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Please click here to download FAQs
1. How many Criminal Justice courses do I need to take to complete the major?
You’ll
need 11 courses (33 units) plus 3 courses in the
correlated curriculum (9 units), plus 1 upper division
writing requirement (3 units) for a total of 15 courses
(45 units).
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2. What are those Criminal Justice courses? Which
ones are required?
Click
here to download a map of the requirements for the
major.
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3. Is there a minimum final grade necessary for
courses taken for the major?
Yes—a big yes. In order to earn a bachelor’s
degree in Criminal Justice all students who begin
the program after the Fall 2005 semester must earn
a grade of at least “C” (2.0
grade-points; “C-minus” does not count)
in all 15 courses in the curriculum. The same
standards apply to the minor in Criminal Justice. Courses
that don’t meet this standard must be repeated
and completed with a final grade of C for the major
to be completed.
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4. I took a criminal justice course in community
college. Will this course count toward my Criminal
Justice major?
No, it won’t. Community colleges do not offer
upper division courses, and the CSUF Criminal Justice
major is made up entirely of upper division classes.
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5. What are the upper division correlated curriculum
courses?
These courses are designed to help you to broaden
your understanding of criminal justice or are courses
that involve methods that are similar to those used
in criminal justice. Generally these are courses
in the social sciences. You have to take three of
them—9 units worth—and all of them have
to be upper-division courses.
Click here to download a list of approved correlated
curriculum courses.
If you take any of these, you won’t need an
advisor’s approval. If you have any other courses
in mind, you’ll need to talk to an advisor.
Please note: Courses that are designated as such
can meet both our correlated curriculum as well as
your 9 units of upper division general education
requirements.
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6. How many units do I need to graduate?
You’ll need 120 total units. Completing the
units for your major plus General Education units won’t be
enough until your total units is 120. That total
of 120 units is a university rule. [top]
7. Which courses should I begin with?
Start with Criminal Justice 300, and then you can
take any combination of core, elective and correlated
courses depending upon your scheduling needs, etc. Generally,
it is ideal to work your way through the core curriculum
courses, but the core courses will provide a good
foundation for other courses. [top]
8. Should I get all my GE out of the way before
I start taking courses in the major?
If you’re a CSUF four year student: You should
generally complete all of your 42 unit lower division
general education requirements during your first
four semesters on campus. Ideally, you can take Criminal
Justice 300 during the second semester of your second
year. You can then concentrate on your major
and other upper division electives, including your
9 units of upper division general education requirements,
during your remaining semesters.
If you’re a transfer student: If you
have any lower division general education requirements
when you arrive at CSUF you should complete them
as soon as possible. Ideally, you should take Criminal
Justice 300 during the first semester of your second
year. You can then concentrate on your major
and other upper division electives, including your
9 units of upper division general education requirements,
during your remaining semesters. [top]
9. Is there a writing requirement for the major?
How do I meet it?
All students are required to complete an upper division
writing requirement. The approved courses for
Criminal Justice are English 301(Advanced College
Writing), English 365 (Legal Writing), or Criminal
Justice 350 (Principles & Concepts of Investigation & Report
Writing). English 301 is the recommended class as
it is more readily available and addresses general
writing skills, which are a growing need among university
students. CJ 350 can also be taken as an Elective
as it is more focused upon the investigation of criminal
justice activities and specific report writing techniques.
Please note: Criminal Justice 350 may not be
used as both an elective and to meet the writing
requirement. [top]
10. Are there prerequisites for 300 or 400 level
courses?
Criminal Justice 300 is the primary prerequisite
for many other 300 or 400 classes. Generally,
enforcement of the prerequisite is left to the discretion
of individual instructors. Often instructors
will permit you to take an upper division Criminal
Justice course if you are concurrently enrolled in
CJ 300. Others may require that you complete
the course prior to enrolling in their course. Some
400 level courses, e.g., “Advanced Corrections” may
require that you complete both Criminal Justice 300
and Criminal Justice 345 (Corrections) prior to enrolling. Finally,
some correlated courses (in other departments) may
require that you complete a prerequisite prior to
enrolling in a specific class. [top]
11. Do I need to have a formal concentration within
the Criminal Justice major?
No, though many students do that informally by taking
courses they’re most interested in. [top]
12. Must I have a minor?
No, although some students want to take all of their
correlated curriculum courses in the same department,
and some build on that by taking a few more courses
in that department and creating a minor. [top]
13. How can I obtain a criminal justice minor?
The criminal justice minor consists of 18 units.
You
must complete:
CJ
300 Introduction
to Criminal Justice
CJ 310A Criminal
Law: Substantive
CJ
330 Crime & Delinquency
Plus
any other 3 core and/or elective criminal justice
courses. [top]
14. Can I double major or minor in Public Administration,
or Political Science, along with my Criminal Justice
major?
Yes, if you’d like that on your diploma. But
you can also get the content without a double major
or minor through your correlated courses or additional
elective courses. [top]
15. What are the rules for minors and double majors?
12 units must be unique to the minor and not used
for the major; and 24 units must be unique to the
major (no double counting). GE courses may be used
for the minor and for one of the majors. [top]
16. Can a course meet the Criminal
Justice major and General Education requirements?
Well, yes and no. If you’re a Criminal Justice
major, you cannot take a Criminal Justice
class --that is, a course with a CRJU designation-- both to
meet the requirements for the major and have
it apply to a particular category of GE. Basically,
if you’re a Criminal Justice major you cannot
use any Criminal Justice course to meet
a GE requirement.
But,
if you take a non-Criminal Justice course to satisfy
the correlated curriculum requirement—and
remember, these courses must be outside of Criminal
Justice--then the course can qualify for
GE credit. But in this case, don’t assume that
taking a three-unit course that qualifies for both
the Criminal Justice correlated curriculum requirement
and GE credit somehow turns those three units into
six. It doesn’t.
If you double-major, one of your two majors is designated,
by you, as your primary major. You can’t use
courses from your primary major to complete GE requirements,
but you can use courses from your secondary
major for GE credit. [top]
17. After I finish the General Education and Major
Requirements what do I take then?
Whatever you like. These courses are called free
electives and allow you to take other courses in
your major, obtain a minor or explore other academic
areas of interest to you and to get you up to the
120 units needed to graduate [top]
18. Can I take graduate courses?
Yes, if you are a senior (90 units completed), have
the academic preparation for the course, and have
the permission of the instructor and are permitted
by the Division. [top]
19. Do I need to take an internship? How many internship
courses can I take?
An
internship is an elective and is not required for
the Criminal Justice major, but most students find
them to be a valuable experience and often a help
in finding a job later. You are limited to a total
of 3 units in internships. [top]
20. What is an Independent Study? Do I need to complete
one? How many independent study courses can I take?
An independent study is an academically oriented
project between a student and a supervising full-time
faculty member. An independent study is an
elective and is not required for the Criminal Justice
major. While there are a variety of projects that
can potentially be approved by the Chair of the Division
of Politics, Administration & Justice, traditional
independent study courses typically involve significant
scholarly research and writing. You are limited to
a total of 3 units of independent study courses. [top]
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