CJUS 701 Comparative Criminal Justice Systems

Typically, undergraduate and master’s programs examine criminal justice from the United States lens. This course is an advanced in-depth analysis of the various courts, corrections, and law enforcement systems worldwide.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Course Guide

View this course’s outcomes, policies, schedule, and more.*

*The information contained in our Course Guides is provided as a sample. Specific course curriculum and requirements for each course are provided by individual instructors each semester. Students should not use Course Guides to find and complete assignments, class prerequisites, or order books.


The criminal justice PhD student should have expert breadth and depth of knowledge about criminal justice systems. Typically the breadth and depth of knowledge is focused on US-based criminal justice systems. To fully appreciate the vastness of criminal justice––the great differences, and the similarities––this course brings the student through an in depth tour of at least 7 countries’ criminal justice systems.


Textbook readings and lecture presentations

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussion: Sweden’s Criminal Justice System

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to provide a thread in response to the provided prompt for the Discussion on Sweden’s Criminal Justice System. The thread must be 800–1,200 words, include at least 5 citations in current APA format, and demonstrate course-related knowledge. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 2 classmates’ threads. Each reply must be 250 words and include at least 1 citation in current APA format.

Scenario Paper Assignments (4)

The student will prepare a series of 4 comprehensive research papers on an assigned criminal justice system in a country other than the United States. Students will prepare an 8–12-page paper with a minimum 8 scholarly articles, 2 Holy Bible references, and 1 newspaper article. In the paper, the student will analyze the assigned country and the entire criminal justice system in that country. Additionally, the student will examine the effectiveness of the criminal justice system, the human rights aspect of the country’s criminal justice system, and compare the system to major criminal justice tenants in the Holy Bible. The student must review the Research Paper Assignment Instructions and Grading Rubrics for the unique and quite challenging way the student will complete each research paper.

Scenario Presentation Assignments (3)

The student will create a 10–17-slide PowerPoint Presentation (with additional slides as a reference section) based upon his/her analysis of an assigned criminal justice system other than the United States. In the presentation, the student will analyze the assigned country and the entire criminal justice system in that country. Additionally students will examine the effectiveness of the criminal justice system, the human rights aspect of the country’s criminal justice system, and compare the system to major criminal justice tenants in the Holy Bible. Each slide must have 200–350 words of bulleted or paragraph speakers notes. A minimum of 8 scholarly sources and the Holy Bible must be used. Additionally, the student must use animations, transitions, and graphics to reflect graduate level research. The student must review the Scenario Presentation Assignment Instructions and Scenario Presentation Grading Rubrics for the unique and challenging way the student will complete this research paper.


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