Forensic Science Degree

This is a learning experience that complements the Introduction to the Sciences course. Since the course addresses how scientific thinking and the resultant technology has changed modern life, this lab will provide students with experiences in the scientific approaches of different sciences covered, such as: biology, chemistry, physics, geology and astronomy. This lab will be constructed specifically to extend the learning from each unit of the Introduction to the Sciences course, designed to provide experiences which deepen students’ familiarity with the scientific method and way of asking questions and solving problems.

This course surveys three main components of the criminal justice system - law enforcement, the courts and corrections. It includes an overview of the history, structure, functions, opportunities, and challenges faced by the current criminal justice system.

This course is an introduction to the role of law enforcement and police processes. Students will examine organizational structure, supervision and administration of law enforcement agencies as well as the day-to-day field operations, leadership, policies, procedures, communication, information and performance evaluation process. Special emphasis is placed on writing skills such as report writing.

An introduction to the theory and practice of homeland security in both the public and private sector at the national, regional, state, and local level. An overview of the administrative, legislative, and operational elements of homeland security programs and processes (including a review of homeland security history, policies, and programs) is provided. The course will touch on the following sub-disciplines within the enterprise: counterterrorism, emergency management, public health, transportation security, maritime security, border security, and critical infrastructure protection, as well as the agencies, organizations and institutions involved in these fields.

The student will conduct a comprehensive examination of the adult corrections process and the history, sentencing alternatives, and future direction of correction modalities. The course also explores community corrections and the various methods used outside traditional correctional institutions.

This course addresses victimology as an emerging area of study in the field of criminal justice, and surveys society's emotionally and politically complex issues as they relate to victims of crime. Victimology is an objective and scientific approach to the study of victims of various forms of crime, from battered women to auto theft, with special emphasis on victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse.

During this course, the student will survey the area of juvenile delinquency through the study of the theories of juvenile misconduct, the juvenile court system and methods of rehabilitation.

This course is a study of the general principles of criminal law. Specifically it includes both the policy and procedure of criminal law, giving students the ability to apply the essential elements of general criminal law principles to specific substantive crimes.

Criminology surveys the motivations of the criminal mind using both sociological and cognitive restructuring theories. It presents an overview of the meaning of crime, crime statistics, theories of causation, criminal thinking and major offense areas, and describes methods for changing criminal behavior.

Criminal Procedure provides an in-depth study of the criminal court system and Constitutional law. The defendant’s Constitutional rights are explored through case-law study and includes the basic underlying concepts of search and seizure, self incrimination, the right to counsel, the exclusionary rule, privacy, probable cause, reasonableness, and the rights guaranteed by the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments.

In this course, the student will be provided a thorough examination of the laws of evidence for criminal justice professionals. Topics include circumstantial and opinion evidence, hearsay, character evidence, relevancy and materiality, privileged communications, expert witness testimony, objections to and exclusion of evidence, and chain of custody.

Provides an introduction to the field of public administration. The course is focused on the structure, functions and processes of the executive branch; agencies of national, state and local governments; and emphasizes nonprofit organizations as co-actors with government in the policy-making/policy-implementation area.

This course introduces students to the study of social psychology. The course includes an exploration of human behavior in groups and the impact on interpersonal relationships and the workplace: how individual behavior is impacted by group dynamics, and, how group identity is shaped by individual and team membership. The course will include topics such as: group processes, relationships, group thinking, conforming to group norms, individuality, as well as, stereotypes and prejudice. During this course the student will examine examples of individuals interacting within the social environment. Students will analyze theoretical perspectives and themes that have emerged in the field of social psychology and how these perspectives have influenced the modern workplace and the field of psychology as a whole.

This course examines how to distinguish normal from abnormal behavior and present the major perspectives regarding psychological disorders. The medical perspective, the psychoanalytical perspective, the behavioral and cognitive perspectives, the socio-cultural perspective as well as the humanistic perspective of diagnosis and dealing with behavior label abnormal are explored. The course reviews a historical perspective regarding unusual, out of the norm and or distressed behavior in the past, linking it to superstition, witchcraft and contrasting arrays of treatments and approaches available today. Common disorders are defined such as anxiety, phobias, panic attacks, psycho-somatic disorders, dissociative disorders, mood problems, schizophrenia, depression and personality disconnects. Those who deal with human behavior in the workplace need to understand behavior and assess when it has reached a level of concern that may require outside expertise.

This course is designed to provide the knowledge and application of effective career management strategies for career development and transition; through student self-assessment and research into potential career fields.  Students pursue the knowledge and skills to identify and communicate themselves as a brand.

This course examines the theories and concepts of criminalistics through the application of scientific methods that are necessary to effectively examine, analyze, and reconstruct a major crime scene. Specifically, the course will address legal issues that are related to search and seizure of physical evidence; crime scene documentation techniques including (a) information gathering to enable report writing, (b) photographic composition concepts, and (c) crime scene measurement and diagramming; latent print processing and enhancement; and basic crime scene reconstruction methods. Included will be lab exercises that complement text and lecture.

Throughout this course, the student will examine the skills and procedures employed by crime scene technicians utilized in processing crime scenes. The class will emphasize special chemical enhancement, alternate light source discoveries, and cast/molding recovery procedures for fingerprints, bloodstain/blood spatter artifacts, tool, tire, and shoe impressions. Lab exercises will be included that complement text and lecture.

