Bachelor of Criminal Justice

The Bachelor of Criminal Justice is a multi-disciplinary academic program that examines the characteristics and operations of the criminal justice system as well as relationships between crime and crime control within the context of a democratic society.

The program is specifically designed to explore individual, social, cultural, historical, and organizational influences on criminal justice policies and operations from both theoretical and real-world perspectives.

You will develop an understanding of the history of crime and justice administration and the ways in which it is embedded in contemporary cultures.The program is designed to prepare you for a wide variety of careers in criminal justice areas such as policing, corrections, court administration, customs and regulatory law enforcement.

Specifically, the program is designed to give you a broad foundation of skills, knowledge and capabilities for actively participating in criminal justice administration, including the three major sub-systems of the industry:

policing, courts and corrections.

You will also have the opportunity to specialise in one or more areas including:

civil law;

criminal law;

courts;

corrections;

critical criminology;

dispute resolution;

gendered violence;

indigenous studies;

international security;

policing;

social justice;

and youth justice.These specialisations are aligned with professional knowledge and capabilities relevant to different careers in justice.

In your final year, you will be provided with a vocational capstone experience in the 50 day HWSS2181 Justice and Legal Internship in a criminal justice organisation and a conceptual capstone experience in SOCU2116 Contemporary Criminology through which you will integrate and synthesise your knowledge, connect theory to practice, and demonstrate your holistic achievement of the program learning outcomes.Successful completion of this program provides a pathway into a Masters.

Upon successful completion of this program you may also be eligible to undertake further studies in related programs at RMIT University.

Year One of Program

Complete the following Seven (7) Courses:

Select and Complete One (1) Course from any:

AND

Year Two of Program

Complete the following Six (6) Courses:

Select and Complete Two (2) courses from a chosen Minor. Please refer to the list of Minors at the end of this program structure.

Select and Complete Two (2) Program Option Courses or an alternative negotiated with the Program Manager. Please refer to the list of Program Option Courses at the end of this program structure.

AND

Year Three of Program

Complete the following Four (4) Courses:

Select and Complete Two (2) Courses from same minor chosen in year two. Please refer to the list of Minors at the end of this program structure:

Select and Complete Two (2) Program Option Courses or an alternative negotiated with the Program Manager. Please refer to the list of Program Option courses at the end of this program structure.

Select and Complete One (1) course from any:

AND

List of Minors:

Minor: Civil Law

Minor: Corrections

Minor: Courts

Minor: Critical Criminology

Minor:Dispute Resolution

Minor: Gendered Violence

Minor: International Security

Minor: Policing

Minor: Social Justice

AND

List of Program Option Courses:

Program Option Courses:

You must have successfully completed an Australian Year 12 (or equivalent senior secondary school) qualification.

For equivalents to Australian academic entry requirements, see the Country Equivalency web page on the RMIT website.

Prerequisites

Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) units 3 and 4 – a study score of at least 30 in English (ESL) or at least 25 in any other English.

International English language requirement

A minimum of IELTS (Academic module) overall score of 6.5, with no band less than 6.0, or equivalent. For equivalents to English entry requirements, see the English requirements web page.

As a graduate of the program you will be able to:

• Effectively apply the principles, theories and philosophies of the criminal justice system in practical contexts
• Apply critically reflective thought and analytical thinking to problems related to crime management and criminal justice systems in local and international contexts
• Reflect on and implement ethical practice and social responsibility in diverse criminal justice settings
• Contextualise specific criminal justice based knowledge according to socially and culturally diverse environments
• Effectively use a range of communication and conflict management skills to work productively within diverse criminal justice environments, and within teams
• Assist in the identification of needs and the planning of research in the criminal justice field