According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, criminal justice job opportunities have increased dramatically in the past 10 years. These options will continue to expand as communities add police officers and as more prisons are built to relieve overcrowding. Majoring in criminal justice may help lay the groundwork for becoming a police officer, a sheriff’s deputy or another kind of law enforcement official. After receiving your degree, you will need further training at a police academy or through another department of law enforcement.
You may enter the corporate world as a loss prevention officer or a contingency manager, assisting in investigations of internal theft and fraud. Several professional journals list the Dallas-Fort Worth region as one of the major locations for corporate security career opportunities.
You may work as a detention or custodial officer in a city, county, state or federal jail or prison. You may serve as a probation or parole officer or a victims'advocate at the county, state or federal level. With additional graduate school training, you may become a criminal lawyer, an administrator with a criminal justice agency or a researcher in crime and law enforcement.
UNT’s criminal justice alumni can be found in virtually every criminal justice agency serving the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Alumni include police chiefs, state law enforcement officers, special agents at federal agencies and supervisory staff at community corrections agencies.
Job search and career planning information is available to students enrolled at UNT Dallas. You can learn about resume and letter writing, job search strategies and interview preparation, and you can obtain information about jobs and employers.
In some of your classes you may go on field trips to jails and prisons, or to a courtroom to observe a criminal trial.
As a criminal justice major, you may qualify for a special class in which you will intern at one of the following: a parole, police or probation department; a federal law enforcement organization; a jail or prison; a juvenile detention center; a law firm; or an alcohol and drug treatment program. This internship class provides academic credit, and you may take it more than once.
As a criminal justice major, you will take required classes in the history of crime and justice in the United States, police systems, administration of criminal justice agencies, correctional systems, criminal justice and public policy, criminal law, criminal procedure, criminology, ethical and diversity issues in criminal justice, and research methods. You will also take courses in psychology and sociology, as well as elective courses addressing many aspects of the criminal justice system.
UNT’s criminal justice faculty includes nationally recognized experts in policing, juvenile justice, corrections law and practice, criminological theory, victims'issues and forensics. Faculty members also have expertise in offender behavior and research methodology. They routinely work with a variety of community agencies and organizations throughout the North Texas region as they seek workable solutions to problems and challenges in the criminal justice system. Their books and articles are used in classrooms across the nation and some have been cited as "landmark" research efforts.
All upper-division (junior- and senior-level) courses needed to complete this degree program are offered at UNT Dallas. You will need to take courses in the core curriculum — required of all undergraduates at Texas public universities — at UNT in Denton, a two-year college or another institution.
Criminal justice faculty and staff members pride themselves on the level of interest they take in their students. Once you have been admitted to the program, you should meet with a criminal justice adviser, who will work with you in putting together a degree plan and advise you as you progress toward your degree.
CJUS 2100 Crime and Justice in the United States
CJUS 3201 Criminal Law
CJUS 3300 Police Systems
CJUS 3400 Correctional Systems
CJUS 3600 Criminology
CJUS 3700 Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice
CJUS 4200 Criminal Procedure
CJUS 4500 Administration of Criminal Justice Agencies
CJUS 4700 Research Methods in Criminal Justice
CJUS 4901 Senior Seminar: Criminal Justice and Public Policy
SOCI 4540 Race and Ethnic Minorities or SOWK 4540 Human Diversity for Helping Professions
PSYC 1630 General Psychology I
SOCI 1510 Individuals in Society
Students may choose from:
CJUS 3210 Judicial and Legal Systems
CJUS 3310 Organized and Consensual Crime
CJUS 3320 Corporate Security and Loss Prevention
CJUS 3410 Correctional Case Management
CJUS 3530 Psychology of the Offender
CJUS 3610 Juvenile Justice
CJUS 3620 Juvenile Delinquency
CJUS 3630 Drugs, Crime and Society
CJUS 4250 Law and Social Problems
CJUS 4350 Seminar on Violence
CJUS 4360 Criminal Investigation
CJUS 4460 Community Corrections
CJUS 4650 Victimology
CJUS 4660 Offender Behavior
CJUS 4850 Internship in Criminal Justice
CJUS 4870 Topics in Criminal Justice
The virtual library at the UNT Dallas Campus provides electronic access to several thousand periodicals, more than 400 electronic databases and a collection of thousands of books in digital format that will continue to grow. A core print collection of frequently used reference books is available on site.
An on-site staff of two professional librarians and several student assistants provides reference service. Additional reference service is available from librarians on the Denton campus. An online virtual reference desk chat room is available to students needing information from the Denton campus library system. The reference desk chat room allows users to interact directly with librarians in real time. Students may also work with Denton campus librarians via e-mail and telephone. Document delivery services from the UNT library system in Denton are provided for non-electronic resources.
The UNT Dallas Campus offers junior-, senior- and graduate-level courses leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. The Dallas Campus also offers programs leading to certifications and endorsements, and courses for career advancement. Courses and programs offered are of the same high quality as those offered at UNT in Denton and are taught by faculty from both the Dallas and Denton campuses. Dallas Campus students earn their degree from the University of North Texas.
The UNT Dallas Campus features the region's first virtual library, state-of-the-art classrooms, computer labs with Internet access and other services to help students achieve success.
The Dallas Campus is conveniently located at 7300 Houston School Road, three blocks north of Interstate 20, and is accessible by public transportation.
Since its opening in January 2000, enrollment at the UNT Dallas Campus has increased every semester. When enrollment equals 1,000 full-time equivalent students, UNT can begin the process to open UNT at Dallas - the first public university within the Dallas city limits.
The University of North Texas is a student-centered public research university and the flagship of the UNT System. One of Texas' largest universities, UNT offers 96 bachelor's, 111 master's and 50 doctoral degree programs, many nationally and internationally recognized. UNT's 33,500 students Discover the Power of Ideas.
UNT offers private-school quality at an affordable cost. More transfer students enroll at UNT than at any other college or university in Texas.
UNT is repeatedly listed as one of America's top 100 colleges for Hispanic students. UNT has been named one of America's 100 Best College Buys® for 12 consecutive years.
With 5.8 million in cataloged holdings, UNT's library system has been designated a major research library by the U.S. Department of Education.
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UNTDC Academic Advising Office
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