Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice - Evening

The Criminal Justice degree is an interdisciplinary degree that introduces students to the study of agencies, personnel, philosophies, procedures and methods that comprise the criminal justice system in the United States. The Criminal Justice program is designed to expose students to various aspects of existing law enforcement systems, judicial systems and correctional systems within an ethical and constitutional context.

The Criminal Justice program is designed to provide a curriculum that focuses on interpreting norms, mores, laws and rules that govern behavior in a civil society and that helps students develop a general understanding of a systems process within criminal justice. The program introduces students to diverse crime and causation theories, emphasizes the critical examination and evaluation of the ethical implications of various societal issues, and enhances effective written and oral communication skills as well as mathematical computations, quantitative reasoning, information literacy, intellectual strategies and computer use.

The Criminal Justice program is consistent with the vision and mission of Lynn University in that its academic programs reflect the importance of global transformation, multicultural awareness and international exchange and include the breadth and depth that are a basis for competencies in all programs.

Through the Criminal Justice program, students become able to describe the agencies and processes involved in criminal justice administration; explain the Bill of Rights and the impact on criminal justice system defendants; describe the nature, extent, etiology and control of law-breaking behavior; and compare and contrast the law enforcement systems of countries throughout the world.

Criminal Justice students learn to describe the structure and process of the American judicial system from a local, state and federal perspective; explain how gender affects women as offenders, victims and professionals in the criminal justice system; and analyze diverse ethical issues encountered in the criminal justice profession. These issues include discretion, affirmative action, use of deadly force, misconduct, civil disobedience, undercover operations and privacy. The program also helps students develop independent research study in the criminal justice field.

Graduates of the Criminal Justice program are able to apply ethical values in a diverse, complex and interconnected society and leave Lynn University with the knowledge, confidence, competencies and ethical consciousness to assume positions of responsibility and leadership.