Criminal Justice BA/MCJ

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Introduction

Please click here to see School of Public Affairs information.

The dual BA/MCJ program is designed to allow students to work concurrently toward the BA in criminal justice and the master of criminal justice (MCJ). Graduate credit hours earned while enrolled in the BA/MCJ program can be counted toward both the bachelor of arts and master of criminal justice. This program offers high-achieving students the opportunity to complete their undergraduate and graduate degrees in criminal justice in five years.

Program Delivery

Courses are offered on campus, online, and in hybrid formats.

Declaring This Major

Both current CU Denver students and new transfer students are eligible to apply to the Criminal Justice BA/MCJ Dual Degree after meeting the following:

Currently enrolled in the School of Public Affairs as a criminal justice major
Completed the University of Colorado Denver’s undergraduate core curriculum
Completed 60 semester credit hours
Completed the following 12 semester credit hours in criminal justice: CRJU 1000 - Criminology & Criminal Justice: An Overview, CRJU 2041 - Crime Theory and Causes, CRJU 3100 - Criminal Justice Research Methods, and CRJU 3150 - Statistics for Criminal Justice (transfer criminal justice courses must have been approved and accepted toward the major).
Minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA
Minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA in criminal justice courses
Completed or scheduled official GRE or LSAT exam

Interested students should contact their BA academic advisor as early as possible to ensure proper planning for the five year degree.

Students should apply when they have accumulated 75-90 credit hours. The following steps should help in the application process:

Plan ahead when scheduling courses through the junior year. All four of the required criminal justice courses listed above and all of the student’s core education requirements must be completed by the end of the student’s junior year.
At the beginning of the semester in which the student is applying to the program, the student should approach a criminal justice faculty member about writing a letter of recommendation. The student should also begin working on a personal statement of purpose. The following guidelines should help with writing the statement.
- Length: 1 to 2 pages. The statement should describe:
- Applicant’s reasons for undertaking graduate study in criminal justice
- Applicant’s future career plans
- Planned area of concentration within criminal justice

The student must submit the following items to the undergraduate coordinator:
- Personal statement of purpose
- One letter of recommendation from a faculty member
- School of Public Affairs’ BA/MCJ application form
- Completed or scheduled official GRE or LSAT exam

Admission to the BA/MCJ program is competitive. Applicants will be evaluated on the following:

Grade point average (overall and in criminal justice course work)
Grade trend (improving, consistent, or declining)
Total number of credit hours completed
Likelihood of success and persistence based from the Statement of Intent and Reference Letter

Students who are not admitted to the BA/MCJ program are eligible to reapply after completing an additional 12 semester credit hours. Students can apply and be considered for admission to the dual BACJ/MCJ program a maximum of two times.

General Requirements

To earn a degree, students must satisfy all requirements in each of the three areas below, in addition to their individual major requirements.

CU Denver General Graduation Requirements
CU Denver Core Curriculum
School of Public Affairs Graduation Requirements
Click here for information about Academic Policies

Program Requirements

Student must have a minimum of 30 hours of resident credit; 21 out of the last 30 hours in resident course work.
Students must have a minimum of a B (3.0) in each required core MCJ course.
A minimum of 3.0 CU cumulative grade point average is required in all graduate level courses.
Students must successfully complete master of criminal justice capstone or thesis.
Students must fulfill all college and major requirements.
Students are eligible to receive the BA in criminal justice degree once they have successfully completed 120 semester hours and all CU Denver undergraduate degree requirements.
Students must have a full acceptance to the Graduate School and the master in criminal justice program.
Students must have a minimum of a 3.0 CU cumulative grade point average in undergraduate criminal justice courses.
The MCJ will be conferred once the student has completed all requirements of the master of criminal justice degree.

Take 144 total semester credit hours.

Take 37-38 semester credit hours in the general education core curriculum.

Take 46-48 semester credit hours in general electives.

Take 21 semester hours of undergraduate criminal justice course work.

Take 18 upper-level (3000 or higher) semester credit hours in criminal justice.

Take 45 total semester hours of upper-division course work (3000 and above).

Take a minimum of 36 semester hours of graduate-level course work (5000 and above).