PVAMU at RELLIS

Designated an institution of “the first class” in the Texas Constitution, Prairie View A&M University is the second-oldest public institution of higher education in the state. With an established reputation for producing engineers, nurses and educators, PVAMU offers baccalaureate degrees, master’s degrees and doctoral degree programs through seven colleges and the school of Architecture. A member of The Texas A&M University System, the university is dedicated to fulfilling its land-grant mission of achieving excellence in teaching, research and service.

Prairie View A&M University partners with RELLIS in offering a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with Concentration in Criminalistics.

Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice

Criminalistics Concentration

PVAMU PoliceThe Criminal Justice Program at Prairie View A&M University partners with RELLIS in offering a concentration in Criminalistics, which incorporates the fields of technology, natural sciences, and criminal justice. Specifically, the concentration includes courses in computer forensics, crime scene investigation, and technology and crime. The multidisciplinary nature of the program provides a hands-on approach to learning through lab simulations, case studies, and an internship with experienced professionals in the field.

The Department of Justice Studies offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice with a concentration in criminalistics. The applicants must complete 42 credit hours of general studies and liberal arts courses, 6 hours of foreign language, and 3 hours in statistics. The Major requirements include 27 hours of core courses in criminal justice, 15 hours of major electives in the Criminalistics concentration, and 27 hours of unrestricted electives from other disciplines.

Only courses passed with grades of “C” or higher may be applied to the forty-two (42) semester hours constituting the Major Requirements for Criminal Justice with Criminalistics Concentration.

Core Curriculum 42
College of Juvenile Justice Language Requirements 6
Foreign Language Electives (One Language; One Sequence)
Support Area Requirements 3
Select one from the following:
MATH 2003 Elementary Statistics
PSYC 2613 Fundamental of Statistics
SOCG 4053 Social Statistics
Major Requirements for Criminal Justice 27
CRJS 1133 Principles of Criminal Justice 3
CRJS 2413 Police Systems and Practices 3
CRJS 2513 Corrections: Systems and Practices 3
CRJS 2613 Court Systems and Practices 3
CRJS 2713 Juvenile Justice Systems 3
CRJS 3623 Criminal Law I 3
CRJS 3823 Criminal Justice Research Methods I 3
CRJS 4923 Criminology 3
CRJS 4983 Ethical Decision-Making in Criminal Justice 3
Concentration Requirements for Criminalistics 15
CRJS 2913 Practical Forensic Science 3
CRJS 3513 Crime Scene Investigation 3
Choose three from the following: 9
CRJS 3523 Forensic Investigation of Sex Crimes ** 3
CRJS 3533 Technology and Crime ** 3
CRJS 3543 Forensic Photography ** 3
CRJS 4543 Interview and Interrogation Techniques 3
CRJS 4553 Death Investigations ** 3
CRJS 4563 Enterprise Crime Investigations ** 3
CRJS 4613 Courtroom Testimony and Procedure (Capstone) 3
CRJS 4623 Evidence Processing ** 3
CRJS 4716 Internship in Criminal Justice and Criminalistics 3
** CRJS 3513 is a pre-requisite for this course.
Unrestricted electives1 27
Total Hours 120

1 Students may use their unrestricted electives from any field to complete a minor. The student is responsible for ensuring that all of the requirements are met. Students are advised to select minors in areas that are supportive of the criminal justice field such as psychology, human development, sociology, social work, political science, economics or foreign language. If the minor requires less than 27 credit hours the difference should be made up in unrestricted electives. If no minor is selected, the total unrestricted electives would be 27 hours. Students are advised to select electives in areas that are supportive of the criminal justice field.

** Pre-requisites: CRJS 3351 is a pre-requisite for many of the criminalistics electives.

For more information about the BS in Criminal Justice Program at RELLIS, please contact:

Dr. Camille Gibson

Dr. Camille Gibson
Interim Dean

Prairie View A&M University
P.O. Box 519; MS 2600
Prairie View, Texas 77446
Phone: (936) 261-5228
Email: cbgibson@pvamu.edu

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Shantaé M. Motley
Program Coordinator

Prairie View A&M University
P.O. Box 519; MS 2600
Prairie View, Texas 77446
Phone: (936) 261-5234
Email: shmotley@pvamu.edu