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Undergraduate and Graduate Prerequisites

Undergraduate Prerequisites

Major Requirements: The Criminal Justice major consists of a total of thirty-nine (39) hours of courses selected within the department. All students must take the Criminal Justice core of twelve (15) hours, which consists of the following:

CJ 200 - Introduction to Law
CJ 309 - Survey of the Criminal Justice System
CJ 316 - Introduction to Criminology

CJ 350 - Research Design
CJ 390 - Practicum/Internship in Criminal Justice

The core also includes one advanced (300-level) course at Chicago State University from a designated list in each of the following areas: police; law; corrections; juvenile justice.

Criminal Justice electives within the major may be selected from course offerings at the 100, 200, or 300 levels (total of 12 hours). Students interested in law school should consult the departments pre-law handout for additional recommended course selections.

Upon consultation with a department faculty advisor, students may also enroll in the following courses outside of the department, which may be substituted for criminal justice courses within the major:

Pol. Sci. 303 – Constitutional Law
Pol. Sci. 305 – Constitutional Foundations

NOTE: The prerequisites for most upper division (300-level) courses in criminal justice require that the student has completed or is concurrently enrolled in English 128, and Criminal Justice 200, 309 and 316. Several criminal justice courses have additional prerequisites. Refer to the university catalog for details.

English course requirements (15 hours) for the criminal justice major:

ENG 127 Composition I

ENG 128 Composition II

ENG 228 Critical Strategies in Writing

ENG 279 Business Writing

ENG 280 Writing the Research Paper

Electives: To complete the one hundred and twenty (120) hours for the degree, students must choose a total of thirty (30) hours of electives in consultation with a department advisor.

Grade Point Average Requirements: Admission to Department: 2.00 G.P.A. (after at least 45 hours) Degree in Criminal Justice: 2.50 G.P.A. in CJ courses, English 228, 279, and 280 taken at Chicago State University (with no grade lower than C).

(Note: Students graduating from the department’s undergraduate program already satisfy most or all of these prerequisites.)

1. Criminal Justice

CJ 200 – Introduction to Law
CJ 309 – Survey of the Criminal Justice System
CJ 316 – Introduction to Criminology

2. Composition

ENG 228 – Critical Strategies in Writing
ENG 279 – Business Writing
ENG 280 – Writing Research Papers

Speech

CMAT 203 – Basic Speech Communications

{These prerequisites must be satisfied before other courses are taken.}

GRADUATE CORE: Thirty-three (33) credit hours (Eleven 3-hourcourses), are required for the Master’s degree in Criminal Justice. Of the thirty-three hours, the core consists of the following courses:

CJ 350G – Research Design in Criminal Justice (if not taken as an undergraduate)
CJ 380G- Research Analysis and Application (if not taken as an undergraduate)
CJ 401- Research Foundations
CJ 479 – Seminar in Public Policy Issues in Criminal Justice
CJ 480 – Seminar in Advanced Topics in Criminology

CJ 481 - Advanced Research Analysis and Application

CJ 499 – Advanced Practicum/Internship in Criminal Justice
  OR
CJ 455 – Thesis Research in Criminal Justice

All graduate students must complete the core requirements. The final core courses, either CJ 499 or CJ 455, cannot be taken until the student has completed at least 24 graduate hours.

GRADUATE ELECTIVES: The remaining courses necessary to complete the thirty-three (33) hours required for the degree may be selected by the student, in consultation with an advisor, from criminal justice courses at the 300G or 400 levels. At least (eighteen (18) of the thirty-three (33) hours required must be at the 400 level. (Students interested in law school should consult the department’s pre-law handout for recommended course selections.)

GRADUATE COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION: All candidates for the master’s degree are required to complete a comprehensive examination as part of the requirements for graduation. The comprehensive examination will cover the content areas of Public Policy, Criminology and Research Design & Analysis. and may be offered is sections and at various points in the graduate career.. It will also cover a specialty area selected by the student in consultation with his/her graduate advisor.

Specialty areas include (but are not limited to):

1. policing
2. probation and parole
3. correctional institutions
4. juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice
5. law and the judicial process
6. counseling and casework.

7. restorative justice

No more than nine (9) hours of graduate work taken at another institution, with grades no lower than B, may be accepted as transfer credit toward the master’s degree in criminal justice.
(NOTE: This limitation does not apply to prerequisites.)

No more than nine (9) hours of graduate work taken as a graduate Student-at-large at CSU may be accepted towards the master’s degree.
(NOTE: This limitation does not apply to prerequisites.)

At least 18 hours of criminal justice courses must be taken on the CSU main campus.

Other Important Information:

A cumulative G.P.A. of 3.00 is required in all courses applied towards the master’s degree. No grade lower than C may be counted in satisfaction of any program prerequisite or requirement. All work offered in fulfillment of degree requirements (including transfer credit) must be completed within a six-year period. A student may apply for the graduate internship (CJ 499) or thesis research (CJ 455) for 3 credit hours. (Either may be repeated in subsequent term for a maximum of 6 credit hours.) Students are required to pass an examination on the state and federal Constitutions.

(NOTE: Students who obtained their undergraduate degree at an Illinois public college or university have already met this requirement.)