Mar 28, 2024  
Fitchburg State University 2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
Fitchburg State University 2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Police Certification Concentration, Criminal Justice, B.S.


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Chairperson
Coordinator
 
Christine Shane Marcel Beausoleil (CJ)  
Professor
Associate Professors
Assistant Professors
Randall Grometstein (CJ)
Marcel Beausoleil (CJ)
Megan Krell (HMSV)
Lynne Kellner (HMSV) Deon Brock (CJ) Philip McCormack (CJ)
Richard Wiebe (CJ)
Elizabeth Walsh (CJ)
Kori Ryan (HMSV)
  David Weiss (CJ)  
     

 

The role of the police officer is intellectually demanding, requiring officers to possess knowledge and skills in both substantive and procedural law, police procedures, problem solving, crisis management, written and oral communication, technology, and professionalism. Successful completion of the Police Certification concentration, together with the completion of the Police Academy hands-on requirements including, but not limited to, firearms, self-defense, and defensive driving, will make the student eligible to pursue a 5th year Master’s degree at Fitchburg State University with a Police Certification concentration. Together, successful completion of the Police Certification undergraduate concentration and the Police Certification graduate concentration will confer eligibility for certification by the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC). Students who are certified by the MPTC can seek employment directly with any municipal police department in Massachusetts. Those who wish to be state police officers must still go through the State Police Academy. It is anticipated that a student’s Police Academy hands-on training will be completed during the fifth year of this four-plus-one (4+1) program.

Expected Outcomes


  • Meet all of the requirements of the Municipal Police Training Academy which will be handed out to students at the mandatory orientation
  • Apply knowledge of the operations of the criminal justice system to real-life case scenarios and current events
  • Recognize and analyze ethical issues and dilemmas in the practice of criminal justice
  • Demonstrate the ability to research and analyze crime data and its impact on criminal justice policy
  • Identify the links between theoretical foundations of crime and delinquency and the development of criminal justice policy
  • Recognize diversity in society and how criminal justice professionals respond to the increasing diversity in society
  • Develop critical thinking skills and the ability to apply them to problem solving
  • Develop oral and written communications skills as well as the ability to use technology for communication purposes

Academic Program Requirements


To remain in the Police Certification Concentration Program, a student must (a) earn a minimum grade of 2.0 in each of their MPTC-required Criminal Justice courses; and (b) maintain a 2.50 overall GPA. In addition, Police Certification Concentration students whose GPA is less than 2.75 at the end of their penultimate undergraduate semester would not receive automatic  acceptance into the graduate portion of the program, but would have to be granted a waiver by the Criminal Justice program faculty in order to be accepted into the graduate program.

Additional required CJ courses (6 credits)


Liberal Arts and Sciences Requirements for the Criminal Justice Major (12 credits)


Liberal Arts and Sciences Core (39 credits)


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