2021-52

Motion Introduced by:  Curriculum and Academic Programs Committee,

Date of First Reading:    March 29, 2021

Date of Second Reading: April 26, 2021

Title of Motion: Request from the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions – School of Criminology and Criminal Justice – for the establishment of a graduate degree – MS in Crime Analysis

Action Requested: This curricular proposal has received all college, school, unit and university administrative approvals, and is being presented to the Senate for review and voting decision.   

Rationale: The proposed degree program would focus on the theories, methods, and specific skill sets needed to be an effective crime analyst as distinct from the other areas within criminal justice, generally, or even within policing, specifically. Criminology involves the social scientific study of the origins and causes of crime and criminal behavior (i.e., why people commit crimes). Criminal justice involves the study of criminalization (the processes by which behaviors are designed as criminal offenses), the prevention of those behaviors, and responses to them when prevention efforts fail.