Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Justice Studies Online

Deepen your knowledge of key criminal justice institutions and effective strategies for crime prevention. Develop your research abilities while equipping yourself with practical industry experience.

Apply by: 2/26/25
Start class: 3/3/25 Apply Now

Program Overview

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Examine crime scientifically with the online criminology and justice B.A. program

Advance your ability to analyze the underlying causes behind criminal behavior with the online Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Justice Studies program from Avila University. This interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree elevates your research and communication expertise while closely examining the major sociological theories explaining criminal behavior.

Explore the ways in which legal systems emerge, operate, and evolve within society, and critically analyze the effects of race, gender, and class on experience with the criminal justice system. This online criminology degree empowers you with valuable practical experience and prepares you for a variety of professional roles ranging from rehabilitation to crime prevention.

In this criminology online program, you will:

  • Demonstrate an understanding of the criminal justice system
  • Become a more informed consumer of criminal justice research
  • Develop an understanding of how issues of diversity and social justice relate to criminology and criminal justice
  • Gain knowledge of the scientific methods employed in criminology and criminal justice
In this criminology online program, you will:+
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the criminal justice system
  • Become a more informed consumer of criminal justice research
  • Develop an understanding of how issues of diversity and social justice relate to criminology and criminal justice
  • Gain knowledge of the scientific methods employed in criminology and criminal justice

Career opportunities:

  • Law Enforcement Officer
  • Detective
  • Public Safety Officer
  • Deputy Sheriff
  • Public Safety Dispatcher
  • Criminal Investigator
Career opportunities:+
  • Law Enforcement Officer
  • Detective
  • Public Safety Officer
  • Deputy Sheriff
  • Public Safety Dispatcher
  • Criminal Investigator

Also available:

Avila University offers a variety of online undergraduate programs to fit your goals and interests. View all online undergraduate programs.

$290 Per Credit Hour
Up to 90 hours Transfer Credits
120 Credit Hours

Personalized learning experience

You will receive a personalized learning experience online. Faculty regularly engages in value-added comments and feedback providing the same level of instruction as if you were in person.

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Need More Information?

Call 888-941-1120

Call 888-941-1120

Tuition

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Learn about our affordable, pay-by-the-course tuition

The B.A. in Criminology and Justice Studies online program tuition is the same affordable, pay-as-you-go rate for all U.S. residents. Fees are included in the total tuition, and financial aid may be available.

Plus, a Prior Learning Assessment evaluates knowledge gained outside traditional academic environments and may help reduce your tuition and time to completion.

View additional tuition information+

Program Per Credit Hour Per Course
B.A. Criminology and Justice $290 $870

Transfer Your Credits for Lower Tuition

Use our Tuition Estimator to see how affordable your degree could be. Slide the notch to the number of credits you've already earned—which may qualify for transfer credit—to get an estimate of what your degree might cost.

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Transcripts sent from other colleges and universities will be evaluated, and accepted credits will be added to the student’s Avila record. The Tuition Estimator is not a guarantee or predictor of the number of credit hours that will be accepted. Amount of transfer credits accepted varies by program. View the desired program’s webpage for information about its transfer credit parameters.

Tuition breakdown:

$290 Per Credit Hour

Calendar

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Choose the start date that is most convenient for your busy life

Ideal for working professionals, the criminology and justice studies program features 8-week online courses and multiple start dates each year so you can begin at the time that works best for you. View the full calendar for all upcoming starts and corresponding deadlines.

View full calendar  + 

TermStart DateApp DeadlineDocument DeadlineRegistration DeadlineTuition DeadlineClass End DateTerm Length
Spring 1 20251/6/2512/20/2412/20/241/3/251/6/253/2/258 weeks
Spring 2 20253/3/252/26/252/26/252/28/253/3/255/4/258 weeks

Now enrolling:

2/26/25 Apply Date
3/3/25 Class Starts

Ready to take the next steps toward earning your degree?

Apply Now

Admissions

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Gather the materials to apply to the criminology and justice bachelor’s online program

We’ve simplified the admission process to help you get started quickly and easily. You can find all requirements for admission to the Avila online B.A. in Criminology and Justice Studies program below.

