The honors major in criminal justice offers an opportunity for motivated and capable students seeking the bachelor of science major in criminal justice to engage in more extensive interaction with faculty and to complete challenging individual research projects that will further their personal and professional goals.
Application to the major: To be accepted to the program, students must have both a cumulative and major/program grade point average of 3.50 and must have completed CRJS 110 , CRJS 209 , CRJS 301 , and CRJS 302 . Interested students should apply in spring quarter of the junior year or fall quarter of the senior year.
Completion of the major: During senior year, criminal justice honors students will take the criminal justice honors sequence (CRJS 477 for 3 credits in the fall quarter, CRJS 478 for 3 credits in the winter quarter, and CRJS 479 for 4 credits in the spring quarter). Students in the criminal justice honors major complete 10 credits of course work above the norm for criminal justice majors (for a total of 85 credits in criminal justice for the BS/Forensic Psychology and 115 credits in criminal justice for the BS major in Criminal Justice with a Forensic Science specialization, and also complete a substantial thesis under the direction of a faculty member. The thesis will be subject to approval by department faculty and will be presented in an oral defense. In order to complete the requirements for criminal justice honors and receive a notation to that effect on their transcripts, students must also maintain a cumulative and major/program grade point average of 3.50. In addition, the grade received for CRJS 479 Criminal Justice Honors Thesis Supervision must be an A or A-.
In order to earn the bachelor of science major in criminal justice degree with departmental honors, students must complete a minimum of 190 quarter total credits for the forensic psychology specialization and 202 total credits for the forensic science specialization with a cumulative and a major/program grade point average of 2. In addition to the Bachelor of Science, major in Criminal Justice requirements, the honors major also includes: