Bachelors
The Bachelor’s Degree
Advising
All declared CCJ majors and minors are assigned a department faculty advisor. Faculty advisor contact information is included in the CCJ department welcome email sent to each student as soon as they have declared CCJ as their major or minor. CCJ majors and minors should contact their assigned advisor each semester before enrolling in classes.
Grading Policy
Criminology and Criminal Justice majors must receive a C (2.0) grade or better in all required core courses. Grades of C- or lower will not be accepted in these courses.
Transfer Courses
Transfer courses will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Degree Requirements
| Core Courses | ||
| CCJ 239 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | 3 |
| CCJ 315 | Critical Thinking in Criminal Justice | 3 |
| CCJ 342 | Statistics for Criminal Justice | 3 |
| CCJ 345 | Research Methods in Criminal Justice | 3 |
| CCJ 421 | Criminological Theory | 3 |
| CCJ 489 | Senior Seminar | 3 |
| CCJ electives | ||
| Students are required to complete at least 17 hours at the 300 or 400-level, which can include 300-400 level transfer courses. The remaining 6 hours may be taken at the 100, 200, 300, or 400 level and can include transfer courses. | 23 | |
| Total Hours | 41 | |
*Students should consult with their academic advisor in the major for specific guidance regarding completing any general education and ECCE requirements.
Engagement Experience/ECCE
Criminology & Criminal Justice (CCJ) majors are required to complete a minimum of 10 credit hours of Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) coursework in the areas of U.S. Communities, Global Awareness, Engagement Experience, and ECCE Speaker Series.
The CCJ department recommends that students complete 6 of the required 10 ECCE hours by completing an internship, which falls under the Engagement Experience ECCE category. Internships benefit students in many ways: they allow students to learn from practical hands-on experience outside of the university setting, they aid in the process of career assessment, and they foster students’ understanding of the relationships between theory, research, and practice. To complete the internship, CCJ students must enroll in IPL 300 for 6 credit hours.
To complete the remaining 4 credit hours of ECCE requirements, CCJ majors will take EITHER a 3 credit hour U.S. Communities ECCE course OR a 3 credit hour Global Awareness ECCE course, as well as a 1 credit hour Speaker Series ECCE course.
Lastly, although CCJ majors are encouraged to complete an internship, students may request approval from their academic advisor to substitute the 6 credit hour internship with 6 credit hours of either U.S. Communities or Global Awareness ECCE coursework.
Communication Skills
To satisfy the UIS communication skills requirement, students prepare a portfolio of written work from 300-level core courses, with the final assessment occurring in the senior seminar.