Criminal Justice, AA with Designation

Additional information available on the Criminal Justice Department website.

Recommended basic skills courses are

College Reading & Writing Literacy
College Quantitative Literacy for MAT 1240 or MAT 1260
College Algebraic Literacy for MAT 1340

The Associate of Arts in Criminal Justice is designed for students intending to transfer to a four-year school and pursue a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. The Statewide Transfer Agreement will allow students to transfer to a Colorado public four-year school and complete their degree with an additional 60 credit hours.

Courses marked with an asterisk [*] are not currently offered at PPSC.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the Criminal Justice degree program, students should be able to:

Explain the origins of criminal behavior, society’s response to crime, and the consequences of crime to our society, utilizing multiple perspectives
Explain social injustices and social harms within criminal justice systems
Compare theoretical frameworks to the causes and prevention of crime, the processes of criminalization, and the impact that crime has on society
Discuss the relationships between the courtroom and its procedures, the criminal law, and issues of criminal procedure (due process vs. crime control)
Document police-related activities through effective report writing
Differentiate and explain the key roles in the core criminal justice areas (law enforcement, law and corrections)

Full list of requirements can be found at Associate of Arts Degrees, AA .

Written Communication

Six (6) credit hours

ENG 1021 - English Composition I CO1 3 Credit Hour(s)
ENG 1022 - English Composition II CO2 3 Credit Hour(s)
or
ENG 1022 - English Composition II CO2 3 Credit Hours
ENG 2001 - English Composition III CO3 3 Credit Hour(s)
or
HIS 2765 - Writing About History CO3 3 Credit Hour(s)

Mathematics

Three-four (3-4) credit hours

GT - One GT Pathways course (GT-MA1)
prefer MAT 1260 , except:
- University of Colorado, Colorado Springs prefers MAT 1240
- Colorado Mesa University requires either MAT 1240 or MAT 1340
- University of Northern Colorado requires MAT 1260

Arts and Humanities

Six (6) credit hours.

GT - Two GT Pathways Arts and Humanities courses from two different categories(AH1, AH2, AH3, AH4)

History

Three (3) credit hours.

GT - One GT Pathways History course (HI1)

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Six (6) credit hours

SOC 1001 - Introduction to Sociology I SS3 3 Credit Hour(s)
and
GT - One GT Pathways Social and Behavioral Sciences course (SS3)

Natural and Physical Sciences

Seven-eight (7-8) credit hours.

GT - Two GT Pathways Natural and Physical Sciences courses (SC1)
. One of these courses must have the required Laboratory (GT-SC1)

Additional Required Courses

Twenty-seven (27) credit hours

Please note: if these credits are not required for the major at a receiving four-year institution, they will be applied to the bachelor’s degree as elective credit towards graduation. Please check with the receiving institution to determine in which way these courses will be applied.

COM 1150 - Public Speaking 3 Credit Hour(s)
or
COM 1250 - Interpersonal Communication SS3 3 Credit Hour(s)
CRJ 1010 - Introduction to Criminal Justice SS3 3 Credit Hour(s)
CRJ 1025 - Policing Systems 3 Credit Hour(s)
CRJ 1045 - Correctional Process 3 Credit Hour(s)

Choose Two (2) Courses from the Following

CRJ 1027 - Crime Scene Investigation 3 Credit Hour(s)
CRJ 1035 - Judicial Function 3 Credit Hour(s)
CRJ 2005 - Principles of Criminal Law 3 Credit Hour(s)
CRJ 2009 - Criminal Investigation I 3 Credit Hour(s)
CRJ 2030 - Criminology 3 Credit Hour(s)
CRJ 2031 - Introduction to Forensic Science & Criminalistics 3 Credit Hour(s)
CRJ 2035 - Delinquent Behavior 3 Credit Hour(s)
CRJ 2036 - Criminal Justice Research Methods 3 Credit Hour(s)
CRJ 2057 - Victimology 3 Credit Hour(s)
CRJ 2068 - Criminal Profiling 3 Credit Hour(s)

Choose Three (3) Courses from the Following

If these courses are applied to this second section of the Prescribed Curriculum (Additional Required Courses) for credit, they may not be applied to the first section of the Prescribed Curriculum (General Education Requirements) for credit.

CNG 2058 - Computer Forensics 3 Credit Hours *
COM 2220 - Group Communication SS3 3 Credit Hour(s)
COM 2250 - Organizational Communication 3 Credit Hour(s)
POS 1011 - American Government SS1 3 Credit Hour(s)
POS 1025 - American State & Local Government SS1 3 Credit Hour(s)
PSY 2107 - Human Sexuality SS3 3 Credit Hour(s)
PSY 2221 - Social Psychology SS3 3 Credit Hour(s)
PSY 2552 - Abnormal Psychology SS3 3 Credit Hour(s)
PSY 2770 - Introduction to Forensic Psychology 3 Credit Hours *
SOC 2031 - The Sociology of Deviant Behavior SS3 3 Credit Hour(s)

Electives

Zero-two (0-2) credit hours selected from the AA approved course list can be found at Associate of Arts Degrees, AA .

Academic Catalog