Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice

The School of Criminology and Justice Studies offers a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Criminal Justice that allows students to pursue one of the following options/concentrations:

Students can select one option/concentration during their course of study. Options/concentrations are not required and those students who do not wish to concentrate in a particular subject/field will complete a General option.

Selection of an option/concentration should be made before students take no more than two criminal justice electives or at the start of the first semester after transferring. Transfer students should meet with an advisor before declaring an option/concentration to ensure eligibility. Students wishing to declare an option/concentration need to reach out to the department or coordinator of the program.

General Option

With the General option, students can enroll in any electives creating their own focus. 

Corrections Option

Students who opt for the Corrections option take electives that emphasize community and institutional corrections in both theory and practice.

Crime and Mental Health Concentration

This concentration allows students an opportunity to focus on the behavioral health needs of people who are justice involved as well as the motivations of offenders.

Homeland Security Option

The Homeland Security option emphasizes modern issues of terrorism, intelligence, and security management.

Police Option

This option allows students to explore the role of the police in a democratic society focusing on issues such as the adoption of innovations, accountability, as well as their response to growing public health problems.

View all the complete Degree Pathways.

BACHELOR'S-TO-MASTER'S

Juniors and seniors at the University of Massachusetts Lowell who have a 3.000 GPA or higher and have earned a ‘B’ or better in CRIM.3950 Statistics in Criminal Justice are eligible to apply for the BS/MA program. This program allows completion of both degrees in five (5) years if desired. As part of that program, up to three (3) graduate classes for the master’s in Criminal Justice or two (2) graduate classes for the master’s in Security Studies may be counted towards both the 120-credit hours required for the undergraduate BS degree and the 33-credit hours required for the MA degree in CJ or the 30-credit hours for the MA or MS degree in Security Studies.

Once a student graduates with his/her undergraduate degree and enters the master’s program, he/she must transfer the credits for the graduate courses taken in his/her undergraduate degree to the graduate program. Students must earn a ‘B’ or better in the graduate course in order for the credits to be transferred into their graduate program. This is done by filing a graduate academic petition asking for the credit to be transferred into the student’s master’s program. For more information, see the graduate catalog.

For additional information about programs, contact the School of Criminology and Justice Studies.