BS-CJGN - Criminal Justice, General Track, B.S.

The criminal justice degree will prepare students to enter a field with many career options. Students will take courses in a wide variety of criminal justice-related topics that provide a solid foundation to jumpstart their career. Graduates have the opportunity begin their career in law enforcement (local, state, or federal) or in corrections (security, treatment, etc.). A criminal justice degree is also a solid foundation for those desiring to attend law school to become an attorney. For those already employed in the criminal justice field, a bachelor’s degree will assist in career advancement and open up promotion opportunities.

 Upon completion, students will demonstrate mastery of the essential content of the criminology curriculum, demonstrate the ability to critically analyze major concepts and theoretical perspectives in criminal justice, demonstrate an understanding of essential elements of academic and professional writing, demonstrate an understanding of academic and professional research and scholarship and demonstrate an understanding of professional and ethical values in the criminal justice field.

• Students should follow their advisor’s recommendations for appropriate selections in Core Curriculum Area A1, Area A2, and Area D.

• Credit toward graduation not allowed for the following combinations of science courses:

  • Principles of Biology and non-Science Biology courses (see Biology Course Descriptions for specifics),

  • Principles of Chemistry and non-Science Chemistry courses (see Chemistry Course Descriptions for specifics), and

  • Principles of Physics and non-Science Physics courses (see Physics Course Descriptions for specifics).

• The maximum number of hours that will be awarded for credit for completion of internships is 9 credit hours.

• When a course is authorized in multiple areas of a degree program, students completing the course to meet requirements of one area must take a different course in the subsequent area(s) to meet the requirements of the subsequent area(s) (i.e., No course can be counted multiple times in a degree program).

• A baccalaureate degree program requires at least 21 semester hours of upper division courses in the major field and at least 39 semester hours of upper division work overall. Upper division is defined as 3000- and 4000-level courses.