Sterling College officially announced that it will begin offering students a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice starting fall 2014, with concentrations in law enforcement and pre-law. In addition to over 15 new criminal justice courses, the curriculum draws from psychology, government, ethics, and a variety of law courses that are already part of Sterling College programs.

“There is a strong interest among prospective students for a criminal justice major. Previously, our students interested in working with the law studied history or psychology. Most students continued on to receive further education in criminal justice as they were in training to become law enforcement officers. With our new major in criminal justice, our students will be able to graduate with a degree that will make them better trained candidates,” said Dr. Gregory Kerr, vice president for academic affairs.

The criminal justice major will offer classes that study the various components of law enforcement, as well as prepare students for entering law school. Beginning with an introduction to criminal justice, students will continue through the program to study constitutional law, criminology, the judicial process and more. They will also have hands-on field experience available through local internships.

“We’ve had several police departments from local cities express an interest in allowing our students to complete internships in their department. We also have connections with attorneys and prosecutors who are willing and eager to have our students intern at their practices. The response that we received from local communities while we were researching the need for this major was overwhelmingly positive,” said Kerr.

“We expect that students will be connecting this new offering with some of our existing programs. For example, students wanting to be involved in prison ministry could combine courses from Christian ministries and criminal justice. Or students interested in being a game warden could combine biology and criminal justice. Students interested in forensics could combine biology, chemistry, and physics with criminal justice to be prepared for graduate work.” Kerr added. “This new program really connects well with Sterling College strengths.”

More information, including a list of classes and course descriptions, is available on the Sterling College website, www.sterling.edu. Students interested in beginning or transferring into the criminal justice major should contact the admissions office at admissions@sterling.edu or call (620) 278-2173.