Criminal Justice and Criminology
Criminal Justice and Criminology
Through a broad-based education in the various components of the criminal justice system, Salve Regina University's bachelor's degree in criminal justice and criminology provides students with the skills and real-world understanding required to become the next generation of influential leaders in the field.
Advance With Purpose
Grounded in liberal studies and responsive to the complex demands of the modern workplace, Salve Regina's interdisciplinary criminal justice and criminology curriculum explores the legal and ethical principles of policing and law enforcement, courts and the law, corrections and supervision, and cybersecurity.
Our students thrive in small class sizes, work with emerging technologies, benefit from extensive faculty expertise and advance in their academic and professional careers with the support of dedicated advising. They also develop a commitment to the values of respect, dignity, fairness and the ethical responsibility of "justice for all."
Salve Regina's strategic combination of coursework and internships prepares students to become leaders and outstanding practitioners in careers related to the criminal justice system, or for advanced educational opportunities such as law school or other graduate programs.
Through our popular combined program, qualified Salve Regina undergraduates can earn their bachelor's degree and a master's degree in criminal justice and cybersecurity within five years.
Program Spotlight: Serve and Protect
Growing up in Massachusetts, Shane Bowes '20, '22 (M) had a long-standing interest in law enforcement. After attending a student trooper program in high school through the American Legion and Massachusetts State Police, he decided to fully commit to his lifelong career dream and pursue higher education to achieve this goal.
Now a Connecticut state trooper, Bowes says that Salve Regina's mercy mission has been central to his experience. "Having those humanitarian values instilled throughout my college education has allowed me to be more comfortable in providing empathetic service to victims," he said. "Salve's culture is trying to foster a harmonious, just and merciful perspective on life. It was interesting to see this in the perspective of the law enforcement field, as it shaped the way I see and problem solve in my everyday job."
Our Faculty
Through rigorous academics, development of professional skills, experiential learning and commitment to Salve Regina's mercy mission, the criminal justice and criminology program prepares students to be leaders and outstanding practitioners in the criminal justice profession. Our faculty's reputation for supporting and caring for students is well-earned and fundamental to our teaching philosophy.
Life After Salve
Salve Regina's criminal justice and criminology program prepares students to pursue many career paths, including law enforcement or corrections. Those who earn the degree often accept jobs as crime scene investigators, probation officers, FBI special agents, paralegals, criminal justice professors or police detectives.
Our students obtain skills that can be put to use in crisis resolution, criminology, corrections procedure, criminal law, ethics, communication and negotiation. Students with strong cyber backgrounds coupled with language skills are highly desirable hires in today’s workforce. Our students are finding careers in this domain, not just on the technical side but as social media specialists and on emergency response teams.
The opportunities in Salve Regina’s criminal justice and criminology program are endless. The faculty guided me; the compassion and empathy I received from them is absolutely unparalleled and I don’t think I would have received it anywhere else.
Lindsay Rolfe ’14, awareness and training lead, TikTok
Major in Criminal Justice and Criminology (B.A.)
16 courses | 48 credits
Required courses:
- CJC103: Policing in a Democratic Society
- CJC110: American Judicial System
- CJC210: Principles of Correctional Operations
- CJC232: Ethics in the Criminal Justice System
- CJC302: Criminal Law and Procedure Part I
- CJC340: Research Methods in Criminal Justice
- CJC450: Capstone: Application of Knowledge
Students also choose five elective courses in criminal justice and criminology, one psychology course, one social work course, one sociology course and three credits in applied technology.
Minor in Criminal Justice and Criminology
7 courses | 21 credits
Required courses:
- CJC103: Policing in a Democratic Society
- CJC110: American Judicial System
- CJC210: Principles of Correctional Operations
- CJC232: Ethics in the Criminal Justice System
Students also choose three elective courses in criminal justice and criminology.
Associate Degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology (A.A.)
To earn the associate degree in criminal justice and criminology, students complete eight required courses (24 credits) in criminal justice and criminology, satisfy core requirements and earn a minimum of 60 credits for graduation.
Required courses:
- CJC103: Policing in a Democratic Society
- CJC110: American Judicial System
- CJC210: Principles of Correctional Operations
- CJC232: Ethics in the Criminal Justice System
- CJC302: Criminal Law and Procedure Part I
Students also choose three elective courses in criminal justice and criminology.