Free Criminal Justice College Lectures

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Staff Writers Contributing Writer
Updated February 4, 2021

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The following links will take you to free lectures made available by accredited universities. These 19 free criminal justice college courses consist of video and audio lectures from some of the top universities in the United States including Harvard, Yale, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and New York University. (Note: these are just the free lectures and course overviews and you cannot receive college credit).

Freshman Year

free criminal justice college courses

Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?
Michael Sandel
Harvard University
These TED Talk lecture discuss the ethical dilemmas in justice and the ideas of famous philosophers like Aristotle, Jeremy Bentham, Immanuel Kant and John Rawl.
Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?

Introduction to Sociology
Harvey Molotch
New York University
These 27 video lectures provide an introduction to the study of society and examples to illustrate the concepts covered in this course. Topics include deviance, power and class, conformity, isolation, and terror.

Introduction to Psychology�(iTunes)
Jeremy Wolfe
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
23 audio lectures that provide a survey of important psychology topics.
Introduction to Psychology

Introduction to Psychology
Paul Bloom
Yale University
This 20 part video lecture course covers the fundamental concepts of psychology including topics such as decision-making, persuasion, emotion, personality, and mental illness.
Introduction to Psychology

History: Modern Civilization from 1750 - Present
Lynn Hunt
UCLA
10 video lectures that cover significant events and issues in the history of modern civilization from Greek civilization to the present day.
History: Modern Civilization from 1750 - Present

Economics 1, 001 - Introduction to Economics
J. Bradford Delong
UC Berkeley
These audio lectures provide a solid foundation in the major concepts of economics. Economics courses often fulfill requirements for many bachelor's degree programs, and also provides a good framework for understanding human behavior including incentives and supply and demand. The professor estimates that it costs the University $17,000 to educate each UC Berkeley student, but you can listen to the same lectures for free.

Sophomore Year

Legal Studies 103: Theories of Law and Society
David Lieberman
UC Berkeley
This course examines the significant legal theories from the 18th and 19th centuries including important legal writings from individuals like Marx, Maine, Durkheim, and Weber.

Legal Studies 109, 001 - Aims and Limits of the Criminal Law
Tamara R. Lave
UC Berkeley
These audio lectures discuss the philosophy and theory of criminal law.

Psy 216: Social Psychology �(iTunes)
Dana C. Leighton
Portland Community College
Psy 216: Social Psychology

SOCY 151: Foundations of Social Modern Thought
Iván Szelényi
Yale University
These 25 video and audio lectures explore the fundamental social theories in the modern era from the principal architects of social science.
SOCY 151: Foundations of Social Modern Thought

Philosophy 132, 001 - Philosophy of Mind
John R. Searle
UC Berkeley
This course discusses the nature of the human mind and other fundamental concepts of philosophy including the ideas of important philosophers.

Statistics 2, 001 - Introduction to Statistics
Fletcher H. Ibser
UC Berkeley
This course provides an introduction to the main basic concepts of statistics which can be helpful to law enforcement professionals for analyzing and understanding crime statistics.

Environmental Politics and Law�(YouTube)
John Wargo
Yale
A course discussing the legal issues involving the environment such as nuclear experiments, conservation law, and the effects of war on the environment.
Environmental Politics and Law

Law 271: Environmental Law and Policy�(YouTube)
Holly Doremus
UC Berkeley
A course providing an overview of environmental law in the United States with a focus on federal law.
Law 271: Environmental Law and Policy

Junior Year

Legal Studies 160, 001 - Punishment, Culture, and Society
Jonathan S. Simon
UC Berkeley
This course covers important concepts and issues related to the criminal justice system including the prison system, America's punishment boom, prisons around the world, and the death penalty.

Sociology 185: Global Sociology
Michael Burawoy

UC Berkeley
These video and audio lectures explore the sociology of globalization including important current topics like immigration, terrorism, human trafficking, war, and human rights.

Economics: Game Theory
Benjamin Polak
Yale University
An introduction to game theory which explores how groups of people interact including the famous prisoner's dilemma.
Economics: Game Theory

Psychology 130, 001 - Clinical Psychology
Ann M. Kring
UC Berkeley
Understanding how people think and the common mental disorders can be valuable knowledge for criminal justice professionals. These lectures cover topics such as drug addiction, mood disorders, and schizophrenia.

Senior Year

Public Health 253E: Ethics and Public Health in the Age of Catastrophe
Harvey Kayman
UC Berkeley
These audio lectures discuss public health issues and ethical principles during natural or man-made disasters. Pete Sarna, a retired police captain is a guest lecturer (lecture 8).

Legal Studies 163, 001 - Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice
Franklin E. Zimring
UC Berkeley
This course discusses legal theory of juvenile justice with a focus on the main juvenile cases of neglect, dependency, and delinquency.

Info 205: Information Law and Policy
Pam Samuelson
UC Berkeley
This course discusses the role of legal policy on the flow of information including copyright, privacy, insecure systems, the Internet, digital media, and national information policy.

IAS 180 Issues in Foreign Policy after 911
Harry Kreisler
UC Berkeley
These audio lectures discuss international issues and global impact of the events of 9/11. This course features notable guest speakers who talk about topics related to terrorism, Al Qaeda, and counterterrorism.
IAS 180 Issues in Foreign Policy after 911

->Find Information on Criminal Justice Degrees at Accredited Colleges.

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