the large police department looking to deploy resources in a manner that matches crime trends, the intelligence agency working to prevent terrorist events, and the financial services firm hoping to identify the fraudulent use of a credit card. JI graduates can also play an integral role on teams that build future information technology solutions for intelligence and defense, and criminal justice agencies from the public and private sectors.
Given the global nature of crime and justice issues, Crime Science and Analysis requires one course on international justice systems; and it encourages all students to participate in at least one faculty-led study abroad program during which students will explore various justice-related themes (examples of recent trips: The Legacy of Nazi Policing and Cold War Justice in Munich and Prague; and Crime and Justice in Scandinavia. Please visit the Study Abroad Program webpage to view the location and itinerary of the study abroad tour). The emphasis on comparative justice and study abroad reside at the leading edge of Drexel’s core value of global citizenship.
The Crime Science and Analysis thematic concentration reserves 46.0 credits of free electives so that students can easily double major and/or earn one or more minors outside the Department of Criminology and Justice Studies. Students interested in intelligence/security-related careers might consider minoring in a language or in a field related to data science and cyber security. Visit Drexel's Modern Languages Program webpage for a list of language minors, as well as the College of Computing and Informatics webpage for a list of their minors.
Degree Requirements (Crime Science and Analysis Concentration)
University Requirements | ||
CIVC 101 | Introduction to Civic Engagement | 1.0 |
COOP 101 | Career Management and Professional Development * | 1.0 |
ENGL 101 | Composition and Rhetoric I: Inquiry and Exploratory Research | 3.0 |
or ENGL 111 | English Composition I | |
ENGL 102 | Composition and Rhetoric II: Advanced Research and Evidence-Based Writing | 3.0 |
or ENGL 112 | English Composition II | |
ENGL 103 | Composition and Rhetoric III: Themes and Genres | 3.0 |
or ENGL 113 | English Composition III | |
UNIV H101 | The Drexel Experience | 1.0 |
UNIV H201 | Looking Forward: Academics and Careers | 1.0 |
College of Arts and Sciences Core Curriculum | ||
Developing Quantitative Reasoning ** | 6.0-8.0 | |
Two courses in MATH based on placement exams OR | ||
Symbolic Logic I | ||
Symbolic Logic II | ||
Engaging the Natural World ** | 6.0-8.0 | |
Analyzing Cultures & Histories ** | 6.0-8.0 | |
Understanding Society & Human Behavior ** | 6.0-8.0 | |
Cultivating Global Competence ** | 6.0-8.0 | |
Perspectives in Diversity ** | 3.0-4.0 | |
CJS Core Requirements | ||
CJS 100 | Freshman Seminar in Crime and Justice | 3.0 |
CJS 101 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | 3.0 |
CJS 200 | Criminology | 3.0 |
CJS 210 | Race, Crime, and Justice | 3.0 |
CJS 220 | Crime and the City | 3.0 |
CJS 260 | Justice in Our Community | 4.0 |
CJS 261 | Prison, Society and You | 4.0 |
CJS 290 | Crime and Public Policy | 3.0 |
CJS 320 | Comparative Justice Systems | 3.0 |
CJS 376 | Sentencing | 3.0 |
Methods and Analytics Sequence | ||
CJS 250 | Research Methods & Analytics I | 3.0 |
CJS 300 | Research Methods and Analytics II | 3.0 |
CJS 301 | Methods and Analytics III | 4.0 |
CJS 330 | Crime Mapping I Using Geographic Information Systems | 4.0 |
CJS 331 | Crime Mapping II Using Geographic Information Systems | 4.0 |
Crime Science and Analysis Thematic Concentration | ||
CJS 240 | Seminar in Justice Informatics | 3.0 |
CJS 267 | Introduction to Security Studies | 3.0 |
CJS 270 | Crime Analysis Using Open Data | 3.0 |
CJS 273 | Surveillance, Technology, and the Law | 3.0 |
CJS 276 | Introduction to Computer Crime | 3.0 |
CJS 310 | Crime Prediction Using Open Data | 3.0 |
CJS 365 | Computer Investigations and the Law | 3.0 |
CJS 405 | Data-Driven Investigations and Crime | 3.0 |
In addition to the above, students will take two of the following three courses: | 6.0 | |
Introduction to Computing and Security Technology | ||
Information Technology Security I | ||
Computer Forensics I: Fundamentals | ||
CJS Program Electives | ||
Take 9 additional credits of any CJS courses that do not appear above | 9.0 | |
Free Electives | 46.0 | |
Total Credits | 181.0-192.0 |
- *
Students not participating in co-op will take one additional credit of free elective instead of COOP 101.
Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.
COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.
- **
See Core Curriculum for complete list of course options.
