Mar 28, 2024  
2009-2010 Downtown Campus Catalog 
    
2009-2010 Downtown Campus Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Criminal Justice BA


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Program Director: Mary Dodge, PhD
Prospective Students: 303-315-2227
Current Students and Advising: 303-315-2227

Faculty

 
Professors:
Mark Pogrebin, PhD, University of Iowa
Eric Poole, PhD, Washington State University
 
Associate Professors:
Mary Dodge, PhD, University of California, Irvine
Angela Gover, PhD, University of Maryland
Paul Stretesky, PhD Florida State University 
 
Assistant Professor:
Deanna Perez, PhD, University of Maryland
 
Associate Research Professor:
Jerry Williams, DPA, University of Colorado

The School of Public Affairs is excited to offer a new bachelor of arts program in criminal justice. It is an interdisciplinary program that combines specific course work in criminal justice with a liberal arts focus. The criminal justice degree offers training for specific occupations within criminal justice agencies and provides students with the critical thinking, writing and presentation skills necessary for career advancement and graduate study. The course work explores the complex nature of crime causation, criminal justice organizations and the implications of public policies that allow graduates to adapt to the evolving nature of the field.

As with all undergraduate degrees, students are required to complete the requirements of the Downtown Campus core curriculum, providing an education that draws heavily on social and natural sciences as well as liberal arts. The program will not only provide a direct line to employment in the growing field of criminal justice, but will also facilitate the movement of outstanding students into SPA’s MCJ and PhD graduate programs. Junior and senior criminal justice students may be permitted to enroll in a graduate level MCJ course by advisement. Students will be well prepared to pursue additional advanced degrees in fields where critical thinking and analytical skills are required.

Admissions Requirements

Entering freshmen, current UC Denver students and transfer students are eligible for admission to the program. All students must meet the admission requirements described in the Information for Undergraduate Students  chapter of this catalog.

Transfer Students

Students who have attended another college or university are expected to meet general requirements for admission of transfer students as described in the Information for Undergraduate Students  chapter. Transfer students with at least 30 semester hours of transferable credit who have been denied admission to the college by the Downtown Campus Office of Admissions, and who have special circumstances not covered by the regular admission policies,may petition the SPA Academic Standards for provisional admission. The Academic Standards Committee requires evidence of academic performance before provisional admission is granted. Policies and procedures for the SPA Academic Standards Committee are available through the SPA Advising Office.

Advising and Student Services

Upon matriculation into the criminal justice program, students will receive advising from the undergraduate academic advisor. The academic advisor will assist students with registration, clarify university and department policy and facilitate the graduation checkout.  Advising will ensure that students take appropriate courses in the core curriculum to provide a foundation for their course work in the program.  Students will also be assigned a faculty advisor who will assist them with questions about their majors, concentrations and career directions.

The Internship Program

Undergraduate students without experience in the field will be expected to complete an internship for credit under the direction of a faculty sponsor. Internships are helpful for career exploration early in a student’s academic career or for job experience after developing academic content in the major. Students must have a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA and a minimum of 15 semester hours completed at UC Denver before registering for the internship. A maximum of 3 semester hours of internship per semester and 6 semester hours total may be counted toward the 120 semester hours necessary for graduation.

Undergraduate students should contact the Experiential Learning Center for details on internship placements, paperwork and requirements.

Program Requirements

Students completing a BA in criminal justice at UC Denver will complete a minimum of 120 semester hours including:

  • 34–36 general education core curriculum semester hours
  • 21 undergraduate criminal justice semester hours, including 16 upper-division semester hours
  • 15 elective semester hours in criminal justice and ancillary fields for the selected area of concentration (including an internship)
  • 46–48 elective semester hours, an optional CLAS or language minor (15-21 hours), optional electives or internship
  • students without experience in the field of criminal justice must complete a 3-semester-hour internship

Students must receive a minimum of a C (2.0) in each undergraduate course applied to satisfy degree requirements.

Total: 21


Criminal Justice Electives


Criminal Justice Electives—15 semester hours, with 9 hours from the Department of Criminal Justice and 6 from other departments

Total: 9 hours


++Prerequisite

Total: 6 hours


**Students must comply with departmental prerequisites.

Examples for Areas of Concentration


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