Admission Requirements:

  • Official transcripts
  • 2.0 GPA in prior coursework
  • Transfer up to 90 credits
View all admission requirements +

In order to be eligible to receive a bachelor’s degree from Avila University, you must have the following:

  • High school diploma
  • Minimum 2.0 GPA on college coursework or 2.0 GPA on high school conferred transcript
  • Official transcripts from all institutions previously attended

Submit all official transcripts to:

Email: [email protected]
Mail: Undergraduate Admissions
Avila University
11901 Wornall Road
Kansas City, MO 64145

Courses

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Explore the concepts covered in the online criminology degree program

In order to earn your online criminology and justice studies degree, you will complete 120 credit hours, including 35 credit hours of general education requirements, 45 credit hours of major requirements, and 40 credit hours of electives.

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Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course provides an introductory and practical approach to the process of developing, understanding and refining communication skills. In this class, we will focus on several communication areas, including but not limited to: perception of self, language, interpersonal communication, cultural communication, small group dynamics, and public speaking skills. This is a Skills Level course. FA, SP, SU.

Course objectives:

  • Develop and maintain interpersonal, small group and public communication skills for use in a career and social context.
  • Apply verbal and non-verbal components of oral communication to real life situations.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Development of a robust composition process centered on considerations of audience and purpose. Introduction to argument, including collegiate research practices and integration of reputable sources. Intense practice in close reading for understanding and analysis. Includes refinement of writing mechanics necessary for academic discourse in Standard American English. This is a skills level course. Prerequisite: EN 095 with a grade of "C" or better or appropriate placement exam scores. FA, SP

Course objectives:

  • Use the computer to generate multiple drafts and demonstrate writing as a process.
  • Strengthen skills in the construction and logical development of a clear and concise thesis.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
A survey of major artists, artwork, styles, and techniques, from the Renaissance through the 20th Century with the primary focus on the major Western art movements (including architecture) and the relationship between the social function of art and its form, content, and context. 2015 CORE: Creativity & Culture, Acquire. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, Arts. SP.

Course objectives:

  • Identify and explain the significance of major works of art.
  • Recognize & describe the aesthetic elements which mark selected periods & artists.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 4
A survey of cell theory (cellular structure and function) and molecular genetics that illustrates the nature and limits of science and two of the fundamental concepts of the life sciences. Elements of evolutionary theory will be discussed throughout the course and examples from all kingdoms of life will be used. Laboratory will introduce students to methods of microscopy, modeling, and experimental design and analysis. This course will identify key theories of science, including contributions and limitations of scientific discovery. 3 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory per week. 2015 CORE: Explorations of Nature, Acquire. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, Natural Science. FA, SP.

Course objectives:

  • Identify the basic molecules of life and to predict their properties and reactions.
  • Connect the genetics of all biological life and understand the basic flow of genetic information.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Through the lens of literature, this course explores the flows of people and their culture and labor across borders. Each text is examined in terms of its artistic and political dimensions with a focus on identity, gender politics, and historical revision. Rather than discrete nations and single cultures, the course concentrates on movement, hybridity, and multiplicity. In addition to physical movement, the course examines other possessions that move across the borders including information, language, traditions, and beliefs, examining ways in which people remember, reimagine, and reshape their sense of self and community. Prerequisite: EN 111 or EN 112. 2015 CORE: Social Justice & Civic Life, Acquire, Global Studies. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, Literature/Rhetoric. FA, SP.

Course objectives:

  • Appreciate the aesthetic qualities of literary texts and develop an awareness of influential critical and interpretive methods
  • Analyze and interpret works from different historical and cultural traditions using appropriate critical terms of literary analysis and responding to questions about genre, style, and content or theme
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course is a survey of major political, social, cultural, and economic changes in United States history from 1865 to the present, with emphasis on the development of industrial society, consumerism, the expanding role of the United States in world affairs, as well as civil rights and other social movements. Meets the lower-division requirement for American History in the history major. 2015 CORE: Social Justice & Civic Life, Acquire. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, History.

