Pitt-Bradford Launches Two New Criminal Justice Minors

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has introduced two new minors in the field of criminal justice, criminal forensic studies and legal studies.

The criminal forensic studies minor codifies work students have been doing in the campus’s Crime Scene Investigation House.

Having the minor on their transcripts will highlight students’ experience and expertise in criminal forensics, said Dr. Tony Gaskew, director of the criminal justice program and associate professor of criminal justice who will serve as the program coordinator for both new minors.

Gaskew added that students have requested the minor.

In addition to existing courses in the CSI lab, the minor also includes a computer information systems and technology course designed to give students a basic understanding of computer forensics.

“We have a good variety of courses,” Gaskew said. A total of 20 credits are required for the minor, which also includes Introduction to Forensic Science, Criminal Law and Procedure, and Criminal Evidence and Investigations.

“Pitt-Bradford students who have taken our criminal forensics courses in the last three years have all placed within the top two percent of their police academy courses,” Gaskew said.

Gaskew said that students had also requested the legal studies minor, which dovetails with the pre-law advising track. The minor is for students of all majors, but particularly criminal justice or political science, who intend to apply to law school.

The minor is designed to give students an interdisciplinary understanding of the nature of law and crime. A total of 18 credits are required for the minor. Courses include Philosophy and Public Issues, Sociology of Deviance, Law and the Courts, Law and Social Control in Society, Criminal Law and Procedure and an elective from the fields of political science, administration of justice, psychology or philosophy.

Both minors are now available. For more information, contact Gaskew at tog6@pitt.edu or (814)362-7636.

For disability-related needs, contact the Office of Disabilities Resources and Service at (814)362-7609 or clh71@pitt.edu.

Pictured, criminal justice students processing a mock crime scene in the Crime Scene Investigation House on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.
Pitt-Bradford photo