Criminal Justice, B.S.

Return to: 2105 Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology  

Program Academic Regulations

1. The Department has two academic concentrations: Crime and Justice or Legal Studies. The Crime and Justice concentration provides a traditional curriculum for criminal justice majors, while the Legal Studies concentration is designed for criminal justice majors desiring more intensive exposure to law often in preparation for law school. Students must declare their concentration at the time of declaring Criminal Justice as their major.
2. Students must earn a grade of C or higher in CRJU 1100/CRJU 3100 (or equivalent transfer course) and CRJU 2200 and C- or higher in all Area F - J, 2000 - 4000-level criminal justice courses to be eligible for a degree in Criminal Justice. Georgia State University undergraduate students must achieve an overall institutional grade-point average of 2.0 and a major GPA of 2.0 to receive a bachelor’s degree from the university. Grades of C- can be used to satisfy graduation requirements in Area G through J. However, some courses have prerequisites that require a grade of C or higher (see GPA Requirement for additional information).
3. Students may transfer in a maximum of three (3) courses (e.g., 9 credits) in Areas F-I. 
4. A student who has received a grade of D, F, or WF in an Area (G) (Foundations of Analyses) course may repeat the course up to two additional times. This allows the student a maximum of three attempts to successfully complete the course. Emergency Withdrawals will not count against course attempts; documentation that a hardship withdrawal was granted must be provided in the situation where a fourth attempt is requested.
5. Students should complete a majority of lower-division courses (Areas A - E) prior to taking 4000 level criminal justice courses.
6. Students should take or complete all Area F (Criminal Justice Core) courses before taking 4000 level criminal justice courses.
7. Students should be enrolled in or have taken all Area G (Foundations of Analyses) courses before enrolling in 4000 level criminal justice courses.
8. All criminal justice majors must complete at least one internship (CRJU 4935) and are allowed to enroll in up to two internship courses (CRJU 4935 and CRJU 4940) during their senior year in the program. Students are allowed to enroll in CRJU 4935 as early as the beginning of the senior year of undergraduate study. The mandatory CRJU 4935 counts for 6 credit hours and the optional CRJU 4940 counts for 3 credit hours. Students will complete 160 hours at an internship agency as part of the requirements in CRJU 4935 and CRJU 4940. If a student chooses to complete one internship experience, he or she must enroll in an additional 4000-level CRJU course which will be counted in Area K. If a student elects to complete two internship and field placements (CRJU 4935 and CRJU 4940), he or she cannot enroll in both placements simultaneously (i.e., during the same semester) and is not allowed to use the same internship site more than once. CRJU 4935 is a prerequisite for CRJU 4940.
9. Students enrolled in the Digital Criminology Minor must complete one internship (CRJU 4996 ) during their senior year in the program. Students are allowed to enroll in CRJU 4996  as early as the beginning of their senior year of undergraduate study.  The mandatory CRJU 4996  counts for 3 credits hours.  The Director of the Evidence-Based Cybersecurity program supervises students enrolled in CRJU 4996 .
10. Students who fail CRJU 4935 must take two (2) 4000-level courses at the discretion of and with the approval of the Undergraduate Coordinator. In extraordinary circumstances, a student who previously failed CRJU 4935 may petition the Undergraduate Coordinator for approval to take an in-house research internship with a full-time faculty member in the department. Students who have failed CRJU 4935 are not permitted to go back into the field for their placement nor will they be allowed to enroll in CRJU 4940.
11. Placement with an agency that deals with sensitive information may require a background investigation, which can include checks for prior arrests and convictions, of a student’s financial and driving histories, polygraphs, abuse of illegal drugs, and DUI convictions. If students have a criminal record (arrests or convictions) either before they declare their major or acquire a criminal record after declaring their major, they might be prohibited from participating certain internships, especially those with governmental agencies. Since the internship is a requirement, students with criminal records should confer earlyon with the Undergraduate Internship Coordinator to identify possible internship host sites. A thorough description of the internship program is found at aysps.gsu.edu/criminal-justice-criminology/criminal-justice-internship-program/.
12. The Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology believes that all students in the internship program must be personally and psychologically equipped as well as academically prepared. A student may be denied entry into an intern field experience based on departmental prerequisites or the professional judgment of faculty based on observed performance, behavior, or documentation that indicates erratic, unpredictable, or unsuitable conduct. This policy is based on the premise that criminal justice faculty should be part of the evaluation of a student’s ability to function adequately and safely in a criminal justice setting and that the faculty has a right and responsibility to make such judgments prior to placing a student in an internship.
13. The internship coordinator or department chair may remove a student from an internship site if circumstances arise at the site that pose an unforeseen danger to the student’s welfare or an unforeseen risk of liability to the student, faculty, or Department. If the reason for the move is not the fault of the student, the internship coordinator shall make reasonable efforts to assist the student with finding a new placement agency. If it is not possible to secure placement with a new agency the student will receive a grade of incomplete and be required to re-enroll in the internship course the following academic semester. The internship coordinator and department chair also have authority to withdraw a student from a classroom and/or internship experience (i.e., CRJU 4935, CRJU 4940) and the Director of Evidence-Based Cybersecurity program has the authority to withdraw a student from a classroom and/or internship experience (i.e. CRJU 4996 ) if the student’s performance constitutes a detriment to other students in the class and/or to personnel at the field placement (internship) site, or if the student is arrested, convicted, and/or violates the agency’s workplace rules, policies, or procedures. If a student is withdrawn due to academic misconduct, the student will be given an F in the internship course and may be subjected to discipline through the University’s academic discipline process. Students terminated from their internships by their host agency, or removed by the Department for inappropriate behavior, will receive a failing grade for CRJU 4935, CRJU 4940, or CRJU 4996  as appropriate. In this event they may not administratively withdraw from the course and will receive a grade of “WF” rather than “W” for the course should they attempt to withdraw from the courses prior to the term’s midpoint.
14. All applications for the Criminal Justice major internship program must be completed online at https://aysps.gsu.edu/criminal-justice-criminology/criminal-justice-internship-program/ and submitted to the AYS Office of Academic Assistance (OAA). OAA shall determine each student’s eligibility to intern and shall forward a list of approved students to the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology internship coordinator. Without exception, all applications must be submitted by the following dates in order for students to be considered for placement in the specified semester: February 15 for Fall semester; May 15 for Spring semester; September 15 for Summer semester. Internship files (the up loading of a reviewed resume and completed Undergraduate Internship Seminar & Field Placement Program form to the proper iCollege “Criminal Justice Internship Resources” Assignment boxes, and the internship coordinator’s receipt of confirmation of placement from the host site) must be completed no later than June 30 for Fall Semester; September 30 for Spring Semester; and February 28/29 for Summer Semester. Additionally, candidates are required to attend an orientation session held on the fourth Friday of the month immediately following the application month noted in the preceding sentence. All applications by Digital Criminology Minors must be submitted to the Director of the Evidence Based Cybersecurity program at least two (2) weeks prior to the commencement of the semester of intended internship.