Overview
The B.A. and B.S. in Criminal Justice provides students with the background for understanding crime, its causes, and the criminal justice system's response to crime. The curriculum is interdisciplinary in nature and courses provide students with the research and analytical skills necessary for understanding the nature of justice and the issues that affect its implementation.
Why Study Criminal Justice at Radford?
The department currently serves more than 400 undergraduate and graduate students, with courses offered at Radford and Roanoke campuses.
- Small classroom sizes enhance student-faculty interaction.
- There are opportunities for undergraduate research.
- You’ll have the opportunity to complete an accelerated master’s degree beginning in Fall 2024.
Careers and Internships
Students have opportunities to learn investigative, law enforcement, criminal process, correctional, and theoretical concepts that they are likely to use in a criminal justice career to help better their understanding of crime, criminals, and victims.
Students majoring in criminal justice are prepared to go into all areas of criminal justice, including law enforcement (local, state, and federal), courts (guardian ad litem, lawyer, magistrate, victim witness, drug court counselor, etc.), and corrections (probation, parole). Students can go into the private sector and work with fraud prevention, private investigation, and more private fields. Students are also prepared so that they can pursue further education whether in graduate school or law school.
The department sponsors a variety of special events, including criminal justice agency visits, a government career fair, and guest speakers.
While internships are not required, students can receive up to 15 credit hours for completing them. Our students have interned with local, state, and federal criminal justice agencies in all areas of criminal justice.
Opportunities for Criminal Justice Students at Radford
We have Criminal Justice-specific clubs:
- Lambda Alpha Epsilon: a criminal justice co-ed fraternity
- Alpha Phi Sigma: a national criminal justice honor society
- Mock Trial program
Find a path that works for you
The department offers an undergraduate major in criminal justice, undergraduate minors in criminal justice; forensic studies; crime analysis and criminal intelligence; and conservation law enforcement. The department also offers a master of science in criminal justice and a graduate certificate in crime analysis. Both programs are currently undergoing curriculum changes, but check back in Spring 2024 for updates. New applications will be accepted beginning Fall 2024.
“I love the idea of being able to serve the community and find law enforcement to be a very rewarding career. With Radford having such a great criminal justice program, I couldn’t see myself going anywhere else. I knew they would help me achieve my long-term goal of having a career in law enforcement.”