Course objectives:

  • Knowledge: Identify and characterize the major questions of United States and World history in terms of continuity and change using relevant political, economic, social, religious, and cultural institutions, traditions, and beliefs.
  • Theory: Demonstrate an understanding of the effects of race, gender, class, ethnicity, or religion on the experiences of ordinary and extraordinary people of the past using current historical theory and methodology.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 4
The purpose of this course is to provide a comprehensive overview of the skills required to navigate the mathematical demands of modern life and prepare students for a deeper understanding of information presented in mathematical terms. Emphasis is placed on improving students’ ability to draw conclusions, make decisions, and communicate effectively in mathematical situations that depend upon multiple factors. 2020 Core: Liberal Arts, Mathematics. SP, SU.

Course objectives:

  • Perform operation with real numbers. Evaluate algebraic expressions.
  • Solve and apply linear equations and inequalities.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course is a critical examination of a range of major ethical theories, where students will systematically reason through and discuss major ethical notions as well as notions of ethical agency. Questions that might be covered include but are not limited to: How do we as members of communities live? How ought we live? What are the differences between good and bad choices? Why should I act other than what is in my self-interest? Do I have duties to myself and others? If so, what are those duties? What kinds of actions are morally significant or irrelevant to moral thinking? 2015 CORE: Social Justice & Civic Life, Transform. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, Philosophy. FA, SP.

Course objectives:

  • Obtain knowledge of basic ethical theories and how they apply to all areas of live: personal, professional and societal.
  • Recognize the differences between moral absolutism, relativism and pluralism.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
An introduction to the theories, methods, and perspectives that psychologists use to describe and explain behavior and mental processes. 2015 CORE: Explorations of Nature, Acquire. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, Social Sciences. FA, SP.

Course objectives:

1: Knowledge Base in Psychology

1.1a: Use basic psychological terminology, concepts, and theories in psychology to explain behavior and mental processes.

1.1b: Explain why psychology is a science with the primary objectives of describing, understanding, predicting, and controlling behavior and mental processes.

1.2a: Identify key characteristics of major content domains in psychology (e.g., cognition and learning, developmental, biological, and sociocultural).

2: Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking

2.1b: Use psychology concepts to explain personal experiences and recognize the potential for flaws in behavioral explanations based on simplistic, personal theories.

2.1a: Describe the value and limitations of using theories to explain behavioral phenomena.

2.1b: Describe common fallacies in thinking (e.g. confirmation bias, post hoc explanations, implying causation from correlation) that impair accurate conclusions and predictions.

2.2b: Describe what kinds of additional information beyond personal experience are acceptable in developing behavioral explanations (i.e., popular press reports vs. scientific findings).

3: Ethical and Social Responsibility in a Diverse World

3.1a Describe key regulations in the APA Ethics Code for protection of human or nonhuman research participants.

5: Professional Development

5.1d Describe how psychology’s content applies to business, health care, educational, and other workplace settings.

Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course offers both a historical and critical look at human religious experience through a study of the world’s many religious traditions. Topics include: the varieties of religious belief and the historical/political experiences that inspired them, including ideas of the holy and sacred, scriptures, myths, symbols, rituals, and morality. 2015 CORE: Belief & Reason, Acquire, Global Studies. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, Religious Studies, Global Studies. FA, SP.

Course objectives:

  • Learn the primary features of the major world religious systems, with special focus on scriptures, social and cultural formations, history, myths and rituals, ethics, and the category “sacred”
  • Learn to interrogate the methodologies used in discussing the categories of “world religions” and “religious experience,” with particular focus on the role that dominant narratives and elite discourses play in the formation of these systems
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course provides an interdisciplinary (religious studies, communication, philosophy, sociology, history, and economics) approach to achieving peace on a personal, local, national, and international level. The focus is on developing practical strategies for creating peace and living peacefully in a global society. 2015 CORE: Social Justice & Civic Life, Contribute, Interdisciplinary Studies, Global Studies.