The course is designed to provide the student with the basic concepts of crime scene photography and documentation techniques for homicide scenes, autopsies, and suicides, other dead-body scenes, assaults, burglaries, injuries, sex offenses, arson, and accidents. Lectures will address the use of Polaroid cameras, videotaping, copy stand photography, blood stain documentation, tool mark analysis and court presentations. The digital camera format is also part of the curriculum. Basic techniques of photography and camera operation, application of film/digital application, lighting techniques including low light and electronic flash will be part of the discussion and the laboratory component of the course. Laboratory exercises will be conducted to reinforce class lectures and demonstrations.

This course will provide a foundation for understanding death scene analysis. The manner, mechanism, and cause of death are explored, as well as postmortem changes. The course emphasis will be on investigation of sudden or unexpected deaths, homicides, suicides, accidental deaths, and trauma; this will include SIDS and child abuse cases.

This course provides students with a series of lectures and field exercises when permissible, using various methods of recovery of human remains. The emphasis will be on scattered surface remains and the detection of clandestine graves. The techniques presented will include scene documentation, basic forensic anthropology, odontology, and entomology as they apply to recovery techniques that are utilize as an aid in identification and criminal prosecution.

This class is intended to be an introduction to the biological development of friction ridge skin, fingerprint pattern interpretation, and fingerprint comparisons. Lecture and laboratory practicums will include the history of fingerprint identification, obtaining fingerprints with ink, the ACE-V methodology and an overview of AFIS.

This course examines the skills needed to become a criminal investigator and the procedures criminal investigators use to manage a criminal investigation and prepare a case for court. The course also introduces the student to interview and interrogation techniques.

This course is designed to provide students with a knowledge base of general issues regarding effective techniques which apply to both accusatory and non-accusatory intake/interviews/interrogations. The course includes information on the legal aspects of interrogations and the admissibility of confessions. In addition to methods of achieving successful outcomes, topics include physiological and psychological aspects of interviews and interrogations, detecting deception, non-verbal behavior, and persuasion. Students will train via recorded practicum of mock interviews and interrogations in an interrogation room setting.

The criminal justice capstone facilitates the integration of the knowledge gained in other courses. The student will focus on the application of skills through case study, interviewing, application of law, and report writing.

Students will learn the essential skills of researching a proposal, identifying stakeholders, incorporating the necessary drafting steps, and crafting a perfect match between a funder’s and solicitor’s needs. The course provides guidance on writing proposals for a variety of types of organizations.

This course is intended to provide students with the analysis of behavioral evidence. The course will cover topics such as offender profiling, crime scene reconstruction, applied victimology, distinguishing between modus operandi and signature aspects of a crime, as well as the use of psychological evidence in criminal litigation. This course will prepare students to understand and cope with the use of forensic psychology in law enforcement and the court room.

This course will provide a foundation for understanding death scene analysis. The manner, mechanism, and cause of death are explored, as well as postmortem changes. The course emphasis will be on investigation of sudden or unexpected deaths, homicides, suicides, accidental deaths, and trauma; this will include SIDS and child abuse cases.

This course provides an in-depth study of child abuse in the context of the criminal justice and social welfare systems. Students will learn to identify risk factors, signs and symptoms of child abuse as well as the legal requirements for interventions in child abuse cases. Students will use case studies to analyze the problems in child abuse investigations and the treatment methods and services available to abused children.

This course will provide a review of corrections in the community, including programs such as probation, parole, and other alternatives to incarceration, intermediate sanctions, and diversionary programs. Emphasis in this course will be placed on alternatives to incarceration, intermediate sanctions and diversionary programs, and offender acceptance into these programs.

Examines the history of community policing as well as challenges, benefits and current, applications used by law enforcement agencies. Topics include traditional policing versus, community oriented policing, need for community policing and its benefits, problems, solving methods such as the SARA model, methods and applications, collaboration, between police and citizens.

What actually goes on in a criminal courtroom? Who are the players? What is the process involved in a criminal trial from start to finish? These questions and others will be answered in this course. Criminal courts will introduce the student to the issues criminal courts face, as well as the structure of the typical criminal court. The student will also walk through the entire process of a typical criminal trial from arrest through post-conviction.

This course focuses on preventing loss and protecting assets in the private sector. Retail and other losses can drive a business into bankruptcy if not dealt with properly. This course introduces the student to the realities of business losses due to theft and teaches the student the strategies necessary to develop an effective loss prevention program in a business (to include retail) setting.

This course provides an overview of the legal frameworks for addressing fraud, as well as special topics in evidence and expert witnesses as they pertain to fraud cases. Students will learn to identify different types of fraud, legal concepts relevant to fraud and the rules of evidence specific to fraud investigations.

This course introduces the student to the nature and scope of white collar and financial crimes. Students will learn how to identify the various types of financial crimes and the methods and techniques used to investigate and prosecute this type of criminal activity.

An examination of the complex phenomenon of family and domestic violence and its impact on individuals, families, our society, and the legal system. Topics include a historical perspective, present-day approaches to combating family/domestic violence, psychological/physical abuse, abuse related to partners, elderly and children, response systems and mechanisms to prevent and treat.

This course provides an in-depth evaluation of probation and parole systems in the United States. Topics include pre-sentence investigations, duties and responsibilities of parole and probation officers, and offender evaluation, supervision, treatment and release.

In this course, the student will discuss and analyze concepts of Constitutional Law as they apply to criminal justice. The student will analyze criminal justice policies in terms of their effects on civil liberties and their impact on law enforcement and correctional practices.

This course is designed to introduce the criminal justice student to terrorism, terrorist organizations and criminal organizations. Students will learn about the targets and tactics of these organizations. Students will compare and contrast these organizations and analyze the nexus between terrorism and organized crime. The student will learn how these two types of organizations function, the differences and similarities in how they function, and how law enforcement and homeland security agencies deal with these organizations today.