Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice, BACJ

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.

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 policy making 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 take a minimum of 120 credit hours, including:

• 59 credit hours of general education requirements as outlined in the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences
• 25 other elective credit hours
• 29 undergraduate required Criminal Justice core credit hours
• 7-10 elective credit hours in criminal justice or ancillary fields (as approved)

Students must also meet the following requirements:

• A minimum of 18 hours must be upper-division major courses
• A 3-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 hours of upper-division work (courses numbered 300 or 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.