Criminal Justice Major

Major Requirements

Degree Type: B.A. or B.S.
Minimum Credits Required: 120

University Degree Requirements

For complete details on these and other university degree requirements, refer to the Degree and Graduation Requirements section in the University Catalog.

  1. Minimum of 120 semester credits (some programs may exceed this minimum).
  2. Complete the University General Education requirements.
  3. Minimum institutional GPA of 2.00 based on work taken at NDSU.
  4. Minimum of 30 credits in resident at NDSU.
  5. Minimum of 36 upper level credits (courses numbered 300 or higher).
  6. Students with transfer credit must meet the NDSU 30 credits in residence (#4). Of these 30 credits in residence, a minimum of 15 credits must be in courses numbered 300 or above, and 15 credits must be in the student's declared major curricula.

University General Education Requirements

A list of university approved general education courses along with the administrative policies governing the requirement and the categories is available here.

Category C: Communication12
Category R: Quantitative Reasoning3
Category S: Science and Technology10
Category A: Humanities and Fine Arts6
Category B: Social and Behavioral Sciences6
Category W: Wellness2
Category D: Cultural Diversity
Category G: Global Perspectives
Category L: Digital Literacy
Total Credits39

Major Requirements

CJ 201Introduction to Criminal Justice3
CJ 210Introduction to Policing3
CJ 230Criminology3
CJ 270Introduction to Corrections3
CJ 325Applied Research Methods3
CJ 330Criminal Law and Procedure3
CJ 406Crime and Delinquency 13
CJ 407Deviant Behavior 13
CJ 460Criminal Court System 13
CJ 461Corrections 13
or CJ 410 Police & Society
CJ 465Gender, Race and Ethnicity in Criminal Justice 13
PSYC 111Introduction to Psychology (May satisfy general education category B)3
SOC 110Introduction to Sociology (May satisfy general education category B)3
STAT 330Introductory Statistics (May satisfy general education category R)3
Criminal Justice Elective: Select 3 additional CJ prefix credits.3
Using CJ 494 or CJ 496 to fulfill these electives requires permission from the department chairperson.
Total Credits45
1

Students approved to complete the accelerated B.S. in Criminal Justice to M.S. in Criminal Justice program will take the graduate level courses (CJ 606 Crime and Delinquency, CJ 607 Deviant Behavior, CJ 660 Criminal Court System, CJ 661 Corrections, and CJ 665 Gender, Race and Ethnicity in Criminal Justice).