Division of Criminal Justice

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The ASA degree program in Criminal Justice provides students with a comprehensive and sophisticated understanding of crime in American Society. We aim to instill in our students critical analytical and creative thinking skills, the ability to substantively evaluate information within a legal and ethical framework, and the appreciation of the influences of political, social, economic, cultural and classic forces on crime in our society. The Criminal Justice program will equip our students with the fundamental technical and research tools necessary to succeed in a diverse selection of careers available in the field.

How do we deal with crime? What are the conflicts between individual rights and the rights of society? How do laws develop? The Criminal Justice program at ASA gives students the tools to answer these questions. Students acquire the knowledge, values, and skills that will enable them to systematically analyze the problems of the Criminal Justice system and the needs of society in a manner in keeping with the American democratic traditions of law, social well-being, and individual rights.

The ASA degree will help prepare you to enter the dynamic and growing field of Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement as a professional and provide you with the fundamental skills and academic basis to build a solid foundation to continue education towards a Bachelors degree, a Masters degree, a Doctorate or even a law or medical degree. The Department is dedicated to an interdisciplinary approach to Criminal Justice and combines a liberal arts curriculum with practical internships, scholarship and professional development.

The highly experienced faculty in the Criminal Justice Department includes prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, civil litigators, probation officers, police officers, a former Administrative Law Judge, general counsel to local government agencies, distinguished research professors, a former social service advocate and current instructors in the New York City Police Department. We give our students individual attention and mentoring.

The Criminal Justice field is a recession resistant field projected to grow at an above average rate in the coming years. We can prepare you to become a police officer, a corrections officer, a security professional, a non-profit program analyst or forensic social worker. You can also continue to enhance your education and work towards becoming a crime scene investigator, a Medical Examiner, a Detective, or a defense attorney. These are just some of the innumerable number of careers that are available in Criminal Justice.

Because we strive to provide an unparalleled practical as well as academic experience for our students, we also host monthly seminars, field trips and lectures from prominent members of the criminal justice field. These are small programs which allows for opportunities for students to interact with the speakers.