Law and Criminal Justice Major, B.A.

The Law and Criminal Justice major at Hood College is a unique and distinctive program. The major offers two areas of study with separate objectives and goals.

The Law component offers students a rigorous curriculum that prepares students for law school and careers in the legal profession. The Criminal Justice component provides students with a challenging curriculum that examines the nexus between law enforcement, the judicial process, and the correctional system. Both focus areas are grounded in an interdisciplinary approach that is central to the liberal arts tradition. 

An internship is recommended for the Law component and is required for Criminal Justice. Past internship sites for both areas have included the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Children's Defense Fund, Maryland State's Attorney's Office, the Public Defender's Office, Frederick County Sheriff's Office, State of Maryland Division for Parole and Probation, and private attorney offices.

 

Required for all majors:

Courses:

CJ 230Introduction to Criminal Justice

3.0

LW 230Introduction to Law

3.0

 

MATH 112Applied Statistics

3.0

or

PSY 211Elementary Statistics

3.0

or

PSCI 205Methods of Political Inquiry

3.0

 

PHIL 221Ethics

3.0

PSCI 307American Constitutional Law

3.0

Total Credit Hours:15.0

Law:

LW 300Legal Research and Writing

3.0

LW 470Seminar in Law

3.0

PHIL 207Logic

3.0

 

PHIL 308History of Philosophy: The Early Modern Era to the 20th Century

3.0

or

PSCI 333Modern Political Thought

3.0

 

PSCI 336Gender and the Law

3.0

PSCI 405/PSCI 505Civil Liberties

3.0

Total Credit Hours:18.0

Two courses from the following:

CMA 305Communications Law

3.0

ECON 205Principles of Macroeconomics

3.0

HON 304Censorship in America

3.0

LWCJ 308Criminal Law

3.0

REL 342From Abolitionism to Human Rights

3.0

Total Credit Hours:6.0

Criminal Justice:

CJ 300Criminalistics

3.0

 

CJ 399Internship in Criminal Justice

3.0 - 15.0

or

LWCJ 401APre-Law Clinic Seminar

3.0

and

LWCJ 401BPre-Law Clinic

3.0

 

CJ 470Sr Seminar in Criminal Justice

3.0

 

PSCI 3029/11 in Global Perspective

3.0

or

PSCI 200Political Violence and Terrorism

3.0

 

SOC 215Social Problems

3.0

Total Credit Hours:18.0

Two courses from the following:

PSCI 336Gender and the Law

3.0

PSY 319Drugs & Behavior

3.0

PSY 370ISeminar: Psychological Bases of Criminal Behavior

3.0

SOC 216Criminology

3.0

SOC 300Social Inequality

3.0

SOC 310Topics in Sociology

3.0

SOC 323Race and Ethnicity in the United States

3.0

SOC 353Deviance and Social Control

3.0

SOSW 217Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice

3.0

SOSW 312Addictions

3.0

Total Credit Hours:6.0