Offered in: Chicago | Roosevelt Online

The Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice prepares students to become criminal justice professionals.

Courses in the Criminal Justice major cover contemporary issues facing decision makers in the American criminal justice system. Students learn how a society maintains social control while protecting individual rights and how the Constitution applies to everyday life. Students discuss what causes criminal behavior and what makes an effective crime policy. They learn how justice systems deter, control and punish crime, and they understand the role of police, prosecutors, courts, defense attorneys, juries and prisons in criminal justice outcomes.

The Criminal Justice major is divided into three components: a lower division 15 credit hour core that covers fundamentals and is consistent with Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) guidelines; an upper-division 18 credit hour core; and 6 credit hours of elective requirements. The major includes a capstone senior seminar course designed to identify and analyze real-life issues facing criminal justice agencies and techniques for developing and proposing solutions to constituents.

Requirements

The major requires 39 hours of coursework and is divided into three components: a lower division 15 credit hour core that serves as a basis for the fundamentals of criminal justice and is consistent with Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) guidelines; an upper division 18 credit hour core requirement; and a six credit hour criminal justice elective component. The major includes a capstone course designed to identify and analyze real-life issues facing criminal justice agencies, as well as techniques for developing and proposing solutions to constituents.

Grade of C- and a minimum GPA of 2.0 is required for the major.  At least 15 hours of coursework must be completed at Roosevelt.

CORE Requirements (General Education)

¹

Higher level of Math may be required by major

²

Coursework must come from outside of students' major discipline

³

A maximum of 9 credits can be applied from a single discipline towards humanities and social science requirements

⁴

Digital Advertising and Public Relations Majors must complete COMM 110 with a grade of C or higher. This course can fulfill one Social Science requirement. 

These quantitative requirements also apply to degrees.

• Students must earn a minimum of 120 semester hours.
• Students may apply no more than 60 credit hours of 100-level courses toward the degree.
• Students must apply no fewer than 60 credit hours of 200- and 300-level courses toward the degree.
• Students must have at least 18 credit hours (of the 60 credit hours above) at the 300 level.
• Students may transfer in no more than 70 credit hours from community colleges.
• Students earning less than 60 total hours in residence must take their final 30 hours at Roosevelt University. Note that some majors have additional requirements for RU hours.
• Students must have a grade point average of 2.0 or higher to graduate. Note that some majors have additional GPA requirements.
• Students may apply no more than 51 hours in the major (BA) or 57 hours in the major (BS)

¹

Or course towards an optional Minor.

²

Experiential Learning class must be 200/300 level. Satisfies CORE Experiential Learning requirement. EXL courses can satisfy major requirements/electives or CORE requirement.

³

Any course at the 300 level within the discipline.

⁴

One Natural Science course must have a lab.