The Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice (AJU) is offered by the Department of History and Political Science to prepare individuals for professional positions in law enforcement and related criminal justice areas such as Homeland Security, Emergency Management, Loss Prevention and Security Management. In addition to general curriculum requirements, courses are offered which develop the skills essential to criminal justice practitioners, who are currently engaged in law enforcement work or the private industry sector.
Mississippi College will give special transfer credit consideration to all students who have completed an administration of justice/law enforcement curriculum at an accredited junior college. A maximum of 18 semester hours of junior or senior college equivalent courses with grades of C or better in each may count toward the major in Administration of Justice. Additional transfer courses may be counted as general electives.
The six areas of emphasis in the program are
- Police Process
- Corrections Process
- Judicial Process
- Criminology
- Homeland Security
- Loss Prevention/Security Management
Appropriate minors are: Political Science, Sociology, Business Administration, Psychology, History, Communication, and others chosen in consultation with the program director. It is possible for a student to complete requirements for another major in a related field.
Program Objectives
- To show that the criminal justice system and the problems of crime and delinquency are part of a larger sociocultural pattern rather than an isolated system.
- To show that the major components of the criminal justice system (police, prosecutors, courts and corrections) are all related elements of a democratic system in which decisions regarding crime and justice in any one area have consequences in the other three areas.
- To prepare men and women to become "change-capable" practitioners in any component of the criminal justice system by emphasizing the development of competence in relating the social, economic, and political ramifications of change to the administrative policies and practices of criminal justice agencies.
| Requirement | Class Name | Hours |
| University Core | 46 | |
| Administration of Justice Core | 9 | |
| AJU 100 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | 3 |
| HIS/PLS 407 and | American Constitutional Development I | 3 |
| HIS/PLS 408 | American Constitutional Development II | 3 |
| AJU 301 and | Criminal Investigation | 3 |
| AJU 311 | Arrest, Search and Seizure | 3 |
| Additional AJU Courses | Select three courses from the following: | 9 |
| AJU 300 | Police Process | 3 |
| AJU 310 | Judicial Process | 3 |
| AJU 320 | Corrections Process | 3 |
| SOC 332 | Criminology | 3 |
| or | ||
| AJU 332 | Criminology | 3 |
| Administration of Justice Electives |
Students must take 12 hours of AJU electives. The Oral Communication requirement for the major may be satisfied by taking AJU 425 - Human Relations and Police Work or AJU 432 - Special Issues Report Writing/Interpersonal Communication OR any three hour oral communication course chosen in consultation with an advisor. |
12 |
| Electives in Related Fields | The following courses are recommended, but others may be selected in consultation with the program director. It is strongly recommended that students who plan to attend graduate school select SOC 312 - Social Science Research Methods as their related field electives. | 6 |
| PLS 201 | American National Government | 3 |
| PLS 202 | State & Local Government | 3 |
| PSY 302 | Adolescent Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 423 | Abnormal Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 443 | Psychology of Personality | 3 |
| COM 301 | Nonverbal Communication | 3 |
| COM 304 | Public Speaking | 3 |
| MGT 371 | Principles of Management & Organizational Behavior | 3 |
| MGT 474 | Human Resource Management | 3 |
| GBU 321 | Business Communications | 3 |
| CSC 114 | Introduction to Computer Science | 3 |
| CSC 116 | Intro to Programming & Problem Solving | 3 |
| ACC 201 | Elementary Accounting | 3 |
| SOC 205 | Sociology: An Introduction in Global Context | 3 |
| SOC 209 | Contemporary Social Problems | 3 |
| SOC 309 | The Family | 3 |
| SOC 312 | Social Science Research Methods | 3 |
| SOC 420 | Social Stratification: National & International Perspectives | 3 |
| Minor Requirements | A typical minor consists of 18 semester hours; however, some department minors may vary in terms of required semester hours. The minor should be selected in consultation with the student’s advisor. | 18 |
| General Electives | Sufficient elective hours must be taken to meet the minimum hour requirement for graduation in this program. Electives should be chosen in consultation with advisor. | -- |
| Total Hours | 130 |
