Criminal Justice Accelerated BA to MCJ

The School of Public Affairs offers a unique opportunity for highly qualified undergraduate criminal justice students to work concurrently toward the Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Criminal Justice and the Master of Criminal Justice (MCJ). Accelerated BA/MCJ students may count up to 9 credit hours of eligible graduate-level criminal justice courses toward both their BA and MCJ degrees, allowing them to complete both degrees in an accelerated time frame.

General Requirements

• The BA in Criminal Justice program requires completion of a minimum of 120 credit hours, including:
  • Criminal Justice major requirements (42 credit hours),
  • The UCCS BA in Criminal Justice adaptation of the UCCS general education curriculum, and
  • A minimum of 45 credit hours of upper-division coursework (3000 and above).
• The MCJ degree requires completion of a minimum of 36 credit hours.
• In order for credit to be double counted toward both the BA in Criminal Justice and MCJ degrees, the following conditions must be met:
  • Dual credit courses must be approved by the MCJ Director as meeting requirements in both programs.
  • Dual credit courses must be completed with a grade of B or better.
  • Dual credit courses must be taken at the graduate level (for graduate credit).

Course Requirements

Please refer to the Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice  and Master of Criminal Justice  sections of this Catalog for specific course requirements.

BA/MCJ students will complete two of the following required core MCJ courses (6 credit hours), plus one MCJ elective (3 credit hours), which will count toward both the BA and MCJ degrees:

• CJ 5001 - Criminal Justice Systems, Policy and Practice  
• CJ 5002 - Criminological Theory  
• CJ 5007 - Violence  

Once concurrent students have successfully completed the three graduate-level courses (9 credit hours) and the 111 BACJ credit hours have been reviewed and approved by the MCJ Director, the student will be admitted into the MCJ program.

Eligibility Requirements

Both current UCCS and new transfer students are eligible to apply after meeting the following criteria: 

• Currently enrolled in the School of Public Affairs as a Criminal Justice major
• Junior year students (making the application for their senior year)
• Completed the following 10 credit hours of Criminal Justice major requirements. Grades of B or better in all of these courses are required. Transfer criminal justice courses must be approved and officially accepted toward the major.
  • CJ 1001 - Introduction to Criminal Justice  
  • CJ 2041 - Crime Theory and Causes  
  • SOC 3070 - Social Research Methods  (formerly CJ 3100 - Criminal Justice Research Methods)
• Have either successfully completed (grade of B or better) or are currently enrolled in CJ 3170 - Crime Prevention and Analysis  or SOC 3170 - Social Statistics  (formerly CJ 3150 - Statistics for Criminal Justice)
• Minimum 3.25 cumulative GPA

Admission Criteria

Students can apply for the accelerated program during their junior year by declaring intent. To declare intent, students should first ensure they meet the above eligibility requirements, and then submit the intent application. This form will be reviewed by the program, and, if approved, will be placed on the student’s undergraduate record. This allows the university to know that the student intends to enter in to the master’s program with these dual counting courses. The approval of the intent application also allows the student to begin taking graduate level courses that will count toward both programs. In the senior year the student will apply to the Master of Criminal Justice program according to the SPA and UCCS Graduate School application deadlines for fall and spring admission. The following steps should help in the application process:

• Plan ahead when scheduling courses through the junior year. All four of the required undergraduate criminal justice/sociology courses and all of the student’s core education requirements must be completed by the end of the student’s junior year.
• At the beginning of the semester in which the student is applying to the program, the student should approach criminal justice faculty members about writing letters of recommendation. The student should also begin working on a personal statement of purpose. The statement should be one page minimum, and describe the applicant’s reasons for undertaking graduate study in criminal justice, the applicant’s future career plans, and a planned area of concentration within criminal justice.
• Students will apply and submit all required documentation according to the graduate school application deadlines.

For further information contact:

Crista Hill, Graduate Recruitment and Retention Specialist
Email: chill12@uccs.edu