Course objectives:

  • Examine the development of peace research and peace studies over the last 50 years.
  • Understand the breadth and scope of the interdisciplinary field of peace studies.

Independent Research (CR 499) is a 16-week course and is offered during the first session of each term. 

Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
An introductory course in applied statistical techniques used in the social and behavioral sciences. Topics include descriptive statistics such as measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion. Special attention will be given to a systematic discussion of some widely-used inferential statistics such as Chi-square, analysis of variance, and regression. Statistical analysis will be used throughout the course.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This purpose of this course is to provide students with an overview of American criminal justice system. Students majoring in criminal justice will be given a broad foundation of the knowledge needed to pursue advanced classes in the discipline. The criminal just system affects all citizens; therefore, for students not majoring in criminal justice, this course will increase general understanding of the criminal just system and institutions of justice. Topics to be covered include the history of the criminal justice system, policing, corrections, the legal system, and juvenile justice. Students are expected to develop an understanding of how the criminal justice system is intended to work versus how it works in reality.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The purpose of this course is to provide students with an overview of theories of criminology. Students will be given a broad foundation of the knowledge needed to pursue advanced courses in Criminology and Justice Studies, along with an increased general understanding of criminological theory and its historical development.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course provides students with an in-depth understanding of criminological theory. The topics covered include distinctions between scientific and nonscientific explanations of crime, criminological schools of thought, and emerging trends in criminological theory.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Introduction to methodology and techniques; formulation of research problems; study design; hypotheses; sampling; measurement; questionnaire construction; interviewing and data collection; processing and tabulation; analysis and interpretation; presentation of findings.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course provides an introduction to the discipline of sociology. The course emphasizes how a scientific approach can be used to understand the social world, with a particular focus on inequality, social institutions, and social change. 2015 CORE: Social Justice & Civic Life, Acquire. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, Social Sciences. FA, SP.

Course objectives:

  • Develop an understanding of the sociological perspective
  • Compare and contrast the major concepts, ideas and methods of sociology
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course provides an overview of the phenomenon of deviance. It examines the social processes leading to the defining of acts as deviant, how individuals and groups respond to deviance, and the various theories explaining deviant behavior. 
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course examines the actors and organizations formally charged with the enforcement of laws. The course explores the evolution and organization of formal agencies of social control, the nature of actors responsible for enforcing laws, and the relationship between the police as an institution and society at large.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course examines the American legal system, specifically exploring organization of the court system and judicial processing of criminal offenders. Other concepts will include standards of proof, due process, Constitutional safeguards for offenders, and court actors involved throughout the process.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course examines law as a fundamental social institution. Attention is given to how legal systems emerge, operate, and change within the context of a larger society. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding the theoretical perspectives that explain law as a social phenomenon.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course provides a comparative analysis of basic human institutions, their origins, and their evolution. Institutions covered include the family, the economy, the polity, kinship, religion, law, and education, among others. Particular attention is given to the interconnection and differentiation among institutions, as well as how institutions influence individual behavior.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course will explore the effects of race, gender, and class on individuals within the criminal justice system. Students will critically examine how these individual differences may alter individual experiences, both as a criminal justice employee and as a victim or offender, providing students with a deeper understanding of intersectional issues.
Duration: 16 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Student will use their knowledge of criminological or sociological theory, methods, and statistical analysis to implement a research project. Students will engage in all steps of the research process, including the writing of a research paper that is appropriate for publication in a professional sociology journal. Course may be repeated for up to 6 credit hours towards the degree.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The concept of white-collar crime is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide array of phenomena, including occupational crime, organizational crime, governmental/state crime, political crime, state-corporate crime, and numerous other crimes of “trust.” This course will survey the numerous forms of white-collar crime, theories intended to explain it, and challenges faced trying to control it.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course studies the numerous sources of social stratification, as well as its impact on the behavior and the life-course of individuals. A particular emphasis is placed on examining the distribution of wealth, prestige, power in society and the social processes influencing these distributions.

Graduate faster with our Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)

Credit for prior learning recognizes your previous accomplishments, reducing your total cost and time to graduation. You may be closer to graduation than you think.

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