Phil Davignon, chair of the sociology and family studies departments, is heading up efforts to add criminal justice and forensics as majors offered at Union University in fall 2020.
The criminal justice major is a 39-hour curriculum combined with a 21-hour minor spread across sociology, psychology, political science and social work. A major-specific class on criminology will also be added to the course load. The forensics major is an 80-hour major with no minor. It includes chemistry, biology, social science and forensic-science specific classes.
These two programs are being introduced as a result of previous studies the university has done, determining that a large number of students were attending schools elsewhere to be a part of these specific majors. Union seeks to offer as many different programs of study as possible and believes that this addition will prove beneficial.
In order to create the curriculum, Davignon consulted with a forensic scientist who worked with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations. This curriculum qualifies students to work with either the TBI or the FBI as part of the program.
“I think the new criminal justice major is a great addition to the Union University academic programs because of the unique career paths that could be explored,” said John Plattner, junior sociology major. “After graduation, I plan to apply to several state and federal agencies with emphasis on criminal justice and law enforcement. I’m excited to see this program take off at Union.”
Union currently offers multiple classes that connect to a criminal justice major. Some of the classes already offered on campus include crime and society, juvenile justice, abnormal psychology and social deviance. As the program develops, a new part-time professor to teach a major-specific course will be added to the department staff.
If students are interested in this program, there are courses already offered at Union they can take that build into the major. Future jobs in this field include but are not limited to crime scene investigators, FBI agents, forensic psychologists and police or correctional officers.
“We’ve already had lots of interest from current and prospective students,” said Davignon. “We are excited to begin offering these new majors in the fall.”
For any questions regarding the major or degree plan, students may email Davingnon at pdavignon@uu.edu.
Photo by Union Photo Project