Bachelor of Justice

Overview

• Offers targeted career paths in law enforcement, military services, government and private sector intelligence and security agencies, crime prevention agencies, and criminal and social justice policy agencies.
• Only university in Australasia to offer exposure to the professionally recognised software Analyst Notebook.
• Course is high regarded by investigative and regulatory agencies such as the Australian Federal Police, Queensland Police Service, Australian Customs Services, with opportunities for professional placements.
• Flexible study options - opt to study full-time or part-time, on-campus or external, or choose a combination of delivery options.
• Undertake combined studies in Criminology or Policing along with additional studies in Law or Psychology, Forensic Investigation, Indigenous Justice, Intelligence, Youth Justice, Environmental Criminology and Transnational Crime.

Details

Why choose this course?

The Bachelor of Justice is a truly flexible course, available in internal and external and full-time or part-time mode. The course is designed to meet the growing demand for justice professionals and is suitable for those interested in criminology and policing careers. The program adopts a multidisciplinary approach to the study of justice, drawing upon disciplines of criminology, policing, intelligence, sociology, law, psychology and ethics. The need for law enforcement and security professionals has shown significant growth in recent years. The Bachelor of Justice provides a solid foundation for careers in these fields. 

Majors

From 2013, we will launch Policy and Governance as a major, secondary major and minor in the Bachelor of Justice. This will offer you the opportunity to learn policy analysis and the intricacies of how government officers research, analyse, recommend and develop policies in the justice sphere. Particularly, it will give you an insight into how policy is implemented, critiqued and how it evolves through government and its departments. The existing majors of criminology and policing and secondary majors in law and psychology will continue to be offered. The other two minors on offer are Indigenous justice and forensic investigation.

Career outcomes

The Bachelor of Justice will equip you for a wide variety of employment in criminal justice and related security fields. Past graduates have developed successful careers in state and federal law enforcement, correctional services, private security, defence services and customs, and worked on social and justice policies for government and non-government organisations. Others have become criminologists, contributed to women’s youth and children’s advocacy, or worked in the areas of human rights and antidiscrimination.

You will be prepared for the workplace by exploring the most recent theory and practice of social justice, and gain problem-solving, analytical and applied computer skills that are relevant to the workplace.

Professional recognition

Justice graduates have gained employment with many leading agencies including Australian Federal Police, Queensland Police Service, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Queensland Corrections and Scotland Yard.

Units

Your course

Year 1

You will complete a suite of core justice units in your first year plus one justice unit from your chosen major (criminology or policing). These will provide you with an introduction to the central knowledge required of a justice professional and include the disciplines of criminology, policing, intelligence, sociology, law, psychology and ethics. In this year, you will begin to acquire problem-solving, analytical and professional skills to prepare you for your second year of tertiary study, and your chosen career. You will also begin to develop general attitudinal skills relating to social justice and critical awareness, and cognitive skills such as information and information technology literacy, research and communication.

Year 2

Further developing the knowledge and skills acquired in your first year, you will focus on your chosen major from the areas of criminology, policing and your other area of interest. These can be chosen from the secondary majors in either policing, criminology, law or psychology, undertaken with a combination of electives, which could include a minor in Indigenous justice or forensic investigation. Electives can also be chosen from outside the School of Justice and pathways will be offered to you to enable specialisation in relevant disciplines. Some units will require collaboration in group work, and you will learn important research skills and abilities in critical analysis and practical application.

Year 3

Using the skills you have built in the first two years, the third year provides you with the opportunity to choose more specialised elective units from within and outside the School of Justice. In your third year you will also have the opportunity to hone your research skills in a major independent study on a chosen topic as well as the chance to form industry links in a professional placement unit, undertaking a project at an external organisation. Third-year students may also take advantage of QUT’s Career Mentoring Scheme to help guide them and develop skills and industry links.

Entry requirements

Course fees

Your actual fees may vary depending on which units you choose. All fees are based on current fixed fee prices. We review fees annually.

HECS-HELP: loans to help you pay your course fees

You may not have to pay anything upfront if you're eligible for a HECS-HELP loan.

Find out if you're eligible for a HECS-HELP loan

Scholarships and financial support

You can apply for scholarships to help you with study and living costs.

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You may also be eligible for Centrelink payments