Division of Education, Human Development, and Social Sciences

Criminal Justice

Criminal Justice, B.S. (CJBS)

Degree Requirements

Students receiving a baccalaureate degree in criminal justice should understand each of the three main components of the criminal justice system and their interrelationships, be able to evaluate critically both current and future crime control policy proposals and criminal justice research, and understand the complexity of the crime phenomenon and its relationship to individual, social, and cultural factors. This major includes study in law enforcement, courts and corrections individually and as components of a system, plus work in theories of crime causation, and crime control policy. Students should expect reading, writing, and critical thinking skills to be rigorously applied and developed throughout the degree program. The Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice provides a broadly based liberal arts background for the study of crime, justice and the criminal justice system. The Bachelor of Science degree offers an opportunity for educational enrichment in fields not traditionally considered part of the liberal arts. Either degree is excellent preparation for a career in criminal justice, graduate, or professional study, or informed citizenship.

For the B.S. degree in Criminal Justice, a minimum of 124 credits is required.

Scheduling Recommendation by Semester Standing given like (Sem: 1-2)

GENERAL EDUCATION: 45 credits
(10-13 of these 45 credits are included in the REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR)
(See description of General Education in this bulletin.)

FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR:
(Included in ELECTIVES or GENERAL EDUCATION course selection)

UNITED STATES CULTURES AND INTERNATIONAL CULTURES:
(Included in REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR)

WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM:
(Included in REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR)

ELECTIVES: 32-36 credits

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR: 60 credits[1]
(This includes 10-13 credits of General Education courses: 0-3 credits of GH courses; 4 credits of GQ courses; 6 credits of GS courses.)

PRESCRIBED COURSES (36 credits)
CRIMJ 100(3), SOC 012 GS(3), SOC 119 GS;US(4), SOC 207(3), STAT 200 GQ(4) (Sem: 1-4)
CRIMJ 210(3), CRIMJ 220(3), CRIMJ 230(3), CRIMJ 290(1)(Sem: 3-6)
CRIMJ 441(3), CRIMJ 450W(3), CRIMJ 495(3) (Sem: 5-8)

ADDITIONAL COURSES (12 credits)
PHIL 103 GH(3) or CRIMJ 465(3) (Sem: 1-4)
Select 9 credits from any 400-level CRIMJ course that does not already fulfill another requirement in the major. (Sem: 5-8)

SUPPORTING COURSES AND RELATED AREAS (12 credits)
Select 12 credits, in consultation with the adviser, in one or two of the following skill enhancement areas: accounting, computers, composition and rhetoric, counseling, education, law and legal studies, foreign language, management, public speaking, research methods and statistics, science and engineering, biobehavioral health; or in the following topics: adolescence, deviant behavior, drugs, minorities (Sem: 3-6)

[1] A student enrolled in this major must receive a grade of C or better, as specified in Senate Policy 82-44.

Contact

Mary Ann Probst, Esquire
Program Coordinator, Instructor in Criminal Justice
Office: 103 Cypress Building
Phone: 814-949-5352
Email: