The Department of Criminal Justice has developed a general, broad based career-oriented course of study appropriate to criminal justice as a system, problem area, and configuration of professional occupations. The degree, while practical in nature, provides the theoretical, conceptual, and analytic background needed for practitioners and professionals in criminal justice and justice-related fields to effectively approach the dilemmas crime presents to contemporary American society.

There are two degree options, the General option and the Pre-law option. A minimum grade- point average of 2.5 is required for: admission to, transfer into, continuation in and graduation from the criminal justice department.

The general option major prepares students for any criminal justice related careers and is the most popular due to its flexibility. The general option program, as its title suggests, does not provide specialization in any particular area of criminal justice but students may select a particular focus or course of study in regard to certain upper division credits. The pre-law major attracts both students interested in a more structured curriculum focusing on law, the courts, and the context of law in society and those students primarily interested in post-graduate studies in law and related fields. Students who complete the pre-law program will acquire a contextual foundation of law in our heterogeneous society and have the opportunity to develop critical thinking and analysis skills.