Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Criminal Justice

The Loras College Criminal Justice major draws upon the perspectives of a number of academic disciplines, including criminal justice, social work, sociology, psychology, and political science. Students who graduate from Loras with a Criminal Justice degree are able to apply their knowledge, assess the consequences of alternative courses of action, and make decisions based upon appropriate, legal, social, and ethical considerations. The Criminal Justice learning experience culminates in a field instruction component that puts into practice much of the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom.

Student Experience

Criminal Justice courses include traditional classroom activities and experiential components such as police ride-along, courtroom observations, field trips, and presentations by criminal justice professionals. Majors receive individual assistance in designing their educational experiences. Criminal Justice students regularly present their research at the Midwest Criminal Justice Association meetings. Internship opportunities include a wide variety of settings at city, county, and state agencies throughout the Midwest.

Many graduates are employed in traditional criminal justice careers including law enforcement and community-based corrections. A significant number of students also pursue graduate-level education or law school programs.

Loras College not only values and provides quality education in the classroom but also understands the importance of real-world experience when it comes to being prepared for life after graduation. The Criminal Justice program provides a variety of opportunities for students to get involved in their area of interest.

About Loras

Historically rich, academically challenging, faith-centered, socially stimulating – that’s Loras College.

Relating the rich liberal arts tradition to a changing world, Loras College strives to develop active learners, reflective thinkers, ethical decision makers and responsible contributors in their diverse professional, social, and religious roles. Housed on a safe, scenic campus nestled high atop the majestic bluffs of the Mississippi River in Dubuque, Iowa, Loras College offers a wide array of academic programs, extracurricular offerings, and opportunity for personal growth.

We would be proud to welcome you into our circle of loyal Duhawks who will forever call our Dubuque campus home. Dubuque has received many awards and has been proudly recognized locally and nationally.

Mission

Loras, as a Catholic liberal arts college, creates a community of active learners, reflective thinkers, ethical decision-makers and responsible contributors in diverse professional, social and religious roles.

Vision

Loras will excel in developing principled thinkers and caring professionals in the Catholic and liberal arts traditions.

Pro Deo et Patria!

The motto of Loras College succinctly states the purpose of the Loras College community. We strive to fulfill the will of God by helping students become contributing citizens in the world and achieve their ultimate objective of unity with God. The Loras College community embraces core values that define the way we work, behave and relate with others. Truth, Respect, Responsibility, Excellence and Service.

Summary of Goals

• Foster an active, integrated learning environment that develops a community of scholars
• Sharpen our focus as a Catholic diocesan institution
• Challenge and support students to become engaged community members and responsible campus citizens
• Persist as leaders in the integration of technology and learning
• Strengthen recruitment and improve retention
• Strengthen the financial standing and stewardship of college resources
• Enhance and expand relationships and communication with the Colleges’ constituencies
• Broaden our understanding of human dignity, particularly as related to diversity and gender

Catholic identity: our commitment to the Catholic intellectual tradition

Loras College is a Catholic, diocesan college explicitly oriented to promote service of both church and world through encouraging all members of the community in development of their “diverse professional, social and religious roles.” The college strives to be a community demonstrating the highest standards of the Catholic intellectual tradition and welcoming all people into a dialogue to promote core values of truth, respect, responsibility, excellence and service.

Diversity Matters

• Diversity matters at Loras College because we are an inclusive community of people from many backgrounds and experience
• We, the Loras College community, strive to embody social, intellectual, and cultural hospitality in which multiple points of view can be expressed and explored in civil discourse.
• We proclaim this vision as an institution rooted in the Catholic tradition, which centers its moral vision of society on human dignity. All human persons have inherent dignity because all are created in the image of God; thus we act to treat all persons with respect.
• We aspire to be a society grounded in truth, justice, charity, and freedom. As neighbors in solidarity with one another, we work for fair treatment of all persons.
• We desire to live out our conviction that authentic unity is rooted in and springs forth from our diversity and therefore strive to create opportunities to embrace and build active community relationships in which all individuals may flourish.
• We intend the expression of our diversity ideals to be fluid and constantly evolving. As a result of our continued engagement with these values, our lived experience of diversity is not static, but a dynamic and living testament to human dignity.