Program Highlights

Criminal Justice

60 total credits


 

Program Contact

Megan Stoneking

About the Program


The mission of the Criminal Justice Program is to provide quality education and professional criminal justice curriculum that delivers knowledge about the operations and processes of the criminal justice components, social awareness necessary for an entry level position, or advancement in a current position in the criminal jus-tice field. Students will gain an understanding of methods and techniques used in the field, think critically about social justice issues that impact societies, and be better prepared for advancement within their chosen professions.

 Program Goals

Upon completing their general requirements, students at NMSU Grants will be able to:

  • Express their knowledge of the core values of the criminal justice field and the professional code of ethics.
  • Describe the function of the criminal justice system in society;
  • Recognize the political, social and environmental forces that impact the nature, extent, and causation of crime.
  • Analyze criminal statutes to determine the statutes' elements, constitutionality-ty and proper application.
  • Analyze a criminal case to determine its appropriate processing, given an understanding of the jurisdiction and functions of police, courts and corrections as components of an interdependent criminal justice system.

Benefits of a Criminal Justice Degree

  1. Degree can be completed 100% online
  2. Matriculates into a Bachelor’s degree
  3. Affordable
Occupations that typically require workers to have an associate’s degree for entry had a median annual wage of $52,830 in 2017. That's higher than the $36,100 median for workers in high-school level occupations.*

*Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2018/article/postsecondary-outlook.htm
(Estimate quoted: April 21, 2021).

Cited projections may not reflect local economic or job conditions and are not a guarantee of actual job growth.