Introduction

Please click here to see School of Public Affairs information.

Students interested in obtaining a concentration in Law Enforcement within the Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice (BACJ) program must apply and enroll in the BACJ program within the School of Public Affairs and must adhere to all of the degree program requirements.

The undergraduate concentration in Law Enforcement provides a detailed, comprehensive, and advanced education in the field of law enforcement. The program is designed to meet the needs of students who wish to work in law enforcement or who are currently working in the field and would like to enrich their professional development.

The program applies a multi-faceted approach to higher education that:

• Enhances analytical thinking and inclusive, relevant approaches to learning and the development of professional skills; and
• Focuses on specific, yet comprehensive, substantive areas of law enforcement that students can apply to their current or future careers in the field.

Students completing the Law Enforcement concentration will have the knowledge and skills to evaluate and respond to a variety of situations in law enforcement professions that require technical, analytic, substantive, and ethical decision-making. They will understand the different environments and contexts in which law enforcement carry out their responsibilities.

Program Delivery

• Courses are offered on campus, online, and occasionally in remote and hybrid formats.

Declaring This Major

• Please contact spa.advising@ucdenver.edu.

• Click here to go to information about declaring a major.

General Requirements

To earn a degree, students must satisfy all requirements in each of the areas below, in addition to their individual major requirements.

• CU Denver Graduation Requirements  

• CU Denver Undergraduate Core Curriculum   

• School of Public Affairs Graduation Requirements  

• Click here for information about Academic Policies.

Program Requirements

1. A concentration in Law Enforcement requires 12 credit hours of course work.

2. A maximum of 6 transfer credits may be applied to the concentration.

3. Students must receive a minimum C- grade in each undergraduate course applied to satisfy the concentration requirements.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses
CRJU 4540	Evidence-Based Approaches in Law Enforcement	3
Elective Courses
Select from nine credits from the following two categories		9
Topic Area
Select two courses from the Topic Area list
Professional Skills
Select one course from the Professional Skills list
Total Hours		12

Program Electives

There are two elective categories, Topic Area and Professional Setting. The Topic Area electives allow the student to explore a different aspect of law enforcement. The Professional Skills elective allows the student to hone skills related to law enforcement.

Topic Area

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
CRJU 3250	Violence in Society	3
CRJU 3280	Trauma Among Correctional Populations	3
CRJU 3310	Contemporary Issues in Law Enforcement	3
CRJU 3320	Police-Community Relations	3
CRJU 3520	Juvenile Justice	3
CRJU 3530	Juvenile Delinquency	3
CRJU 3600	Introduction to Federal Wildlife and Environmental Laws	3
CRJU 4014	Federal Wildlife and Fisheries Investigations	3
CRJU 4140	Interpersonal Violence	3
CRJU 4410	Criminal Law and Constitutional Procedures	3
CRJU 4430	Law and Society	3
CRJU 4450	Homeland Security	3
CRJU 4600	Special Topics in Criminology and Criminal Justice (Juvenile Justice)	1-6
CRJU 4600	Special Topics in Criminology and Criminal Justice (Legal Aspects of Policing)	1-6
CRJU 4600	Special Topics in Criminology and Criminal Justice (Federal Indian Law and Tribal Government)	1-6
PSCI 4427	Law, Politics and Justice	3
SOCY 4340	Juvenile Delinquency	3
SOCY 4700	Sociology of Law	3
Students must adhere to departmental prerequisites, if applicable. Other electives not already listed may be considered, but the student must receive approval from the academic advisor prior to enrollment. A law enforcement-related internship may fulfill this category. Students should work with their academic advisor to receive approval.

Professional Skills

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
CRJU 4310	Leadership Roles in Criminal Justice	3
CRJU 4331	Crime Analysis and GIS	3
GEOG 2080	Introduction to Mapping and Map Analysis	3
GEOG 4080	Introduction to GIS (pre-req GEOG 2080)	3
PUAD 4440	Negotiation and Conflict Resolution	3
PUAD 4620	Crisis and Emergency Communication	3
Students must adhere to departmental prerequisites, if applicable. Other electives not already listed may be considered, but the student must receive approval from the academic advisor prior to enrollment.

To review the Degree Map for this program, please visit our website.