The Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Criminal Justice program provides an extensive overview of the criminal justice system including law enforcement, corrections, the judiciary, juvenile justice, probation and parole, and international justice. The program builds upon a solid liberal arts core to achieve a balanced criminal justice perspective including an emphasis upon the victim, the offender, the criminal justice system, and society. Students are provided a set of core courses and experiences to orient them to the broader criminal justice system. Thereafter, they have the opportunity to specialize in law enforcement, corrections, legal studies, juvenile justice, international justice, or management in criminal justice. This program is available through distance learning via the internet.
Program Progression and Additional Graduation Requirements
- Attend an orientation session.
- Sign an Advising Agreement document.
In addition to the program requirements, students must:
- Complete a minimum of 120 credits.
- Complete a minimum of 42 of the 120 credits at the upper division (3000 - 4999) level.
- Earn a cumulative GPA of 2.0 for all coursework attempted at FGCU.
- Satisfy the College-Level Skills and foreign language entrance requirements.
- Satisfy the Service-Learning requirement.
- Complete the Civic Literacy requirement.
- Satisfy the residency requirement: 30 of the last 60 credits must be completed at FGCU.
- Complete the summer course enrollment requirement.
- Submit an Application for Graduation by the deadline listed in the FGCU Academic Calendar.
Program Requirements
Total Credits Required: 120
Combined Program
The Combined Bachelor’s and Master’s Program in Criminal Justice is meant to provide an incentive for students with strong academic capabilities to complete a bachelor’s and master’s degree in less time than would normally be required.
Combined Program Admission Requirements
- Junior standing or higher
- Major GPA of at least 3.4 (at the time of application) including restrictive electives
- Overall GPA of at least 3.2
- Transfer students must have completed a minimum of 15 hours at FGCU with an earned FGCU GPA of 3.2 or higher
- Personal statement of at least one double spaced page discussing the applicant’s reason for pursuing graduate work in Criminal Justice, along with how the graduate program will be applied to the applicant’s goals after completion
- Two letters of recommendation supporting admission for the student into the program
Candidates for the combined B.S./M.S. program will apply during their junior year by submitting application materials to the M.S. in Criminal Justice Graduate Coordinator. A committee of three graduate faculty within the Criminal Justice Graduate Program will then review the applications, with the Graduate Coordinator then communicating the committee’s decision to each applicant.
Combined Program Progression and Additional Graduation Requirements
- The B.S. in Criminal Justice Program is 120 credits
- The M.S. in Criminal Justice is 36 credits
- 12 credits will be double counted for the B.S. and M.S. in Criminal Justice program. These courses will substitute for courses in the Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice program as approved by the undergraduate coordinator. Students will satisfy all other requirements for the B.S. in Criminal Justice program, including required courses, restricted electives, additional electives, and all university requirements
- Total credits for the combined program will be 144 credit hours
- Students must achieve an overall average of 3.0 for the 12 graduate credits taken while at the undergraduate level
- While at the undergraduate level, students must take at least 6 graduate credits from the courses below and earn a grade of B or higher in these courses. Students can take more than 6 credits of the courses listed below if desired and approved by the Graduate Coordinator
- CCJ 5476 Mgmt. & Admin. of Justice (3)
- CCJ 6485 Criminal Justice Policy (3)
- CCJ 6606 Social Constructs of Crime (3)
- CJE 6168 Media & Community Relations CJ (3)
- CJL 5320 Legal Aspects of CJ Management (3)
- CCJ 6707 Adv. Quantitative Research (3) or CCJ 6709 Advanced Qualitative Research (3)
- The rest of the 12 credits not completed through the courses listed above can be met by successfully completing any restrictive elective graduate course with a prefix of CCJ, CIC, CJE, CJJ, CJL, and DSC.
Students accepted into the combined program are required to meet with the Graduate Coordinator (in person or virtual) each semester to review their progress and to set a plan for their upcoming courses. Students will remain classified as undergraduates until their bachelor’s degree is awarded and students must apply for the M.S. in Criminal Justice program within one semester before graduating from the B.S. in Criminal Justice Program. Graduate courses applied to the undergraduate degree must be manually entered in the undergraduate degree audit as an exception. Students must meet all of the requirements for admission into the M.S. program, including minimum grade requirements for the graduate credits completed while at the undergraduate level. Once admitted into the M.S. program, students will complete an additional 24 graduate credits to satisfy the M.S. in Criminal Justice requirements as outlined in the program catalog.
Students that do not earn the required overall 3.0 in the 12 graduate credits or earn a B grade in required graduate courses (B- in restrictive electives) can still earn a B.S. in Criminal Justice at the end of their senior year if they have completed the 120 credits required for the undergraduate degree and satisfy all other degree requirements. These students will be withdrawn from the combined B.S./M.S. program, but, could still apply to the M.S. in Criminal Justice program once they have completed their bachelor’s degree. If admitted, these students would then need to retake any graduate course that they had previously taken (and not earned the required grade) during the combined program.
