Criminal Justice (CRJ)
CRJ 500 Death Investigation Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Spring.
Course Description: A required course for the Certificate and Masters Program designed to present the basic topics in forensic pathology. These topics include manner, cause and mechanism of death, sharp force trauma, blunt force trauma, gunshot wounds, child abuse, deaths from drug abuse, motor vehicular deaths, sex-related deaths, and sudden-unexpected deaths.
CRJ 504 Crime Scene Investigation Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: This course provides the student with a series of lectures, labs and exercise practicums for documenting crime scenes, identifying evidence and collecting various types of evidence as well as the preliminary techniques for crime scene processing. Students will process mock crime scenes to access what is evidence, how to collect, preserve and examine various types of evidence. This course will include an introduction to basic crime scene searching and sketching, photography, fingerprint development and recovery, footwear lifting and casting, blood collection, firearms recovery safety, trace metal detection techniques.
CRJ 505 Research Methods in Criminal Justice Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Spring.
Course Description: A required course for the Masters Program provides a comprehensive overview of key methods of evaluation and research in criminal justice. This includes essential components to consider prior to evaluation; such as organizational mission and ethical dilemmas. Techniques of sampling, data gathering, and evaluation will be demonstrated via classroom application and academic resources. Academic writing skills will be generated within the framework of a research proposal. Requirement will be waived for students with comparable credit or suitable professional experience, to be determined by the director.
CRJ 510 Bloodstain Pattern Analysis in Violent Crimes Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: This course is a combination of lecture and laboratory experiences. It is designed so that the student understands the physics of bloodstains and what forces act on blood in forming bloodstains. At the completion of the course, students should be able to analyze bloodstains found at the scenes of various crimes and determine the angles of impact, directionality of impact, and velocity of impact, pattern transfer and photography of bloodstains.
CRJ 520 Quantitative Analysis in Criminal Justice Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: A required course for the Masters Program, quantitative analysis bridges the gap between evaluation and policy implication by providing the student experience utilizing, interpreting, and presenting statistics and statistical models. A key component of this course will be examining restrictions on data and matching the appropriate statistical technique to the date source. Requirement will be waived for students with comparable credit or suitable professional experience, to be determined by the director. Prerequisite(s): CRJ 505.
CRJ 525 Forensic Anthropology for Law Enforcement Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: A required course for the Masters Program designed to allow the student to study human skeletal material and determine basic information from this material. Topics include establishing age, sex, race, stature, and other individual characteristics from skeletal remains. Special lectures on recognition of trauma, common bone diseases, and the taphonomy of bone will also be provided. Laboratory exercises will allow student groups to analyze forensic cases to reinforce lecture material.
CRJ 530 Human Remains: Search, Recovery, and Identification Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: This course provides the student with a series of lectures and field experiences in the various methods of the recovery of human skeletal remains. Lecture topics include recovery techniques, map reading, scene documentation, and basic forensic anthropology to aid in identification. Forensic odontology, forensic radiology, and other basic methods of identification will also be presented. Field experiences on recovery and documentation of surface scenes, grave scenes, and fire scenes will be provided to support principals discussed in lecture.
CRJ 540 Forensic Entomology Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: A course designed to provide students with the basic concepts of forensic entomology. Topics covered will include insect identification, proper specimen sampling and collection of field data, and the importance of collecting, preserving, and rearing immature forms of insects of forensic interest. Field exercises using animal models will be used to reinforce lecture topics.
CRJ 550 Profiling and Behavioral Analysis Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: This course provides an introduction to the study and analysis of various techniques and procedures for assessing, analyzing, and understanding offender behavior through crime, victim, and crime scene analysis in furtherance of understanding and solving crime. The course presents two uniquely different approaches to offender profiling and behavioral analysis: Criminal Investigative Analysis as pioneered by the FBI and Investigative Psychology. Lectures and case studies involving sexual deviance, serial murder, spree murder, mass murder, active shootings, hostage-taking, and burglarizing, will be used to illustrate the concepts and principals that underlie this course. Lecture, readings, and case studies will provide a learning environment for understanding and applying these concepts.
CRJ 560 Administration, Planning, and Ethics Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: This course provides an overview and analysis of organizational theory, structures, and strategies for managing forensic investigations in various criminal justice entities such as police departments, detective bureaus, and crime laboratories. Emphasis will be placed on issues such as styles and types of leadership, organizational communication, and approaches to planning, decision-making, accountability, integrity, case management, problem solving and ethics. Program planning, development, and integration will also be discussed.
CRJ 570 Criminal Investigative Methods Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: This course introduces the student to modern investigative techniques and methodology. The course will emphasize the importance of information, evidence, interrogation, crime scene documentation, identification procedures, investigative methods, ballistics, physical and biological evidence, and instrumentation in the solution and preparation of criminal cases for prosecution and trial.
CRJ 600 Criminal Law, Evidence and Legal Procedures Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: A required course for the Certificate Program and the Masters Degree introducing the student to the basic principles of criminal law as it applies to physical and biological evidence and the presentation of this evidence in court. Other topics will include the role and qualifications of the expert witness, rules of evidence, maintaining a chain of custody, and administrative procedures that apply to the forensic scientist and courtroom presentations.
CRJ 610 Courtroom Testimony and Procedure Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Spring.
