Criminal Justice Studies - Tailoring your CJS minor with your major

Because of its interdisciplinary nature and large number of elective courses, the CJS minor is compatible with several majors. Students can combine their interests to produce programs of study that are personally relevant, intriguing and academically challenging. This can also prepare you for the workplace or further study in graduate or law programs.

Students with any major who have an interest in the CJS minor are invited to speak with any member of the CJS Advisory Committee about ways of merging the major with the minor to form individualized and intriguing combinations.   

"I knew I wanted to major in Biology when I got to Elon. After taking a course on serial killers, I developed an interest in criminal behavior which led me to pursue a minor in Criminal Justice Studies. I find the combination of my major, Biology, with the minor in Criminal Justice very fascinating. I plan to use my Biology major and Criminal Justice minor to attend graduate school and enter the profession of criminal psychology."
—Elisa Bookman '09, Biology major and CJS minor

Students majoring in Psychology, Sociology, Political Science and Human Services who also have a keen interest in criminal justice may want to focus several different courses of study. The following are some examples:

• Psychology with emphasis on adult violent offenders

CJS core classes

HUS 359    Criminal Justice
PSY 357    Criminal Behavior
SOC 355    Criminology

CJS electives:

PSY 378    Psychology and Law
PSY 378    Women and Crime
PSY 375    The Criminal Brain

Psychology courses:

PSY 333    Abnormal Behavior
 

• Psychology with emphasis on behavior of children and adolescents

CJS core classes

HUS 359    Criminal Justice
PSY 357    Criminal Behavior
SOC 355    Criminology

CJS electives:

PSY 378    Psychology and Law
HUS 349    Violence in Families
HUS 369    Juvenile Justice

Psychology courses:

        PSY 233    Lifespan Human Development
        PSY 382    Child Psychopathology.

• Psychology with emphasis on the role of psychology in the courtroom setting, with respect to jury selection and eyewitness testimony

CJS core classes

HUS 359    Criminal Justice
PSY 357    Criminal Behavior
SOC 355    Criminology

CJS electives:

PSY 378    Psychology and Law
POL 374     Judicial Administration

Psychology courses:

PSY 312    Cognitive Psychology
PSY 323     Social Psychology
PSY 333     Abnormal Behavior
 

• Psychology with emphasis on understanding violent offenders with the goal of apprehending them (for example, the sort of activity performed by agents doing profiling analysis at the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI)

CJS core classes

HUS 359    Criminal Justice
PSY 357    Criminal Behavior
SOC 355    Criminology

CJS electives:

PSY 378    Psychology and Law
CJS 371    Serial Killers: A Multidisciplinary Approach
GST 349    Forensic Biology
SOC 342     Social Deviance

Psychology courses:

PSY 331     Psychological Testing
PSY 333    Abnormal Behavior
PSY 343    Personality and Individual Differences

• Sociology with emphasis on the prison system, as well as exploring possible alternatives to incarceration

CJS core classes

HUS 359    Criminal Justice
PSY 357    Criminal Behavior
SOC 355    Criminology

CJS electives:

SOC 376    Prisons: Life Behind Bars
SOC 342    Social Deviance
POL 372    Criminal Law

Sociology courses:
        SOC 333    Social Stratification
        SOC 341    Ethnic and Race Relations

• Sociology with emphasis on what leads people to criminal offending

CJS core classes

HUS 359    Criminal Justice
PSY 357    Criminal Behavior
SOC 355    Criminology

CJS electives:

SOC 278     Drugs in Society
SOC 342    Social Deviance
HUS 349    Violence in Families

Sociology course:

SOC 311    Sociology of Families

• Sociology with emphasis on gender issues

CJS core classes

HUS 359    Criminal Justice
PSY 357    Criminal Behavior
SOC 355    Criminology

CJS electives:   

HUS 349    Violence in Families
POL 379    Gender and the Law
PSY 378    Women and Crime

Sociology courses:

SOC 333    Social Stratification
SOC 345    Sociocultural Perspectives on Gender
 

• Political Science with emphasis on state and local law enforcement administration

CJS core classes

HUS 359    Criminal Justice
PSY 357    Criminal Behavior
SOC 355    Criminology

CJS electives:

POL 374    Judicial Administration
POL 375    Comparative Justice Systems
CJS 171    Criminal Investigation
HUS 369    Juvenile Justice

Political Science courses:

POL 222    State and Local Government and Administration
POL 231    Public Administration
POL 334    GIS Applications for Administration and Planning   
POL 335    Ethics in the Public Sector
 

• Political Science with emphasis on law and the legal context

CJS core classes

HUS 359    Criminal Justice
PSY 357    Criminal Behavior
SOC 355    Criminology

CJS electives:   

POL 324     Civil Liberties
POL 372    Criminal Law
PHL 341    Philosophy of Law
PSY 378    Psychology and Law

Political Science courses:

POL 323    Constitutional Law
POL 343    International Law and Organizations

• Political Science with emphasis on criminal justice policy

CJS core classes

HUS 359    Criminal Justice
PSY 357    Criminal Behavior
SOC 355    Criminology

CJS electives:

POL 375    Comparative Justice Systems
SOC 278    Drugs in Society
SOC 342    Social Deviance

Political Science courses:

POL 328    Public Policy
POL 334    GIS Applications for Administration and Planning
POL 428    Comparative Public Policy

• Human Services with emphasis on relevance of crime and justice in the family context

 CJS core classes

HUS 359    Criminal Justice
PSY 357    Criminal Behavior
SOC 355    Criminology

CJS electives:

HUS 349    Violence in Families
HUS 369    Juvenile Justice
PSY 378    Women and Crime

Human Services courses:

HUS 341    Family Counseling
HUS 379    Childhood and Human Services