Sample Plan of Study (Crime Science and Analysis Concentration)
4 year, no co-op
First Year | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
CJS 100 | 3.0 | CJS 260 | 4.0 | CIVC 101 | 1.0 | VACATION | |
CJS 101 | 3.0 | ENGL 102 or 112 | 3.0 | CJS 200 | 3.0 | ||
ENGL 101 or 111 | 3.0 | Developing Quantitative Reasoning | 3.0-4.0 | CJS 261 | 4.0 | ||
UNIV H101 | 1.0 | Understanding Society & Human Behavior | 3.0-4.0 | ENGL 103 | 3.0 | ||
Developing Quantitative Reasoning | 3.0-4.0 | Free Elective | 3.0 | Analyzing Cultures & Histories | 3.0-4.0 | ||
Analyzing Cultures & Histories | 3.0-4.0 | ||||||
13-14 | 16-18 | 17-19 | 0 | ||||
Second Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
CJS 210 | 3.0 | CJS 300 | 3.0 | CJS 270 | 3.0 | VACATION | |
CJS 240 | 3.0 | INFO 101, CT 201, or CT 212 | 3.0 | CJS 273 | 3.0 | ||
CJS 250 | 3.0 | CJS Program Elective | 3.0 | CJS 301 | 4.0 | ||
CJS 276 | 3.0 | Engaging the Natural World | 3.0-4.0 | INFO 101, CT 201, or CT 212 | 3.0 | ||
Free Elective | 3.0 | Free Electives | 3.0 | Engaging the Natural World | 3.0-4.0 | ||
15 | 15-16 | 16-17 | 0 | ||||
Third Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
CJS 267 | 3.0 | CJS 220 | 3.0 | CJS 310 | 3.0 | VACATION | |
CJS 330 | 4.0 | CJS 290 | 3.0 | CJS 320 | 3.0 | ||
CJS Program Elective | 3.0 | CJS 331 | 4.0 | CJS 376 | 3.0 | ||
Perspectives in Diversity | 3.0-4.0 | Cultivating Global Competence | 3.0-4.0 | Cultivating Global Competence | 3.0-4.0 | ||
Understanding Society & Human Behavior | 3.0-4.0 | Free Electives | 3.0 | Free Elective | 3.0 | ||
16-18 | 16-17 | 15-16 | 0 | ||||
Fourth Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | ||
CJS Program Elective | 3.0 | CJS 405 | 3.0 | CJS 365 | 3.0 | ||
Free Electives | 12.0 | UNIV H201 | 1.0 | Free Electives | 9.0 | ||
Free Electives | 11.0 | ||||||
15 | 15 | 12 | |||||
Total Credits 181-192 |
4 year, 1 co-op
First Year | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
CJS 100 | 3.0 | CJS 260 | 4.0 | CIVC 101 | 1.0 | VACATION | |
CJS 101 | 3.0 | ENGL 102 or 112 | 3.0 | CJS 200 | 3.0 | ||
ENGL 101 or 111 | 3.0 | Developing Quantitative Reasoning | 3.0-4.0 | CJS 261 | 4.0 | ||
UNIV H101 | 1.0 | Understanding Society & Human Behavior | 3.0-4.0 | ENGL 103 or 113 | 3.0 | ||
Developing Quantitative Reasoning | 3.0-4.0 | Free Elective | 3.0 | Analyzing Cultures & Histories | 3.0-4.0 | ||
Analyzing Cultures & Histories | 3.0-4.0 | ||||||
13-14 | 16-18 | 17-19 | 0 | ||||
Second Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
CJS 210 | 3.0 | CJS 300 | 3.0 | CJS 270 | 3.0 | COOP 101* | 1.0 |
CJS 240 | 3.0 | INFO 101, CT 201, or CT 212 | 3.0 | CJS 273 | 3.0 | CJS 267 | 3.0 |
CJS 250 | 3.0 | CJS Program Elective | 3.0 | CJS 301 | 4.0 | Perspectives in Diversity | 3.0-4.0 |
CJS 276 | 3.0 | Engaging the Natural World | 3.0-4.0 | INFO 101, CT 201, or CT 212 | 3.0 | Free Elective | 6.0 |
CJS Program Elective | 3.0 | Free Electives | 6.0 | Engaging the Natural World | 3.0-4.0 | ||
15 | 18-19 | 16-17 | 13-14 | ||||
Third Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
CJS 290 | 3.0 | CJS 331 | 4.0 | COOP EXPERIENCE | COOP EXPERIENCE | ||
CJS 330 | 4.0 | CJS 376 | 3.0 | ||||
CJS Program Elective | 3.0 | Cultivating Global Competence | 3.0-4.0 | ||||
Understanding Society & Human Behavior | 3.0-4.0 | Free Electives | 6.0 | ||||
Free Elective | 3.0 | ||||||
16-17 | 16-17 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Fourth Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | ||
CJS 310 | 3.0 | CJS 220 | 3.0 | CJS 320 | 3.0 | ||
Cultivating Global Competence | 3.0-4.0 | CJS 405 | 3.0 | CJS 365 | 3.0 | ||
Free Electives | 6.0 | UNIV H201 | 1.0 | Free Elective | 9.0 | ||
Free Electives | 7.0 | ||||||
12-13 | 14 | 15 | |||||
Total Credits 181-192 |
- *
Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.
COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.
Crime Science and Analysis Concentration
Professional Experiences
Students will complete one co-op (i.e., professional placement), typically during the spring and summer quarters of their Junior year. This way, when they return for the start of their senior year, they can immediately begin their (impending) post-graduation job search with their co-op experience still recent on their resume. Some placements are paid (usually in the private sector) and others are unpaid (primarily in the public sector). The placements earn students academic credit while providing professional socialization and learning with crime and justice professionals. The networking aspects of these placements are invaluable for future career development. In addition to the learning experiences, past students have received excellent letters of recommendation for future employment agencies and for graduate and law school admissions.
In recent years, students have been placed in local agencies such as the District Attorney’s Office, the Institutional Law Project, the Juvenile Law Center, the Defendants Association of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia and Bucks County Prison Systems and the Pennsylvania Prison Society, Pennsylvania and New Jersey State Police. Several students have co-op'd and later worked full time at the Eastern State Penitentiary Historical Site and Museum. On the state level, co-op students have worked with the Board of Probation & Parole and other agencies. At the federal level, The US Customs Service had an agreement to accept cooperative education placements after having been screened by faculty. The faculty in Criminology and Justice Studies has been working over the past few years to expand its list of research co-ops (primarily for students working toward graduate school) and international co-ops.