Criminal Justice

Doing the right thing.

Today more than ever, society needs passionate, well-educated professionals in criminal justice who can think quickly and rationally. With our urban setting, UIndy’s program has a strong community focus, giving you the opportunity to try out a variety of settings, from law enforcement and corrections agencies to community organizations and schools. Upon graduation, you will be someone who will make a true difference in society.

  • Internships and fieldwork opportunities
  • colleges of distinction for 2024-2025
  • ranked as a national university by u.s. news and world report

Advantages

  • Opportunities for research projects working alongside faculty members
  • Urban setting provides opportunities for internships
  • Alpha Phi Sigma honor society can enhance your education

Watch Logan Britton: The UIndy Effect connects students, faculty and community through a common thread of service, mission and tradition – all focused on contributing to a better world. Video highlights: Logan Britton was mentored by Kevin Whiteacre, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice; Jerry Flatto, Associate Professor of Business; and Jennifer Smith in Professional Edge. He also met Gene Smith at a Loss Prevention Conference.

Watch Cheri Walker-Owens

Cheri Walker-Owens headshot
Cheri Walker-Owens
Criminal Justice, Class of 2018

I like the fact that I can use my abilities for a more fulfilling purpose, like stopping crime and helping people. The goal is to know how to do steganography so we can know how to stop it.

Child & Youth Programs Minor

The child & youth programs minor is an interdisciplinary program with courses and field-based experiences that prepare you to work with and mentor children and youth outside conventional school settings.

Concentrations

Depending on your professional goals, you can pick an area of concentration.

Law Enforcement

The Law Enforcement concentration includes weekly hands-on experiential labs in Criminal Investigation, courses like Police Administration and Management and Criminal Evidence taught by professionals in the field, and opportunities for internships.

Crime Scene Investigation (CSI)

The Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) concentration prepares students to be crime scene technicians through multidisciplinary classroom and lab experiences, collecting and processing evidence. The CSI Concentration is an excellent complement to the Law Enforcement Concentration and/or a Chemistry major. 

Corrections

This is for students who want to pursue careers in corrections facilities or organizations, including probation and community corrections.

Potential Careers

  • Police officer
  • Detective
  • Private investigator
  • Secret service
  • FBI agent
  • Community corrections officer
  • Parole officer
  • Prison warden

Curriculum Guides

These curriculum guides outline the classes you'll need to take as a Criminal Justice major. The general education curriculum guide lists your class options and requirements to fulfill UIndy's general education requirements, while the Criminal Justice curriculum guide lists the classes needed to major in Criminal Justice. You'll need to look at both guides to get a complete picture of what classes you'll take at UIndy.