MARYVILLE, Mo. –Students will now have the opportunity to major in criminology and criminal justice at Northwest Missouri State University.
The school’s Board of Regents approved the new program during its regular meeting Thursday.
The new multi-disciplinary bachelor’s degree program, which begins in fall 2016, will focus on the study of crimes and systems in place while offering emphasis areas of the adult system, juvenile system and diversity. Instruction will involve faculty in the areas of history, political science, sociology, psychology and geography.
Presenting the curriculum proposal to the Board, Northwest Provost Dr. Timothy Mottet said criminology has been identified by Northwest as a program that supports its strategic planning, and demand for the program among prospective students is high. Northwest’s advisement staff also places criminal justice among the top three majors for which they receive inquiries, Mottet said.
Northwest will create 11 courses for the program on topics such as the history of terrorism, crime and punishment, probation and parole, evidence and investigation, and victimization. Additionally, the Board of Regents approved the addition of an assistant professor in criminology to develop and teach courses within the new degree program.
Mottet said Northwest’s criminology and criminal justice program will differ from those at other regional universities in that it will prepare graduates for a broad range of careers in local, state and federal agencies such as police departments, border patrol or the Transportation Security Administration. Graduates of the program will have the knowledge base to work as police officers, investigators, crime analysts, correctional officers or security intelligence as well as lawyers.
Other key drivers to launch the program, Mottet said, include the demand by students already studying criminal justice as an academic minor at Northwest. That program is growing rapidly and 95 percent of the 75 students enrolled indicated they would prefer to major in criminal justice.
Furthermore, the ACT National Student Database indicated, through a survey of 2014 high school graduates in Northwest’s four-state region, 5 percent of ACT test-takers scoring between 18 and 36 had an interest in criminal justice.