May 20, 2024  
Undergraduate Catalog 2023-2024 
    
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Undergraduate Catalog 2023-2024

Criminal Justice, B.S.

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University General Education Requirements  

Department: Criminal Justice, Philosophy and Political Science

Interim Chairperson: Mohammad Salahuddin

The Department of Criminal Justice, Philosophy, and Political Science offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice. The program provides students with a broad foundation in the social sciences while emphasizing restorative justice, social and economic justice, fairness, community involvement, and public safety.

Students are encouraged to think critically about fundamental issues regarding crime and justice as they learn about all aspects of the delivery of criminal justice services. Areas of emphasis within Criminal Justice Major are policing, law, corrections, and juvenile justice. Students who have a 3.25 GPA in the major, a 3.00 GPA overall, and have junior status are eligible for the department’s honors program.

Internships & Experiential Learning:

The program culminates with students completing an internship or service practicum in criminal justice. Students who have six months or more work experience in the criminal justice field may elect to write a bachelor’s paper on some topic in criminal justice.

Upon graduation, students are especially prepared for careers across the range of criminal justice, including corrections officer, juvenile probation officer, law enforcement officer, and more. Graduates are well prepared for law school, as well as to continue their study of criminal justice in graduate school programs leading to the master’s degree or PhD. The department assesses the effectiveness of its program annually and produces a report that can be found in the department office and on the CSU website.

General Requirements

A 2.0 GPA achieved after earning at least 45 hours of college credit is required for admission to the program. A 2.5 GPA must be achieved for courses required by the program (core courses, cognates, and criminal justice electives) taken at Chicago State University. Achievement of a C or better is also required in those courses. Completion of 120 semester hours of work including 39 semester hours of general education requirements listed below and selected with the departmental advisor’s approval. At least 21 credit hours of criminal justice courses must be taken at Chicago State University. The department will not accept D transfer credit into the major.

General Education Requirements (39 credit hours)

University General Education Core Requirements (12 Credits)

  • (6) credit hours in English Composition
  • (3) credit hours in Mathematics
  • (3) credit hours in Oral Communication (e.g. CMAT 2030 )

Area Requirements (24 credits)

  • (9) credit hours in Humanities and Fine Arts (at least 3 credits in Humanities and 3 credits in Fine Arts)
  • (9) credit hours in Social Sciences (in at least two disciplines)
  • (6) credit hours in Natural Sciences, (3 credits of Life Science and 3 credits of Physical Science, (one course must include a lab)

College of Arts and Sciences Requirement (3 credits)

  • (3) credit hours in Foreign Language
  • Diversity (one general education or major course carrying the Diversity designation as an embedded requirement, no additional credit hours)

Specific Requirements for Criminal Justice

For Freshmen and Transfer students with fewer than 30 hours, there is a required one-hour cognate elective (FRSE 1500 ) to acclimate student majors to the university academic experience. At least 21 credit hours of criminal justice courses must be taken at Chicago State University.

Criminal Justice Core (Foundation) courses (12 credit hours)

Criminal Justice Core (Area) courses (12 credit hours)

Select at least one course from each of the following four core areas:

Policing/Law Enforcement:

Law:

Corrections:

Juvenile Justice:

Criminal Justice Electives (12 credit hours)

Completion of 12 credit hours of Criminal Justice Electives (with no double counting permitted), selected with the approval of the departmental academic advisor. Criminal Justice Electives are considered any Criminal Justice course listed in the latest Undergraduate Catalog that students have not previously taken (must have met the required prerequisites), or other courses with consent of the department.

Required Cognates for Criminal Justice Majors (9 credit hours)

Culminating (Experiential Learning) Course Options (3 Credit Hours)

Select one from the following options:
  • Credit Hours: 3 to 6 Supervised experience in a criminal justice setting. Six-hour option may be taken in one semester with the consent of the department
  • Credit Hours: 3 For declared majors who have worked a minimum of six months in a criminal justice agency.
  • Credit Hours: 3 to 6 Supervised service learning/research class. Six-hour option may be taken in one semester with the consent of the department and instructor

Non-Major General Electives (33 credit hours)

Completion of 33 credit hours of general electives, selected with the approval of the departmental academic advisor. Students who are required to take FRSE 1500  will only need to complete 32 hours of general electives.

Honors Program in Criminal Justice

Admission requirements

Students accepted into the Honors Program in Criminal Justice must meet the following criteria:

  • Have a GPA of 3.25 or higher in the major after having completed at least 12 credit hours in the major;
  • Have an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher;
  • Have an academic classification of junior (Second semester sophomores may apply for admission);
  • Identify a faculty member who will serve as a program mentor. Program mentors shall assess their students’ progress at the end of each semester, their students’ independent study projects, and their students’ practicum/internship or bachelor papers;
  • Complete an application for admission, which must be signed by the student’s faculty mentor and approved by the department chair.

General Requirements

Students must meet the following requirements to complete the Honors Program in Criminal Justice:

  • Complete two classes designated honors at the 3000-4000 level (6 credit hours);
  • Complete a two-semester honors project under the guidance of a faculty mentor (6 credit hours);
  • Earn a B or above in every course completed with the honors designation;
  • Maintain a GPA of 3.25 or higher in the major.

Honors Program Courses

All honors courses will be designated with an “H” as its section and will require a level of intellectual engagement over and above that of regular courses. Honors sections will require additional reading and one or more additional projects.

Honors courses include:

Honors Project

Students must meet the following criteria to complete their honors projects:

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