Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice

The Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice (CRCJ) at UTA provides students with an academically rigorous education and prepares them for leadership positions in municipal, state, and federal agencies. Students new to the discipline have opportunities for internships with local criminal justice agencies and law offices.

Students in CRCJ take a scientific approach to understanding the correlates of crime, characteristics of victims and offenders, and the behavior of the criminal justice system (cops, courts, and corrections). They will also develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Our department has a tradition of producing graduates poised for important leadership roles in the criminal justice system at the local, state, and federal levels. Students will learn:

• All three major components of the criminal justice system: cops, courts, and corrections
• Criminal investigation, including theory and history, conduct at crime scenes, sources of information, collection and preservation of evidence
• Processes involved in the criminal justice system; the rules of evidence, laws of arrest search and seizure, and the judicial process from offense to conviction
• Use of forensic science methods for crime scene investigation
• Case and trial preparation