The following advising guidelines and practices are currently in use by CDSI student services specific to the Criminal Justice Degree program. Also to be considered are FAU guidelines for admissions and graduation as listed in the current catalog.
Admissions Requirements
- There are no special admissions criteria for the BACJ beyond those of FAU for transfer or four-year students. Students beginning their freshman program (students with fewer than 30 College or University credit hours) at FAU must follow the FAU “Native Student”guidelines in the catalog. Students admitted with significant college credit must meet the criteria of the catalog for transfer students.
- Students transferring into the BACJ from other FAU majors must have a FAU GPA of 2.0 or greater.
- There is a Foreign Language Graduation Requirement for the BACJ. All students majoring in Criminal Justice must complete two sequenced semesters of college level foreign language. The foreign language graduation requirement is NOT satisfied by two years of high school foreign language.
- Gordon Rule requirements: refer to FAU catalog.
Prerequisite Course Work
- Students are required to satisfy prerequisite course work either prior to or early in the BACJ Program. Students may choose to “dual enroll” at Community College to finish these requirements while attending FAU. STA2023: This course must be completed prior to taking CCJ4700.
Required Criminal Justice Core Course Work
- The Criminal Justice Manual advises the following semester schedule for Criminal Justice courses: (However, it is best that the student speak to a faculty or academic advisor about specific courses and the order in which to take them.)
1st Semester 2nd Semester CCJ 4700 (Methods) OR CCJ 4054 (Ethics) CCJ Elective 3000/4000 CCJ Elective 3000/4000 CCJ Elective 3000/4000 CCJ Elective 3000/4000 3rd Semester 4th Semester CCJ 3014 (Theory) CCJ Elective 3000/4000 CCJ Elective 3000/4000 CCJ Elective 3000/4000 * Students must also complete 30 hours of Free Electives, 15 of which must be 3000/4000 level, 6 can be 1000 level or higher, and 9 can be 2000 level or higher.
- Students must complete each Criminal Justice course with a grade of “C” or better. A grade of “C-” will not be counted as credit toward the Criminal Justice degree. Any required core course with a grade of “C-” or lower must be retaken. A CCJ courses with a grade of “C-” will not count towards the Free Elective section. See Forgiveness Policy in the catalog for grade replacement options.
- All degree requirements must be completed prior to graduation. This means that the student must have completed Foreign Language Admissions and Graduation requirements, Gordon Rule requirements, all General Education requirements, as well as all Criminal Justice courses. The student must also have a FAU GPA of 2.0 in order to graduate.
Approved Elective Course Work
- Students are advised to select approved elective course work from the pre-approved set of electives listed in the Criminal Justice Manual. Any CCJ course that is not counted as part of the CCJ core or CCJ Elective sections may count as approved elective credit with a grade of “C” or better. The maximum number of CCJ credits that can be taken to count toward a BACJ is 42. Any deviation from the courses requires prior approval.
- Students who have met the College Admissions criteria and CCJ prerequisites transferring from another degree program into the BACJ with upper division credits may transfer up to 30 credit hours of 3000 and 4000 level credits. This provision insures that every CCJ graduate will have obtained a minimum of 30 credit hours of either CCJ prefixed or faculty pre-approved elective course work.
Free Elective Course Work
- This section is satisfied with 1000-4000 level College or University course work not previously counted as credit toward the 120 hour BACJ degree.
- Free electives may be used to fulfill FAU Admissions, Foreign Language, Gordon Rule, and/or General Education and/or CCJ prerequisite deficiencies.
- There must not be more than two 1000 level classes in the student’s last 60 hours or more than 15 lower division hours in the last 60 hours. 15 hours of Free Electives must be at the upper division level of 3000/4000.
Students Transferring with Upper Division Credits
- Students who have completed CCJ prefixed credits at another institution may bring these credits into their program. The course work will be compared/evaluated with the CCJ courses offered and required by FAU. FAU requires that the last 30 credit hours be completed at FAU to receive a degree from FAU.
Double Major and Dual Degree
- Students pursuing a double major must satisfy the CCJ prerequisite, Foreign Language Admissions and Graduation requirements, 30 hours of CCJ course work, and 30 hours of pre-approved elective course work. A faculty advisor must approve courses that are not related to the field of CCJ and are not pre-approved to count as electives. Students must also submit a Double Major form to the Office of the Registrar.
- Students pursuing a Dual or Second Bachelor degree must meet the University requirement of an additional 30 hours beyond a 120 hour degree program. For a Second Bachelor in CCJ, the student must satisfy the program prerequisite, 30 hours of CCJ course work, and meet the foreign language graduation requirement.
During the first week of the last semester of the program, students are required to submit an application for graduation, which notifies FAU of your intent to graduate and begins the process of degree approval. It also enables the graduate to receive commencement ticket information.
For any questions regarding the Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice degree program, please contact the College Advising Center at 561-297-2316. To make an appointment with your advisor, please log on to the Success Network/Starfish.