Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice

at Concordia University, St. Paul USA

Students in the Music major expand their creativity, analytical, research and writing skills while studying music performance, programming, analysis, composition, history, literature, education and worship music. The music program is led by accomplished and caring faculty who give one-on-one attention to students in a nurturing community.  With the support of CSP's deeply networked music faculty, students in this major are provided opportunities to ply their craft in music positions at churches, internships with local music organizations, and professional workshops.  The culmination of the major is a senior year public presentation of the student's work, in which the student plans, prepares, promotes, and presents a recital of their work.  The major prepares students for graduate work in music or other fields and employment as entry level music performers, composers, and private teachers.  The program also provides students with the communication skills, collaborative aptitude, creativity, organizational ability, and work ethic to succeed in a broad range of fields beyond music, while providing them with a lifelong outlet for joyful aesthetic expression.

This program is designed to prepare students with practical marketing skills and knowledge that will be directly applicable to the business world upon graduation. Students learn marketing theory and apply concepts in activities such as electronic commerce, direct marketing, advertising, sales presentations, case analysis and marketing plans. These activities expose students to the practical, challenging and interesting projects and situations they will encounter in their careers. Students develop leadership skills and explore ethics and environmental sustainability. In addition, students earning a BS gain a strong foundation in consumer behavior, social media, and global marketing.

The English major is an excellent choice for people who enjoy reading and writing. Contrary to popular belief, an English major does not doom graduates to a life of starvation or menial labor. In fact, our graduates go on to find success in a variety of occupations, including journalism, marketing, magazine writing, creative writing, public relations, web content creation, technology, management, and more. English majors also go on to graduate school in a variety of areas, including education, business, literature, creative writing, law, library science, and fashion history.

In the English major, students will gain broad-based knowledge of literature from all periods and from around the world. They will learn to write clearly and persuasively, think independently, create original works, present alternative viewpoints, and solve problems. Students can choose from four emphasis areas within the English major: literature, creative writing, journalism, or professional writing.

The study of History at Concordia University is not only about the past – it is also about the present and the future. A student in this program will learn to think critically about change over time and how contemporary society has been shaped by all those who came before. The program stresses both global and community education. The program offers students the global knowledge they will need to compete in the 21st century. At the same time, students can experience and witness local history first-hand. The History major will allow students to develop skills in both research and content knowledge. The program offers courses that focus on the entire globe. Students get a mix of political, social, economic, and diplomatic history. The major requires a senior research project, where students do an original research paper, as well as a senior readings course. The remaining classes are electives, with the stipulation that at least one of those courses has a global focus. History majors are also required to do an internship, which helps them prepare for their careers and the job market.

The Community Arts program fosters students’ involvement, engagement, and service within the local arts community. In this interdisciplinary program, students learn both traditional and new media techniques, grounding them in practical applications. In the classroom, they gain a foundation in western and global art history and are introduced to community arts history and concepts. The program emphasizes social justice through arts applications. The 45-credit major starts with core studio requirements that familiarize students with various materials and concepts used to understand the nature of visual language. Students then take studio courses to enable a general and versatile art skill base. Students are also encouraged to add electives in theatre, graphic design, or specialize within studio arts. All community arts majors at Concordia take the foundational community arts class and during their final year, complete 8 credits of an internship. Students will be prepared to pursue a variety of career options upon graduation, from advanced degree in the arts to a variety of art-centered careers within community development and engagement. As a community arts major, you will be taught by an experienced faculty of active professionals with close ties to the vibrant Twin Cities art community. You will have complete facilities for ceramics, photography, digital art, printmaking, sculpture, as well as painting and drawing.

Concordia’s Criminal Justice programs offer students a comprehensive educational foundation of the multi-systemic criminal justice system. Through the program, students will explore alluring issues of crime and justice that critically impact the perspectives of interrelationships, functions, and operations within the dynamic components related to human behavior, cultural aspects, and global controversies.They will also gain a deeper understanding of patterns and behavioral causation of crime, ethical decision making, balancing crime control with civil liberty preservation, and the mounting importance of security and safety.

The Criminal Justice program is designed for students who desire to enter or are newly entering a Criminal Justice System (CJS) profession and those already established seeking long-term career aspirations. The course content is an overarching view of the multi-systemic CJS highlighting foundational and evolving changes, current research trends, professionalism, ethics, creative decision-making, and leadership development as central themes throughout the program.
This program offers students the opportunity to explore their criminal justice interests and develop leadership aptitude while building valuable, career-ready, and promotable skillsets upon graduation. The CJ-BA Program has been approved by the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) academic licensure requirements, and continuing education (CE) credits toward annual licensure requirements.

Our expert faculty are prepared to help you analyze testing techniques, use open-source R and Python to program data analytics capabilities, identify numerical optimization in linear programming, and give you all the practice you need with tools like Hadoop, Spark, and Splunk.

With CSP’s data analytics degree, you will be ready with skills to gather and store big data in a high-salaried role. Employers are on the hunt for pros with your skillset.

Within the program you will analyze various testing techniques such as hypothesis testing, two sample and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests, chi-square tests, simple linear regression, and multiple regression. Learn how to utilize an open-source R statistical package plus Python to program data analytics capabilities.

Other key skills you’ll focus on are Identifying statistical graphic simulations and numerical optimization in linear programming. You’ll also explore designing a decision support system (DSS) using object-oriented technologies.

Depending on their career goals, math majors can choose to earn a Bachelor of Science degree or a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics at Concordia University, St. Paul. In earning either degree, students will develop the critical thinking and problem solving skills necessary for today’s technological world.  The BS degree is more credits and offers students more opportunities to explore math applications within the math major, while the BA degree is fewer credits and is designed to be paired with a minor or a second major such as secondary education, computer science, business, science, or a variety of other possibilities.  All of the courses in the math major are offered face-to-­face in small classes (usually less than 20 students) and the emphasis is on actively solving problems in class. Throughout the curriculum, students will learn to use technology, including computer algebra systems, geometry modeling software, spreadsheets, 3D printers, and computer programming to model and solve problems. In some courses students investigate topics and learn to present their ideas professionally.  Some of these topics lead to independent research projects that students can present at undergraduate research conferences and help the students earn honors in the major. There is also an active Tri-Pi math club that offers social events to build comradery amongst the math students. Our math majors have followed a wide variety of career paths and are currently working as data analysts, risk analysts, inventory analysts, high school teachers, college professors, statisticians, health professionals, lawyers, and researchers.  Instead of asking “What can I do with a math major?”, you should ask yourself “What can’t I do with a math major?”

The major in theology is designed to prepare students who plan to attend seminary and pursue a master’s of divinity or other advanced theological degree. The core required courses introduce students to biblical studies, Lutheran theology, philosophy, and church history. Students are encouraged but not required to study biblical Greek and Hebrew and can choose from a variety of theology electives that are of interest to them. Although the degree emphasizes Lutheran doctrine, students from any Christian tradition planning to attend seminary will be well prepared by completing this major.

Biology majors develop a strong foundation in biology by exploring cell biology, genetics, molecular biology, chemistry, evolutionary theory, scientific methodology, and laboratory techniques in our core curriculum.  Students then have the opportunity to tailor their degree with various electives including immunology, microbiology, human anatomy and physiology, and human gross anatomy, in which students have access to a human cadaver lab. The coursework pushes students to sharpen their critical thinking, scientific reasoning, and laboratory skills.