wWhat is “Criminal Justice”?
wWhat Can I Do With My Criminal Justice Major?  

What is “Criminal Justice”?
Criminal justice is a recently developed academic discipline that is designed to provide students with a thorough understanding of the criminal justice system, including law enforcement, the judiciary and corrections, and an understanding of how these complex and interrelated systems relate to the total society.  Relative to most academic disciplines, criminal justice is in its infancy.  Criminal justice began as an “interdisciplinary” study.  This means that the study of criminal justice draws upon various academic disciplines (e.g., political science, psychology, law, sociology, etc.)  In recent years, however, the study of criminal justice has emerged as a field of its own.  In the study of criminal justice, there is a strong emphasis on the relationships between theory, research, and social policy. 

While many two-year junior/community/technical colleges tend to place more emphasis on the “practical” side of criminal justice, baccalaureate (four-year) programs typically place more emphasis on the Liberal Arts tradition.  While some view the field of criminal justice as “applied,” most baccalaureate-granting institutions place more emphasis on critical thinking skills, and the ability to “learn how to learn.”  This is particularly important as more criminal justice agencies 
seek applicants who can learn new information quickly and process this information in a critical manner.  While some technical colleges “train cops,” most baccalaureate-granting institutions 
have more of a “teaching students” orientation.  This orientation moves the student from a specialized notion of learning to a generalist style of learning.

Unlike many other institutions, the criminal justice major at Mount Mercy leads to a Bachelor of Arts degree.  Although there often is not a clear distinction between the Bachelor of Arts degree and the Bachelor of Science degree, most institutions view the Bachelor of Science degree as more “applied” to the respective field (e.g., a nursing major typically falls under the Bachelor of Science degree as it is a degree which is “applied” to a specific field/profession.)  
The fact that the criminal justice major at Mount Mercy leads to a Bachelor of Arts degree is important to point out as it implies that it is not considered (by the criminal justice faculty at this institution) to be an “applied” major.  Ergo, the Department of Criminal Justice at Mount Mercy adheres to the Liberal Arts orientation, rather than the “professional” orientation. See also: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_of_Arts#Difference_between_the_BA_and_BSc.2FBS

What Can I Do With My Criminal Justice Major?  

In short, there are numerous opportunities in criminal justice.  It is important for current and prospective students to understand that a four year degree with a major in criminal justice does not necessarily open up a “Pandora’s Box” of job opportunities in the field.  Thousands of people graduate from college each year.  Therefore, for those students intending to work in high-level capacities (e.g., federal agent), it is important that you do well academically and set yourself apart from the average student. 

Law Enforcement:
A few graduating seniors go into policing at the municipal and county levels.  Although  approximately 99 percent of police departments in the U.S. do not require a college degree for employment (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/press/sdlpd.pr), having a college degree does make a police applicant more marketable.  In fact, having a college degree often gives an applicant an "upper hand" over non-graduates in the hiring process.  

Many students desire to work in some sort of investigative capacity after graduation.  It is a sobering reality for many students that it is very difficult to go right into an investigative capacity right out of college (with no formal criminal justice experience).  At the municipal and county levels, employees typically must work as a patrol/jail officer for a number of years before going into any sort of investigative position.  Because there is such a small number of students who are willing to work as a patrol/jail officer, few students who want to work in investigations take the “traditional” route of going into policing.  Becoming a federal police officer, park ranger, etc. is a very good avenue for students wanting to work at the federal or state levels in investigative capacities.  Due to the popularity of many television shows that portray "criminal investigations" (e.g., CSI, Law & Order), it is important to note that what the actors do in these shows is not necessarily an accurate representation of reality.  For detailed information about what a crime scene investigator actually does, see the following website:  http://www.forensic.msu.edu/frequentlyaskedquestions.htm#generalquestions

Corrections:
A plurality of our graduating seniors go into some sort of correctional occupation or profession.  Graduates commonly obtain positions such as correctional counselor, residential officer, correctional officer, youth worker, juvenile counselor, etc.  The corrections field is one of the 
most rapidly growing segments of the criminal justice system.  Because the United States has 
more people incarcerated than any other country in the world, there are (and predictably will continue to be) a wealth of occupational opportunities in corrections.          

 Law School:
A relatively significant number of criminal justice graduates go onto law school.  For more information on law school and the degree obtained there, visit the following web site:  http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/megalaw.htm

It is important to remember that a student desiring to attend law school is not required to have a specific undergraduate major.  Students going on to law school typically study variety of subjects including, but not limited to political science, criminal justice, philosophy, history, English, and economics.  As described in the aforementioned web site, law schools look at a variety of criteria in admitting new law students.  Some of the most important criteria are the undergraduate grade point average (GPA) and scores on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT).