- Community of interest
- Health & Public Services
- Award
- AS Degree
- Program code
- 16981.00AS
- Department
- AJ/Court Personnel
- CIP code
- 43.0107: Criminal Justice/Police Science.
- TOP code
- 2105.00 - Administration of Justice*
Program detailsAward, code, department, CIP/TOP
Program Snapshot
- Community of interest
- HPS Health & Public Services
- Award
- AS Degree
- Program code
- 16981.00AS
- Department
- AJ/Court Personnel
- CIP code
- 43.0107: Criminal Justice/Police Science.
- TOP code
- 2105.00 - Administration of Justice*
Next Steps
AS Degree — expand to learn about this award
The Associate of Science is typically awarded for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) and Career Technical Education (CTE) programs. Like every Butte College associate degree, it has two parts: a general-education curriculum that gives you a broad base of knowledge, and an academic program where you specialize.
About General Education. GE is an integrated program of learning designed to foster intellectual curiosity, cultural understanding, critical thinking, creative reasoning, oral and written communication, and the capacity for ethical reasoning. By graduation, you'll have developed the ability to think critically, communicate clearly, apply quantitative reasoning, understand how the major academic disciplines ask their questions, comprehend diverse cultures and historical periods, and assess ethical problems — alongside the depth you build in your major.
Semester-by-Semester Map
Term 1
Class Schedules
course details
This course introduces students to the characteristics of the criminal justice system in the United States. Focus is placed on examining crime measurement, theoretical explanations of crime, responses to crime, components of the system, and current challenges to the system. The course examines the evolution of the principles and approaches utilized by the justice system and the evolving forces which have shaped those principals and approaches. Although justice structure and process is examined in a cross cultural context, emphasis is placed on the US justice system, particularly the structure and function of US police, courts, and corrections. Students are introduced to the origins and development of criminal law, legal process, and sentencing and incarceration policies. (C-ID AJ 110).
General Education: Area 1A
about Area 1A
English Composition
Baccalaureate-level academic writing — expository and argumentative. The foundation for every other course you'll write in.
General Education: Area 2
about Area 2
Mathematical Concepts and Quantitative Reasoning
College-level mathematics or quantitative reasoning — the toolkit behind science, business, and informed citizenship.
General Education: Area 6
about Area 6
Ethnic Studies
The histories, experiences, and contributions of the four autonomous disciplines: Black / African American / Africana studies, Native American studies, Chicano/a/x and Latino/a/x studies, and Asian American studies.
Elective (any course numbered 1-199 or C1000-C2999)
Only necessary if the 60 units needed to graduate have not been completed. Consider taking a Cal-GETC General Education course. Visit www.assist.org to see options. Department recommends AJ 1.
Term 2
Class Schedules
course details
This course offers an analysis of the doctrines of criminal liability in the United States and the classification of crimes against persons, property, morals, and public welfare. Special emphasis is placed on the classification of crime, the general elements of crime, the definitions of common and statutory law, and the nature of acceptable evidence. This course utilizes case law and case studies to introduce students to criminal law. The completion of this course offers a foundation upon which upper-division criminal justice course will build. The course will also include some limited discussion of prosecution and defense decision making, criminal culpability, and defenses to crimes. Graded only. (C-ID AJ 120).
course details
This course examines categories of evidence and legal rules governing its admission and exclusion in the criminal process. Graded only. (C-ID AJ 124).
course details
This course addresses the techniques, procedures, and ethical issues in the investigation of crime, including organization of the investigative process, crime scene searches, interviewing and interrogating, surveillance, source of information, utility of evidence, scientific analysis of evidence and the role of the investigator in the trial process. Graded only. (C-ID AJ 140).
General Education: Area 1B
about Area 1B
Oral Communication and Critical Thinking
Baccalaureate-level oral communication and/or critical thinking — speaking with structure to a live audience, analyzing arguments, identifying assumptions.
General Education: Area 3
about Area 3
Arts and Humanities
How people and cultures, across time, respond to themselves and the world through artistic and cultural creative production. Visual and performing arts, art history, foreign languages, literature, philosophy, religion.