Course Description: This course is designed to prepare the student for courtroom testimony. Prosecution and defense attorneys will serve as instructors. Topics include examination of expert witnesses, admissibility of evidence, maintaining a chain of custody, use of notes and reports while on the witness stand, and courtroom ethics and protocol.
CRJ 615 Forensic Photography and Crime Scene Investigation Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: A course designed to provide the student with the basic concepts of crime scene photography and documentation. Special lectures will be given on use of Polaroids, videotaping, copy stand photography, bloodstain documentation, tool mark analysis, and court presentations. Staged crime scenes will be used to support the concepts provided in lecture. These scenes will be designed to allow the student to photograph and document difficult pieces of evidence such as bloodstain patterns. Group discussions and critiques will also allow participants to present their assessments and scene evaluations to the class and instructors.
CRJ 620 Analysis of Biological Evidence Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: A required course for the Certificate Program and the Masters Degree, this course presents a series of lectures given by invited experts in biological evidence. Topics include collecting biological evidence, examination of hair, DNA evidence, and the analysis of blood and other body fluids. This course will allow students to be introduced to the latest developments in the fields of biological evidence. A series of landmark cases will be used to illustrate the role of this type of evidence in forensic science.
CRJ 625 Crime Reconstruction and Forensic Case Management Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: The purpose of this course is to introduce the student to the advanced concepts that are used to manage complex forensic investigations. The use of math and physics in bloodstain pattern analysis, shooting event reconstruction, and crash site reconstruction will be covered. The history of event reconstruction as a scientific field will be studied with a more thorough look at general crime scene reconstruction. No case is worked in a vacuum and this class will dissect the management of major case events (ex. school shootings, multiple victim homicides) as well as task force investigated pattern crimes (ex. serial robberies, serial burglaries). All concepts will be partnered with relevant real-life casework examples and historical cases. An introduction to the concept of crime analysis will be included as well as the relevance to the study of pattern crime tracking.
CRJ 630 Analysis of Physical Evidence Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: A required course for the Certificate Program and the Masters Degree, this course presents a series of lectures by invited experts in physical evidence. Topics include collecting physical evidence, fingerprints, tool marks, ballistics, and fiber analysis. This course will allow students to be introduced to the latest developments in the field of physical evidence. A series of landmark cases will be used to illustrate the role of this type of evidence in forensic science.
CRJ 635 Internet Commerce Fraud and Investigation Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: This course will expose the student to the wide range of criminal activity committed, facilitated and enhanced by digital technology and its effect on commerce such as digital terrorism; viruses and malicious code; digital laws and legislation; information security and infrastructure protection. Students will also be expected to put themselves in the theoretical position of company executive, school official or other decision maker to devise means to secure and prevent degradation in the ability to conduct commerce via digital means as well as protect users and institutions.
CRJ 640 Computer Forensics Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: This course will cover the basic concepts of computer forensics including computer file systems, file attributes and data structures. Processes and procedures to recover and interpret digital evidence will be discussed. The legal theory and evolution of the field will be covered in depth.
CRJ 645 Forensic Interviewing Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: This course provides students with an understanding and application of oral and written interview and interrogation techniques commonly used in criminal justice environments. Topics include the theory and practice of conducting and documenting interviews and interrogations, developing suspects in criminal cases, managing informants and information sources, de-escalation, deception detection, and influence and persuasion. An emphasis will be placed on documentation through traditional report writing and electronic documentation of interviews and interrogations, communication preparation, verbal and nonverbal behavioral symptom analysis, and body language. Prerequisite(s): Credit or concurrent enrollment in CRJ 570 and CRJ 600, or by instructor approval.
CRJ 650 Advanced Research Methods Credits: 3
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: A required course for the Masters Program designed to provide students with advanced research methods, statistics and design. As part of this course, students will be required to attend the annual meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Science, attend a pre-determined number of presentations, and submit a written critical review of the presentations and the published abstracts. Prerequisite(s): Grade of C or higher in CRJ 505 and CRJ 525, or consent of instructor.
CRJ 670 Graduate Internship Credits: 3-6
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: This Internship is a three to six credit hour course that is an applied learning experience for the Certificate or the Master's of Applied Science Degree in Forensic Investigations. It requires the student to engage in a field experience of at least 150 hours (50 hours per credit hour), provide documentation and evaluation of work experience, participate in online discussions, and develop a paper which is of publishable quality. Prerequisite(s): Student must have completed 18 or more graduate program credits with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
CRJ 680 Research and Publication Credits: 1-6
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: Designed to allow students to develop independent research projects or case studies. Students should select an advisor or advisors with expertise appropriate for the proposed project. The culmination of the project is the presentation of the work at a regional or national meeting and acceptance for publication in a recognized professional journal. Research projects are usually awarded 3 hours credit, and case studies 1 hour credit for each case. Students are limited to three case studies for credit. Offered on demand.
CRJ 695 Forensic Capstone Credits: 2
Typically Offered: Departmental Discretion.
Course Description: The Forensic Capstone is an opportunity for students to complete their Master of Forensic Investigation degree by addressing practical, real world challenges using the skills and knowledge they have gained throughout their program of study. The capstone process is the culmination of graduate work in the program and the final product of the degree. The capstone process is an opportunity for students to articulate their knowledge of investigative methods and forensic principles and examine, in depth, important policy, ethical, and administrative questions affecting forensic investigations. Prerequisite(s): Completion of 27 MASFI Program credits or permission of the Capstone Committee.