Certificate of Proficiency (Untranscripted): Corrections Officer Program

Below is a sample academic plan that shows you how you can complete your Certificate in a timely manner. Your path may look different depending on your circumstances?for example, if you attend part-time, choose to take Intersession or Summer courses, or have earned prior credit (Credit for Prior Learning, Dual Enrollment, Transfer Credit). You are required to meet with a counselor to set up a comprehensive education plan that is tailored to your individual circumstances and goals.

The Corrections Officer Certificate is designed to upgrade the skills and knowledge that criminal justice professionals require, and it provides knowledge of new procedures, policies, and judicial rulings to anyone interested in the criminal justice system, particularly in the field of corrections.  This certificate consists of course work that is fundamental for working in the fields of law enforcement, probation, corrections, courts, and private security, and leads to completion of the Criminal Justice Option Degree.

 

develop critical thinking and ethical reasoning in students interested in the criminal justice field.

develop in students pursuing Criminal Justice careers the skills to evaluate career opportunities.

Program Map

GE General Education Course
M Major Course
E Elective Course
SI Summer/Intersession Course *
* Course is appropriate for Summer and Intersession, which are accelerated terms.

Getting Started

Comprehensive Education Plan: You are required to meet with a counselor for a comprehensive educational plan that is tailored to your individual circumstances and goals. Please schedule an appointment with a counselor in your first semester.

First Semester

3 units
CJ 101
Introduction to Criminal Justice
This course introduces students to the characteristics of the criminal justice system in the United States. Focus is placed on examining crime measurement, theoretical explanations of crime, responses to crime, components of the system, and current challenges to the system. The course examines the evolution of the principles and approaches utilized by the justice system and the evolving forces that have shaped those principles and approaches. Although justice structure and process are examined in a cross cultural context, emphasis is placed on the US justice system, particularly the structure and function of US police, courts, and corrections. Students are introduced to the origins and development of criminal law, legal process, and sentencing and incarceration policies.
    Plan 1: 4B. Social Science
    Plan 2: 4. Social and Behavioral Sciences

    Second Semester

    6 units
    CJ 102
    Introduction to Corrections
    This course provides a history of and critical analysis of punishment, the various types of punishment, alternatives to punishment, and the impact of punishment on the criminal justice system, corrections, a critical examination of the types of correctional institutions and the clients housed in each institution, and an examination of contemporary correctional issues.
      CJ 105
      Legal Aspects of Evidence
      This course examines categories of evidence and legal rules governing its admission and exclusion in the criminal process.

        Third Semester

        6 units
        CJ 103
        Concepts of Criminal Law
        This course offers an analysis of the doctrines of criminal liability in the United States and the classification of crimes against persons, property, morals, and public welfare. Special emphasis is placed on the classification of crime, the general elements of crime, the definitions of common and statutory law, and the nature of acceptable evidence. This course utilizes case law and case studies to introduce students to criminal law. The completion of this course offers a foundation upon which upper-division criminal justice course will build. The course will also include some limited discussion of prosecution and defense decision making, criminal culpability, and defenses to crimes.
          CJ 205
          Criminal Investigation Principles
          This course addresses the techniques, procedures, and ethical issues in the investigation of crime, including organization of the investigative process, crime scene searches, interviewing and interrogating, surveillance, source of information, utility of evidence, scientific analysis of evidence and the role of the investigator in the trial process.