General education requirements for a degree in criminal justice will include some sort of biology course. General biology typically explores all living organisms -- humans, animals and plants -- while biology courses in human anatomy have a focus on just the human body, its functions and genetics. The latter would be ideal for a criminal justice major in regards to the condition of bodies, wounds and DNA -- necessary parts of forensic and criminal investigations.
The field of criminal justice encompasses the study of ballistics in its relation to firearms and injuries. As a form of physics, ballistics measure the movement of projectiles. Instrumental physic elements includes the understanding of scientific formulas, ability to recreate scenes and the analysis blood patterns. Vital to the field of criminal justice, chemistry courses provide knowledge in areas such as drug identification and composition, the analysis of crime scene elements (fibers and soil samples) and fingerprinting techniques.
Not all criminal justice careers involve the physical sciences of chemistry and physics. Police officers, lawyers, detectives and federal agents frequently speak to live people aside from investigating dead bodies. Sociology courses showcase the study of society and it norms. Criminology, an aspect of sociology, explains why crimes are committed and their consequences. Courses with objectives of drug classification and use, counseling and victimization provides criminal justice majors with the tools to counsel victims and to assist with drug prevention.
Psychology classes serve as a foundation for human behaviors and explore emotions and the traits and influences of personality. It is imperative to understand the thinking of people and understand why certain actions are made. Officers of the law develop profiles of individuals to assist in the development of suspects and understand the type of people that they are dealing with.