Criminal Justice

This is an archived copy of the 2023-24 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.ndsu.edu.

Major Requirements

Major: Criminal Justice

Degree Type: B.A. or B.S.
Minimum Degree Credits to Graduate: 120

University Degree Requirements

  1. Satisfactory completion of all requirements of the curriculum in which one is enrolled.
  2. Earn a minimum total of 120 credits in approved coursework.  Some academic programs exceed this minimum.
  3. Satisfactory completion of the general education requirements as specified by the university.
  4. A minimum institutional GPA of 2.00 based on work taken at NDSU.
  5. At least 30 credits must be NDSU resident credits.  Resident credits include credits registered and paid for at NDSU.
  6. At least 36 credits presented for graduation must be in courses numbered 300 or higher.
  7. Students presenting transfer credit must meet the NDSU residence credits and the minimum upper level credit. Of the 30 credits earned in residence, a minimum of 15 semester credits must be in courses numbered 300 or above, and 15 semester credits must be in the student’s curricula for their declared major.

For complete information, please refer to the Degree and Graduation Requirements section of this Bulletin.

University General Education Requirements

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 Credits39
*

 May be satisfied by completing courses in another General Education category.

 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 major requirements to determine if specific courses can also satisfy these general education categories.

  •  A list of university approved general education courses and administrative policies are available here.

AHSS Degree Requirements                                                                            

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Degree – The completion of a minor program of study.                                                                            

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 a student whose primary degree is a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree in a major from the College of AHSS. These additional 9 credits are not required for the Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree, Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Environmental Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, Bachelor of Music degree, for any student whose primary major or degree is not in the College of AHSS, or the student is earning two majors or two different degrees.

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: Humanities3
ARB, ENGL, FREN, GERM, HIST, HUM, PHIL, RELS, SPAN, TIPS or WGS
Area Two: Social Sciences3
ANTH, CJ, COMM, EMGT, POLS, SOC, or WGS
Area Three: Fine Arts3
ARCH, ART, ENVD, LA, MUSC, or THEA
Total Credits9

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 Delinquency3
CJ 407Deviant Behavior3
CJ 460Criminal Court System3
CJ 461Corrections3
or CJ 410 Police & Society
CJ 465Gender, Race and Ethnicity in Criminal Justice3
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

Degree Requirements and Notes

  • To graduate with a Criminal Justice major, a student must have a minimum GPA of 2.75 in Criminal Justice (CJ) prefix courses and an overall cumulative GPA of 2.5.                                           
  • Only one re-take per CJ prefix course is allowed.        

Minor Requirements

Minor: Criminal Justice

Required Credits: 18

Required Courses
CJ 201Introduction to Criminal Justice3
CJ 210Introduction to Policing3
CJ 230Criminology3
CJ 270Introduction to Corrections3
CJ 300-400 Level6 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 Credits18
*

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

  • To graduate with Criminal Justice minor, a student must have a minimum GPA of 2.75 in CJ prefix courses and a cumulative GPA of 2.5.
  • Only one re-take per CJ course is allowed.