Criminal Justice Degree Online

Bachelor of Arts

The major is designed to prepare students for career opportunities in the criminal justice field, to include law enforcement, courts and corrections, and private security, or for further study at the graduate level in criminal justice, criminology or law. To successfully complete the criminal justice major, the following coursework is required:
27 Criminal Justice core component credits
12 Criminal Justice elective credits
15 skills components credits
37 academic core credits
18 general elective credits
11 credits of a foreign language [Spanish or Arabic recommended].

A minimum of 120 credits is required for degree, the last 30 of which must be taken at La Roche College.

Criminal Justice Required Courses: 27 credits (Students may select CRIM/SOC 330, Theories of Criminal Deviance OR CRIM 342, Applied Criminology)

CRIM 101 Introduction to the Criminal Justice System
CRIM 310 Criminal Law
CRIM 342 Applied Criminology
CRIM 345 Criminal Investigations
CRIM 455 Senior Criminal Justice Capstone
CRIM/PSY 311 Research Methods
CRIM/SOC 216 Police and Society
CRIM/SOC 330 Theories of Criminal Deviance
PS 205 Constitutional Law

Elective Courses: select any 4 courses (12 credits)

CRIM 210 Introduction to Corrections
CRIM 300 Correctional Counseling
CRIM 320 Special Topics in Criminal Justice
CRIM 334 Enterprise & Transnational Crime
CRIM 336 Terrorism
CRIM 340 Crime Scene & Forensics Laboratory
CRIM 341 Criminalistics
CRIM 343 Computer Crime
CRIM 346 Security Management & Loss Prevention
CRIM 352 Administration of Criminal Justice Organizations
CRIM 354 Law Enforcement Communications: Interviewing, Note Taking and Report Writing
CRIM 412 Emergency Preparedness and Crisis Management
CRIM 451 Internship in Criminal Justice
CRIM 457 Independent Study
CRIM/SOC 230 Juvenile Delinquency

Skills Component: 15 credits (students may select CRIM 212, Analysis of Criminal Justice Data OR MT 140, Probability & Statistics; students may select CRIM 218, Professional Responsibility OR PH 226 Ethics

CRIM 212 Analysis of Criminal Justice Data
CRIM 218 Professional Responsibility: Legal & Ethical Concepts
EN 230 Technical Writing
IST 208 Introduction to Cyberspace
MT 140 Probability and Statistics
PH 120 Logic
PH 226 Ethics

Program Requirements:
Criminal Justice Institute Career Programs
(Includes Auxiliary Law Enforcement Officer, Law Enforcement Officer, Correctional Officer and Crossover: Corrections to Law Enforcement)

(Click the above link to view the curriculum guide in PDF format. The curriculum guide outlines each program and its course requirements).

Program Descriptions:

As the population of Florida increases, the need for qualified law enforcement and correctional officers must correspondingly increase to feed the need. Criminal justice is a demanding profession, requiring the individual to have a working knowledge of law and criminal offenses, and interpersonal relations skills. Those who choose to enter criminal justice as a career field must successfully complete a state certified training program mandated by the state of Florida such as Valencia’s Criminal Justice Institute (CJI). Valencia’s Criminal Justice Institute is one of the most recognized criminal justice academies in the state, and offers four training programs:
Correctional Officer - Prepares individuals as correctional officers. Major areas of study include weapons, basic law and legal procedures, correctional operations, medical first responder techniques, defensive tactics, investigation procedures, physical security considerations and emergency preparedness techniques.
Law Enforcement Officer - Prepares individuals for entry-level positions in law enforcement, such as police officer and deputy sheriff. Program content includes legal knowledge, patrol techniques, defensive tactics, vehicle operations, weapons, investigations, medical first responder techniques and the court system.
Crossover: Corrections to Law Enforcement - Prepares individuals who have completed the Correctional Officer program or who currently are certified as correctional officers for entry-level positions in law enforcement such as police officer and deputy sheriff. This cross-training program allows for flexibility.
Auxiliary Law Enforcement Officer - Prepares individuals who have completed the Law Enforcement Volunteer program for entry-level volunteer positions as law enforcement auxiliary officers.

Note: In order to be a sworn officer in corrections or law enforcement, successful completin of either the Correctinoal Officer or the Law Enforcement Officer program, as well as, a passing greade on the State of Florida Certification Exam is required.

