| General Information
Welcome to the Criminal Justice web site at Palo Alto College. My name is Steve Mardock and I am the Chair of the Department of Protective Services and the Criminal Justice Program Director. The Criminal Justice program is located in the Department of Protective Services, General Education Building, Room 237 on the campus of Palo Alto College in San Antonio, Texas. Palo Alto College is a two-year college dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in its educational programs and services and is one of four colleges in the Alamo Community College District. Goal The Criminal Justice program at Palo Alto strives to provide the student with the foundations necessary to prepare them for a career as competent public servants in all aspects of the field of criminal justice including law enforcement, corrections and the court system. Criminal Justice Careers A higher education is essential for today's criminal justice professional. Many positions require a bachelor's degree including probation and parole officers. Police departments typically encourage collegiate training by incentive pay and increased promotion opportunities. Some departments require some college or a four-year degree before applying. Most Federal agencies require a bachelor's degree. Palo Alto students will be taught by experienced criminal justice practitioners and teachers who recognize that students are concerned about their future careers. Field trips and guest speakers from local criminal justice agencies are an integral part of the curriculum of the criminal justice program. For faculty information click on the Faculty and Staff link on this page. Service Learning is a component of many of our courses providing the student with hands on experience in the field. Most programs require 60 hours of service learning (community service) at a selected criminal justice agency. Currently, service learning is offered at the Bexar County Juvenile Probation Department, Bexar Juvenile Treatment facility, the San Antonio Police Department, the ACCD Department of Public Safety, the Bexar County District Attorney's office and Bexar County Adult Probation.. Check the individual course syllabus to determine whether service learning is offered. Syllabi can be found by clicking on individual faculty names under the Faculty and Staff link. Students will also receive career advisement from faculty and assistance with degree plans. For more information on advisement, click on Advisement link on this page. Academic Programs Students may pursue a 2-year Associate of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from Palo Alto College and they may transfer their credits to a 4-year institution leading to a Bachelor's degree in Criminal justice or Criminology. Transfer agreements are in place with the following local schools: Texas State University at San Marcos, University of Texas at San Antonio and Texas A&M University - Kingsville at Palo Alto. Students completing a transfer plan are eligible to receive an AA degree from Palo Alto College. For more information, click on the Degrees and Certificates link on this page. For course descriptions click on the Course Descriptions link. Online Degree You can now earn a Criminal Justice Degree online. Most criminal justice online courses are offered every fall and spring semester and at least three are offered in the summer. However, some courses such as CRIJ 1310 are offered every other semester. For information on criminal justice Internet courses go the Faculty and Staff link and then click on Steve Mardock. For more information on Internet courses at Palo Alto go to Distance Learning. Forensic Science We now have a Criminal Justice Degree with a Concentration in Forensic Science. There are two forensic science courses that are part of the degree. The first is offered in the spring semester and is entitled: Forensic Science I (FORS 2440). This course is designed to provide the student with skills required to gather and analyze evidence at a crime scene. Forensics Science II (FORS 2540) expands on the skills learned in FORS 2440 and will explore other forensic topics including psychology. There are no prerequisites for both courses except that FORS 2440 must be taken before FORS 2450. A forensic science club is now active on campus. Anyone interested in Forensics can join. You do not have to be a forensic major or even be taking forensic classes. For more information click on Forensic Science Club Steve Mardock, Palo Alto College |