Criminal Justice
Criminal Justice Major
The criminal justice practitioner deals with the broad areas of law enforcement, courts, corrections, and social services. Professional positions may include federal law enforcement, municipal law enforcement, juvenile and adult probation, counseling and correctional work in institutions, victim advocacy programs, and halfway houses. Within these broad areas the practitioner enjoys exciting professional challenges and opportunities for serving society and helping people.
Examples of agencies that have employed NDSU graduates include: the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, local police departments, sheriff ’s departments, Border Patrol, juvenile courts, Bureau of Criminal Investigation, U.S. Secret Service, probation and parole departments, juvenile and adult correctional instructions, halfway houses, and crime and delinquency prevention programs.
The Criminal Justice curriculum is an interdisciplinary program drawing on the social sciences, behavioral sciences, humanities, computer sciences, and accounting. A total of 62 credits in criminal justice and related coursework is required for the major. A basic background in the social sciences, behavioral sciences, and civics is helpful.
Criminal Justice Minor
The minor in Criminal Justice provides an opportunity for students with majors in fields outside of the Criminal Justice program to gain valuable knowledge regarding criminological theory and the history, operation and effectiveness of various parts of the criminal and juvenile justice system.
Major Requirements
Major: Criminal Justice
Degree Type: B.A. or B.S.
Required Degree Credits to Graduate: 120
General Education Requirements for Baccalaureate Degree
- A list of approved general education courses is available here .
- General education courses may be used to satisfy requirements for both general education and the major, minor, and program emphases, where applicable. Students should carefully review the major, minor, and program emphases requirements for minimum grade restrictions, should they apply.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Communication (C) | 12 | |
| College Composition I | ||
| College Composition II | ||
| Fundamentals of Public Speaking | ||
Upper Division Writing † | ||
| Quantitative Reasoning (R) † | 3 | |
| Science and Technology (S) † | 10 | |
| Humanities and Fine Arts (A) † | 6 | |
| Social and Behavioral Sciences (B) † | 6 | |
| Wellness (W) † | 2 | |
| Cultural Diversity (D) *† | ||
| Global Perspectives (G) *† | ||
| Total Credits | 39 | |
| * | May be satisfied by completing courses in another General Education category. |
| † | May be satisfied with courses required in the major. Review major requirements to determine if a specific upper division writing course is required. |
Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Degree Requirements
Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Degree – The completion of a minor program of study, a second major, or a second degree is required.
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree – Second year language proficiency at college level required.
Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences College Requirements
An additional 9 credits are required by the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences for all Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degree programs of study, except the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, the Bachelor of Music degree, Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree, and the Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AH&SS College Requirements | ||
Courses used to satisfy any general education requirement cannot be used to also count toward the AH&SS College Requirements. A minimum of three credits is required in each of the 3 following areas for a total of 9 credits. Choose only those courses with the prefixes listed for each area. A course with the WGS prefix can only be used in one area. | ||
| Area One: Humanities | 3 | |
ARB, ENGL, FREN, GERM, HIST, HUM, PHIL, RELS, SPAN, or WGS | ||
| Area Two: Social Sciences | 3 | |
ANTH, CJ, COMM, EMGT, POLS, SOC, or WGS | ||
| Area Three: Fine Arts | 3 | |
ARCH, ART, ENVD, LA, MUSC, or THEA | ||
| Total Credits | 9 | |
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Criminal Justice Requirements | ||
| Complete 3 of the 4 courses below with an average GPA of 3.0 or higher in those courses to apply for admission to the major. Completion of all 4 courses are required for graduation. | ||
| CJ 201 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | 3 |
| CJ 210 | Introduction to Policing | 3 |
| CJ 230 | Criminology | 3 |
| CJ 270 | Introduction to Corrections | 3 |
| Professional Major Requirements | ||
| Professional courses require a minimum 3.0 GPA | ||
| CJ 325 | Applied Research Methods | 4 |
| or POLS 325 | Applied Research Methods | |
| CJ 330 | Criminal Law and Procedure | 3 |
| or POLS 431 | Constitutional Law-Criminal Justice | |
| CJ 406 | Crime and Delinquency | 3 |
| CJ 407 | Deviant Behavior | 3 |
| CJ 460 | Criminal Court System | 3 |
| CJ 461 | Corrections | 3 |
| or CJ 410 | ||
| CJ 465 | Women and Minorities in Criminal Justice | 3 |
| CJ 489 | Senior Capstone in Criminal Justice | 1 |
| Additional Program Requirements: | ||
| ANTH 111 | Introduction to Anthropology (May satisfy general education category B and D) | 3 |
| POLS 230 | Judicial Process | 3 |
| PSYC 111 | Introduction to Psychology (May satisfy general education category B) | 3 |
| SOC 110 | Introduction to Sociology (May satisfy general education category B) | 3 |
| STAT 330 | Introductory Statistics (May satisfy general education category R) | 3 |
| Criminal Justice Elective: Select 3 additional CJ prefix credits. | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 53 | |
Degree Requirements and Notes
- Students should refer to www.ndsu.edu/cjps for information regarding application to professional program.
- To apply, a student must have completed a minimum of 30 credit hours and achieved a minimum GPA of 2.75 in all coursework, including transfer work.
- Only one re-take per Criminal Justice (CJ) course is allowed.
- Once admitted to the professional Criminal Justice program, failure to maintain the minimum GPA of 3.00 in the core upper-level criminal justice courses will result in an academic warning issued from the department for the first violation. Students will receive notification of this warning at their NDSU email address. If the GPA falls below 3.00 for a second semester in professional-level core CJ courses, the student will be administratively removed from the criminal justice professional program.
- These guidelines apply for all majors and minors of criminal justice.
Minor Requirements
Criminal Justice Minor
Minor Requirements
Required Credits: 18
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| CJ 201 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | 3 |
| CJ 210 | Introduction to Policing | 3 |
| CJ 230 | Criminology | 3 |
| CJ 270 | Introduction to Corrections | 3 |
| CJ 300-400 Level | 6 credits of CJ credits at the 300-400 level required. Using CJ 494 and CJ 496 to fulfill these electives requires permission from the department chairperson. | 6 |
| Total Credits | 18 | |
| * | Students who do not complete a Research Methods course in their major program of study will be required to complete CJ 325 Applied Research Methods as part of their minor requirement. |
Minor Requirements and Notes
- Students should refer to www.ndsu.edu/cjps for information regarding the application for minor.
- A minimum of 8 credits must be taken at NDSU.
- A minimum 3.0 GPA is required for all courses needed to complete the minor.
- To apply, a student must have completed a minimum of 30 credit hours and achieve a minimum GPA of 2.75 in all coursework including any transfer work.
- To apply for the admission to the minor, a student must complete 3 of the 4 introductory courses (CJ 201, CJ 210, CJ 230, CJ 270) with an average GPA of 3.0 or higher. Completion of all 4 courses is required for graduation with a minor in CJ.
- Only one re-take per CJ course is allowed.
- Failure to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.00 in the minor courses for criminal justice will result in an academic warning issued from the department for the first violation. Students will receive notification of this warning via their NDSU email address. If the GPA falls below 3.00 for a second semester in criminal justice minor courses, the student will be administratively removed from the program.
