Criminal Justice Major
Our Upside-Down Curriculum allows you to take courses in your Criminal Justice degree program starting the first semester of your first year.
Why Criminal Justice?
What kind of digital fingerprints do cyber criminals leave behind? What motivates white-collar criminals? It’s the stuff of great television—but real.
Jobs in law enforcement, corrections, investigation or the field of law present numerous and varied career opportunities in the criminal justice field. Organizations like the FBI, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to name a few are always looking for well-educated, highly skilled people. Likewise, state and federal policing forces as well as other enforcement, correction, legal and security entities need a constant influx of individuals with the dedication and integrity to do a hard job well.
Why Criminal Justice?
The Champlain College Criminal Justice program will immerse you in the field’s full range of possibilities from high-profile tasks like following the trail of crime scene evidence and conducting interviews to day-to-day police work and court and corrections procedures.
Learn proper legal procedures, how police operations work, and how to conduct an investigative interview. Our curriculum covers the full spectrum of Criminal Justice topics, from lab-based forensics on blood and DNA samples to family violence and related systems of social services and support.
Optional specializations in 21st-Century Problems, Computer Forensics or Spanish Language give you depth and open additional career doors.
Your instructors will be working professionals with insider perspectives-including criminal trial judges, lawyers and Homeland Security officers. Work alongside your peers in the Legal Studies (Pre-law) and Computer & Digital Forensics majors, playing a part in the semester-long murder investigation and mock trial simulation we call "Law & Order: Champlain College."
As a senior, complete fieldwork in a state, local or federal criminal justice agency to gain crucial hands-on experience and confidence dealing with real-life situations. Our students have interned at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and at the FBI, and gone on to jobs in U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security. It's also possible to choose an intensive 15-week program in residence at the Vermont Police Academy for a career as an officer in the Green Mountain State.
With security now a focus at all levels of government, a Criminal Justice degree from Champlain College delivers the right education at the right time. Ninety-five percent of the 2010 graduates of the program are working in relevant positions in the criminal justice field.
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Apply classroom theory to real-life situations during internships at places like the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the FBI Honors Internship Program, the Vermont Medical Examiner's Office, the county prosecutor's office, local police departments, corrections agencies, and state and federal law enforcement agencies.
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Acquire critical communication skills by writing weekly memos proposing solutions to modern investigative, legal and ethical dilemmas; delivering videotaped oral presentations; and participating in mock trials and suppression motions under the guidance of real trial judges. Play a part in our annual mock interdisciplinary exercise called "Law & Order: Champlain College," in which Criminal Justice majors, Legal Studies (Pre-law) majors and students from the Computer & Digital Forensics program work together to examine a crime scene on campus. The three-week exercise integrates law-enforcement techniques and procedures learned in the classroom into an intensive simulation with a close correlation to real-world application.
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Explore a variety of career options, including police officer, parole officer, security officer, criminal investigator, border patrol agent, court officer and corrections officer. Or choose to go on to law school.
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Attend the Vermont Police Academy as a senior, if you choose. If accepted into the program, you'll not only earn a Criminal Justice degree, but graduate certified as a full-time police officer in Vermont. Many Champlain Criminal Justice students are hired by police departments before they attend their first Academy class, and get paid by those departments while they learn.
Ask a Question about our Criminal Justice Degree Program
Ask a question, and someone from our Admission team will put you in touch with the faculty or staff member who can best answer your questions.
Professional Writing work created by student Erin Gleeson