BS in Criminal Justice
Program Requirements
A minimum total of 120 credit hours is required for the BS in criminal justice and includes at least 39 credit hours of major courses (but not more than 50 credit hours will count toward the BS degree) that must be completed with a minimum grade point average of 2.000. Also, a minimum grade of 2.000 must be achieved in all criminal justice core and criminal justice elective courses. In addition to meeting the requirements of the WSU General Education Program and the requirements of Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (including the world language requirement of 12 credit hours or SPAN 212 Spanish for Law Enforcement - 5 credit hours) students in the BS in criminal justice must take the following courses:
| Course | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education | ||
| Select courses to meet General Education requirements 1 | 34-35 | |
| College Requirements | ||
| Select courses to complete all LAS Competency Areas 1 | 24 | |
| Additional Requirements | ||
| ENGL 210 | Composition: Business, Professional and Technical Writing | 3 |
| SPAN 212 | Spanish for Law Enforcement | 5 |
| In lieu of SPAN 212 students may take another world language through 204. | ||
| Major Core Courses | ||
| CJ 191 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | 3 |
| CJ 220 | Modern Ethics in Criminal Justice | 3 |
| CJ 315 | Criminal Law | 3 |
| CJ 320 | Criminal Procedure | 3 |
| CJ 360 | Multiculturalism in Criminal Justice | 3 |
| CJ 391 | Corrections | 3 |
| CJ 392 | Law Enforcement | 3 |
| CJ 394 | Courts and Judicial Systems | 3 |
| CJ 407 | Introduction to Research Methods | 3 |
| CJ 593 | Crime Causation and Criminal Justice Policy | 3 |
| CJ 598 | Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice | 3 |
| Criminal Justice Electives | ||
| Select 6 credit hours of criminal justice electives (there is a maximum of 6 credit hours total allowed in CJ 481 and CJ 483) | 6 | |
| Open Electives | ||
| Select enough electives to reach 120 credit hours | 14-15 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 120 | |
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Required major courses may also count towards General Education and/or LAS Competencies. Students will need to select additional electives to reach 120 credit hours required for graduation with assistance from an advisor.
Students may take 11 additional credit hours beyond the 39 credit hours required for the major (for a total of 50 credit hours).
Applied Learning
Students in the BS in criminal justice program are required to complete an applied learning or research experience to graduate from this program. The requirement can be met by successfully completing CJ 407 Introduction to Research Methods.
Students in the traditional course have a hands-on experience serving or benefiting a community agency. Research questions are developed in conjunction with the agent of the agency identified at the beginning of each semester.
Students in the online course learn how to apply the course concepts thus far. Each student identifies four research study ideas directly linked to their everyday lives.