Typical Tasks may include:
investigating complaints, responding to traffic emergencies, driving patrol vehicles, detecting crimes, arresting violators, and issuing citations
overseeing individuals in jails and prisons
using computers to search for information on suspected criminals

Characteristics Needed to be Successful:
Honesty
Integrity
Desire and Dedication
Attitude
Academic Discipline

Potential Careers:
Police Officer
Deputy Sheriff
Law Enforcement Officer
Correctional Officer

Potential Employers:

Opportunities are excellent for the criminal justice profession. There are approximately 500 law enforcement and correctional agencies within the State of Florida, employing over 63,000 officers.

Potential Earnings:
Police Officers and Deputy Sheriffs - $35,000 per year
Orange County Corrections - $25,000 per year

Contact Information:

To learn more about Valencia’s Criminal Justice Academy programs, contact the Criminal Justice Institute office at 407-582-8200 or visit valenciacc.edu/cji

The Emergency Management degree was developed in response to a long recognized need for a systematized approach to preparing emergency managers. Following the recommendations of the model curriculum of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Higher Education Program, students choose from one of the three Emergency Management tracks: Homeland Security, Incident Command, or Emergency Preparedness.

Required core courses
Choose one of the following three tracks:

Homeland Security
Required core courses
EM 100 Introduction to
Emergency Management 3
EM 101 Basic Skills in Emergency Management 3
EM 106 Introduction to Terrorism 3
EM 115 Introduction to WMD 3
EM 205 Terrorism Planning 3
EM 215 Advanced WMD* 3

Total Hours 18
or

Incident Command
Required core courses
EM 100 Introduction to Emergency Management 3

*Weapons of Mass Destruction
EM 101 Basic Skills in Emergency Management 3
EM 102 Leadership, Influence and Communication 3
EM 111 Basic Incident Command 3
EM 212 Advanced Incident Command 3
EM 221 Emergency Management Operations I 3

Total Hours 18
or

Emergency Preparedness
Required core courses:
EM 100 Introduction to Emergency Management 3
EM 101 Basic Skills in Emergency Management 3
EM 103 Introduction to Emergency Planning 3
EM 108 Mitigation Management 3
EM 113 Emergency Resource Management 3
EM 203 Advanced Emergency Planning 3

Total Hours 18

Additional required core courses
EM 112 Disaster Response and Recovery 3
EM 225 Psychology of Terrorism
or
EM 226 Disaster Psychology 3
EM 222 Emergency Management Operations II 4
(capstone internship)

General Education
Chem 121 Basic Chemistry I 4
CIS 120 Introduction to Microcomputers 3
English 101 Composition 3
Speech 101 Fundamentals of Speech Communication 3
Psych 201 General Psychology 3
Hum Elective 3

Electives 17

Total Hours 64

Recommended Core Electives
EM 122, 123

Recommended Non-Core Electives
CSFI 102, 213
EMT-B Emergency Medical Technician
ET 121, 131, 141, 181
CIS 116

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
Emergency Preparedness
(Basic Certificate, Code 0358)

(18 credit hours minimum)

This track is intended for those individuals whose function would be in the planning and support sectors of the emergency response field. This is a broad field of activity as it addresses the common needs of all emergency situations, but includes the unique needs of specific types of emergencies, i.e., the needs of planning and response to a hurricane vs. a terrorist attack involving WMD.

Required core courses:
EM 100 Introduction to Emergency Management 3
EM 101 Basic Skills in Emergency Management 3
EM 103 Introduction to Emergency Planning 3
EM 108 Mitigation Management 3
EM 113 Emergency Resource Management 3
EM 203 Advanced Emergency Planning 3

Total Hours 18

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
Homeland Security
(Basic Certificate, Code 0356)

(18 credit hours minimum)

Provides the student with the basic knowledge and tools required of the emergency manager whose task would be to plan for, or respond to a purely terrorism related emergency. For those who work in security or law enforcement or persons seeking to enter the field.
Required core courses
EM 100 Introduction to Emergency Management 3
EM 101 Basic Skills in
Emergency Management 3
EM 106 Introduction to Terrorism 3
EM 115 Introduction to WMD 3
EM 205 Terrorism Planning 3
EM 215 Advanced WMD 3

Total Hours 18

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
Incident Command
(Basic Certificate, Code 0357)

(18 credit hours minimum)

This certificate is designed to meet new federal requirements for those in law enforcement, emergency response, and public safety fields who would perform response activities at the emergency scene relating to the needs of on-scene emergency response regardless of the type of emergency.

Required core courses
EM 100 Introduction to Emergency Management 3
EM 101 Basic Skills in Emergency Management 3
EM 102 Leadership, Influence and Communication 3
EM 111 Basic Incident Command 3
EM 212 Advanced Incident Command 3
EM 221 Emergency Management Operations I 3

Total Hours 18