Criminal Justice Major BA
The baccalaureate of arts (BA) in criminal justice provides students with a broad analysis of the functions and operation of the criminal justice system as well as an examination of the relationship between law and society. An emphasis is placed on the interrelatedness of the components of the system including law enforcement, juvenile justice, court services (probation and parole), courts and corrections. To earn a BA with a major in criminal justice, students must complete the minimum bachelor's degree requirements (120 credits) including general education, liberal studies and criminal justice course work. All major courses must be completed with a grade of C- or higher.
Acceptance to the Program
To be eligible for acceptance to the Criminal Justice major, students must submit a School of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Undergraduate Program Declaration Form when the following is completed:
- 30 general education credits
- GELS/MNTC writing requirements
- Cumulative Metropolitan State GPA of 2.25
- SLC Pre-major Advising Workshop (PAW)
All criminal justice pre-majors should work closely with an advisor from the School of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (SLC).
Credit and Residency Requirements
All Metropolitan State University students must complete at least 30 credits in residency at Metropolitan State. All criminal justice students must complete 24 major credits at Metropolitan State University which can be applied toward the 30 credit university residency requirement.
Criminal Justice Major (49 credits total)
Required Core Courses (37 credits)
- *CJS 101 Introduction to Criminal Justice
- *CJS 200 Literature in Criminal Justice
- CJS 210 Constitutional Law
- CJS 300 Corrections
- CJS 302 Juvenile Justice
- +CJS 320 Applied Criminology
- LAWE 330 Critical Issues in Law Enforcement or LAWE 431 Police Culture
- CJS 350 Citizenship: Community Involvement
- +CJS 360 Diversity Issues in Criminal Justice*
- +CJS 375 Criminal Justice Ethics*
- +CJS 483 Research Seminar in Criminal Justice
- =CJS 490 Criminal Justice Capstone
* CJS 101 and CJS 200 are prerequisites for all core CJS and LAWE courses.
+ CJS 320, CJS 360, CJS 375 and CJS 483 are prerequisites for CJS 490.
= CJS 490 should be completed the student's last semester.
Directed Electives (12 credits)
Criminal justice majors must select 12 elective credits (9 of the 12 credits must be upper-division, 4 course minimum) of criminal justice or law enforcement courses listed below. CJS 101 and CJS 200 or instructor consent are prerequisites for CJS and LAWE directed elective courses. Students double majoring in law enforcement and criminal justice may not use required core law enforcement courses as directed electives. LAWE 104 is not accepted as a directed elective.
- CJS 110 Careers in Criminal Justice
- CJS 305 The Criminal Court System
- CJS 310 Introduction to Security Management
- CJS 315 Dynamics of Criminal Sexual Assault
- CJS 318 Women and Crime
- CJS 325 Inside-Out: Prison Exchange Program
- CJS 333 Gangs
- CJS 335 Murder: A Global Perspective
- CJS 339 Violent Crime Investigation
- CJS 340 Comparative Criminal Justice
- CJS 345 Organization and Administration in Criminal Justice
- CJS 346 Victimology
- CJS 354 Restorative Justice
- CJS 356 Urban Violence
- CJS 358 Community Building for Criminal Justice
- CJS 365 Criminal Justice and the Media
- CJS 367 Exploring Forensic Science
- CJS 370 Probation and Parole
- CJS 377 Criminal Justice Practicum (4 credits maximum)
- CJS 382 Selected Topics in Criminal Justice
- CJS 387 White Collar Crime
- CJS 388 Crime Analysis
Any non-core law enforcement class is also included.
