Make a Difference in Your Community

Criminal Justice, B.A.


Serve your community and make a difference. Our criminal justice degree provides you with the skills to aid your community, lead change and help those in need.

The criminal justice program provides both traditional and adult students with quality and interdisciplinary education that will prepare you for a wide range of career opportunities in the criminal justice system or to further your education in graduate studies.

As a criminal justice student, you will gain a comprehensive knowledge of the field; focused on the development of critical thinking and improvement of oral and written communication.

Our curriculum focuses on all aspects of the justice system.

  • Policing
  • Victimology
  • Corporate and white-collar crime
  • Drug use and abuse
  • Criminology
  • Juvenile delinquency
  • Criminal justice research methods and statistics

You will understand why crime exists, become aware of the pertinent factors of criminality, explore various prevention systems and learn how to measure crime through research methodologies.

Request Information

Take the next step toward completing your Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice degree at Lenoir-Rhyne University.

Get Started

Take the next step toward completing your Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice degree at Lenoir-Rhyne University.

Loading...

Learning Inside & Outside the Classroom


Future employers and post-graduate schools will look at your entire undergraduate work both inside and outside the classroom. Take full advantage of all opportunities that are available to you at LR, including research, study abroad, internships, student clubs and organizations.

  • Internships & Careers

    Internships

    We understand that education goes beyond our university campus. As a student you will complete an internship, allowing you to apply what you’ve learned in classes and gain real-world experience prior to graduation. You can complete your internship in a variety of areas, including juvenile justice, probation, law enforcement or corrections.

    In addition, our program welcomes professional development guest speakers as well as recruitment visits from a variety of criminal justice career representatives. Given the prominence of this profession beyond the LR campus, you will have many opportunities to make the world a “laboratory for learning” during the completion of your degree.

    Career Opportunities

    Our comprehensive curriculum will provide you with the knowledge, understanding and confidence to pursue a variety of careers at the local, state and national levels.

    • Law enforcement and criminal investigation
    • Prisons and corrections
    • Probations
    • Drug enforcement
    • Transportation security
    • Customs and border security
    • Juvenile justice
    • Public safety
    • Cyber security
    • Forensic accounting
    • Private and personal security
    • Victim advocacy
    • Social services
    • Teaching and research

    Graduates of our criminal justice program may also seek an advanced degree or attend law school.

Jack D. Williams '21

Lenoir-Rhyne has allowed me to succeed through the care of faculty and staff and the endless opportunities offered by the university and the community.

Jack D. Williams '21, Criminal Justice

Major Requirements

The criminal justice program prepares students interested in careers in the criminal justice system as well as those planning to pursue graduate degrees in various fields. The program provides students with an academically sound understanding of theory, research, and practice as they relate to crime, justice, and our criminal justice system. The criminal justice major earns a B.A. degree.

Honors

Students may be invited by the full-time criminal justice faculty to undertake a senior honors thesis. Upon successful completion of the thesis, along with   and  , a student will graduate "with honors in criminal justice." Normally in order to be considered, students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2 or above and a minimum major GPA of 3.5 or above. The faculty may invite a student to undertake honors who has not met the GPA requirement and likewise may not invite every student who has done so.   and   may count toward the major elective requirements.

News & Events

Mike Gerbitz works behind a computer screen in a campus lab

One scholarship. Full tuition. A job after graduation. Michael Gerbitz ’27 just unlocked one of the best deals in higher education: the Department of Defense SMART Scholarship.

View More
The Lenoir-Rhyne University sign at the entrance to the quad

Four new members bring leadership and experience to the Lenoir-Rhyne University Board of Trustees, as the university also honors the dedicated service of those concluding their terms.

View More