Undergraduate
Evening & Online
Explore criminal investigation and conviction. As you learn about the causes and prevention of criminal behavior, you’ll become equipped to make your community a safer place.
This degree will prepare you to work in community, social, or correctional agencies so you can apply what you learn to real problems.
The Associate of Science in Criminal Justice requires 24 credit hours specific to the degree, in addition to General Education courses.
A survey course designed to familiarize students with the American system of criminal justice, theories of crime causation, and society’s response to crime. The course provides a general overview of the agencies responsible for the administration of justice by examining the history, structure, and functions of law enforcement, the judicial system, and corrections.
Prerequisite: CRIM 120. Considers social, cultural and political forces which influence the formation of laws and legislative processes. Theories of the origins of law are discussed and then applied to historical legal cases.
Responsibilities, powers and duties of the uniformed patrol officer, patrol procedures, mechanics of arrest and all other functions of the officer on patrol.
Analysis of major perspectives on victimization. Emphasis is on the role of the victim in the generation of crime, experience of the victim in the criminal justice system and on patterns of victimization.
This course provides a basic overview of the theoretical frameworks and techniques used in forensic science. The focus will be on the history and development of the field and subfields of forensic science, crime scene analysis, and methodologies utilized for collection and interpretation of crime scene data.
This course is designed to provide an understanding of the organization, administration and management procedures and techniques as they apply to criminal justice agencies. Special focus on modern management and organizational theory as it applies to criminal justice agencies in the areas of public relations, communication, personnel development and labor management.
Prerequisite: PSYC 120, PSYC 222, SOCI 120, or CRIM 120.
This course introduces the language of research, the elements of quantitative and qualitative approaches, and ethical principles and challenges. Consideration is also given to techniques for collecting data and factors that influence the reliability and validity of findings.
Prerequisites: CRIM 120, PSYC 120, or SOCI 120 and a college-level math course. This course provides a general overview of descriptive and inferential statistical techniques behavioral researchers use to analyze data. Topics will include frequency distributions and graphing, measures of central tendency, variation, and relative standing, simple linear regression, and hypothesis testing. Should be taken before a student accumulates 60 credit hours (junior status).
Jobs in criminal investigation are projected to grow 2.5% by the year 2028 nationally. The median annual wage is $81,920. The average wage for criminal investigation occupations in Missouri specifically is $70,860.
You can earn your Bachelor of Criminal Justice through Drury GO to increase your professional opportunities. An Associate of Criminal Justice degree gives you the solid foundation to pursue jobs in fields like: