Criminal Justice, BA

The BACJ program utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to capture both the academic liberal arts emphasis and the professional and policy knowledge required to educate criminal justice professionals. Students who complete this degree may seek employment in law enforcement, corrections, courts, and related areas. This employment can be within the public, nonprofit, or private sectors, providing multiple options for Criminal Justice graduates.

Learning Outcomes

Criminal Justice is a broad and increasingly interdisciplinary field. Students who complete the BACJ will:

Be able to draw on multiple disciplines and research traditions to identify and understand the social and behavioral contributors to crime and delinquency.
Have a comprehensive understanding of the institutions in the criminal justice system and how politics and policymaking affect these institutions.
Have effective critical thinking and oral and written communication skills.
Have a comprehensive knowledge of the ethical concerns of the criminal justice field.
Understand how perceptions of the criminal justice system vary cross-culturally, and how such differences influence policy and public perception.

In addition, the BACJ will provide the foundation for students who are interested in pursuing the Master of Criminal Justice degree.

Requirements for the BACJ degree

General Requirements

Students must complete a minimum of 120 credit hours, including:

33 undergraduate required Criminal Justice core credit hours
6 elective credit hours in Criminal Justice
54 credit hours of general education requirements as outlined in your degree progress report
27 other elective credit hours

Students must also meet the following requirements:

A minimum of 27 credit hours must be upper-division major courses
A 4-credit-hour internship required for those who do not have experience in the field of Criminal Justice
A grade of C or better in each undergraduate course applied to satisfy major requirements
Major requirements may not be taken pass/fail

Upper-Division Requirement

Students must complete at least 45 credit hours of upper-division work (courses numbered 3000 and above) to be eligible for the bachelor’s degree. Students may register for upper-division courses if they have met prerequisites or obtained departmental approval. Courses transferred from a junior/community college carry lower-division credit.

Required Coursework

Core Courses

Electives

6 elective credit hours in Criminal Justice

Option Areas

Students may utilize their major elective course options (and in some cases core and/or required courses) to form a concentration or ‘option’ area in one or more of the following areas: 1) Forensic Studies; 2) Law; and 3) Law Enforcement.

Students must meet with a Criminal Justice advisor in Academic Advising to declare an option area and then follow the requirements on the degree progress report.

The courses listed below are recommended for creating a specific concentration. A minimum of 12 credit hours is required for the option areas. The 12 credit hours may count toward BACJ elective hours, or core hours where applicable, if they are Criminal Justice (CJ) or Public Administration (PAD) courses.