Term 3
Class Schedules
course details
This course is an examination of the origin, development, and organization of the Juvenile Justice System as it evolved in the American Justice System. The course explores the theories that focuses on Juvenile Law, courts and processes, and the constitutional protections extended to juveniles administered in the American Justice System. Graded only. (C-ID AJ 220).
General Education: Area 4
about Area 4
Social and Behavioral Sciences
The systematic study of people as members of society — cultural anthropology, cultural geography, economics, history, political science, psychology, sociology — and the methods these disciplines use to ask their questions.
General Education: Area 5
about Area 5
Physical and Biological Sciences
The physical universe, its life forms, and its natural phenomena — astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, meteorology, oceanography, physics — taught alongside the scientific method that makes them work.
Graduation Requirement Choice (See GE Guide)
Elective (any course numbered 1-199 or C1000-C2999)
Only necessary if the 60 units needed to graduate have not been completed. Consider taking a Cal-GETC General Education course. Visit www.assist.org to see options.
Term 4
Class Schedules
course details
This course examines the complex, dynamic relationship between communities and the justice system in addressing crime and conflict. Emphasis is placed on the challenges and prospects of administering justice within a diverse multicultural population. Topics include the consensus and conflicting values in culture, religion, and law. (C-ID AJ 160).
Elective (any course numbered 1-199 or C1000-C2999)
Only necessary if the 60 units needed to graduate have not been completed. Consider taking a Cal-GETC General Education course. Visit www.assist.org to see options.
Career Connections
2-Year Degree Paths
Entry points students may pursue after associate-level study, technical preparation, or licensure pathways.
Example roles: 4
- Private Detectives and Investigators
- Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers
- Detectives and Criminal Investigators
4-Year Degree Paths
Roles that more often open up after transfer and a bachelor's degree.
No locally mapped occupations in the current dataset are grouped into the 4-year pathway for this program.
Graduate School Paths
Advanced roles commonly associated with graduate, professional, or post-baccalaureate study.
Example roles: 1
- Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary
Local Job Market
Private Detectives and InvestigatorsSOC 33-902137 nearby openings
Top employers in sample
- Tyme Maidu Tribe 6
- Butte County 2
- Victor Careers 2
- Air Methods 1
- Amain.com 1
Where the postings are
- Chico, Butte County 9
- Las Plumas, Butte County 6
- Thermalito, Butte County 2
- Butte Creek, Butte County 1
- Chapmantown, Butte County 1
Sample current postings
Police and Sheriff’s Patrol OfficersSOC 33-305119 nearby openings
Top employers in sample
- Butte County 8
- Armed Guard Private Security 2
- Enloe Health 2
- Salvation Army Careers 2
- Target 2
Where the postings are
- Thermalito, Butte County 9
- Chico, Butte County 8
- Butte Creek, Butte County 1
- Linda, Yuba County 1
Sample current postings
Detectives and Criminal InvestigatorsSOC 33-302113 nearby openings
Top employers in sample
- CORA 3
- HALO Diagnostics 3
- Armed Guard Private Security 1
- Bank of America 1
- Enloe Medical Center 1
Where the postings are
- Chico, Butte County 8
- Oregon, Butte County 3
- Las Plumas, Butte County 1
- Pennington, Sutter County 1
Sample current postings
BailiffsSOC 33-30111 nearby opening
Top employers in sample
- Butte County 1
Where the postings are
- Thermalito, Butte County 1
Sample current postings
Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, PostsecondarySOC 25-11114 nearby openings
Top employers in sample
- Butte County 2
- Superior Court of California, County of Butte 2
Where the postings are
- Chico, Butte County 2
- Thermalito, Butte County 2
Sample current postings
Posting counts come from Adzuna's index of US job boards, covering the last 30 days within 25 miles of ZIP 95965. Coverage and salary visibility vary by employer. Empty searches expand the radius and posting window before the section gives up.
Source Notes
Course sequencing is generated from the Acadia Program Mapper cache. Career groupings use local CIP-to-SOC mappings and BLS occupation data when available. Confirm education plans with Counseling and Advising.
Live wage data was not available from the BLS helper for the mapped occupations, so some pay fields may be blank.
Last generated 2026-07-05T16:55+00:00