Criminal Justice

5th Floor Gladfelter Hall
215-204-1375
www.temple.edu/cj

Jerry Ratcliffe, Chair
510 Gladfelter Hall
215-204-7702
jhr@temple.edu

Alan Harland, Undergraduate Chair
531 Gladfelter Hall
215-204-1506
alanh@temple.edu

Sharon Smith, Administrator

2nd Floor Gladfelter Hall

215-204-7763

sasmith@temple.edu

Stephanie Hardy, Criminal Justice Advisor, Main Campus

5th Floor Gladfelter Hall
215-204-7919
shardy01@temple.edu

Cheryl Irons-Guynn, Ambler Program Coordinator
267-468-8280

cheryl.irons@temple.edu

Mission and Goals

The mission of the Bachelor of Arts program in Criminal Justice is to foster a comprehensive understanding of the nature of crime and the effectiveness and fairness of society's efforts to prevent and control it.  Students engage in a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of crime, offenders, and victims, as well as the agencies, goals, laws, policies, and processes of the criminal justice system.  Emphasis is upon promoting critical thinking about the kinds of questions and problems that shape developments in research, practice, policy and reform, and the skills utilized by scholars and professionals in the field.  Majoring in criminal justice helps to prepare students for careers as practitioners, researchers, and academics in a variety of public and private sector professions in both adult and juvenile systems of justice, at the federal, state, and local levels of government.  It also provides the core liberal arts foundations for students interested in alternative career paths or advanced education in law school and graduate programs in criminal justice, criminology, and related social-science fields.

Internship

Many students opt to take our specialized internship program, earning 3 credits for Criminal Justice 4077: Criminal Justice Practicum (which can be used toward the electives in the major) and 3, 6, or 9 credits in the Practicum Lab, Criminal Justice 4087, which count towards the 123 credits required for graduation but may not be used to fulfill any requirements of the Criminal Justice major. This program runs in the Fall, Spring, and Summer (over the two summer sessions).

Criminal Justice Honors Program

The Department has its own Honors Program in which majors who are also University Honors students may tailor their honors experience to include a criminal justice specialization.  In addition to the honors-level elective courses offered, an invaluable part of the program is the opportunity for students to develop an honors thesis based upon an undergraduate research project individually mentored by a criminal justice professor.

Criminal Justice 4+1 BA/MA Program

High-achieving undergraduates will be invited by the faculty of the Criminal Justice Department to apply for the BA/MA 5 year program. Students admitted to this program begin taking graduate courses along with their undergraduate curriculum in their last three undergraduate semesters. They then complete the remaining requirements of a MA in Criminal Justice in the subsequent year. Up to 9 credits of graduate work may count for both the Bachelor's and Master's degree programs; these are used as Criminal Justice major electives in the undergraduate degree. Eligible students have a minimum 3.5 overall GPA and will have completed 83 credits of their overall program by the time they are admitted to this program in the spring of their Junior year. Students must have completed the following courses to be considered for this program: Criminal Justice 1001, 2401, 2601, and 2602. Eligible students will receive notification at the end of their Sophomore year, and applications will be accepted until September 30th of their Junior year. 

Summary of Degree Requirements

1. University Requirements:

• Mathematics 0701 (4 s.h.) and/or English 0701 (4 s.h.), if required by placement testing.
• All Temple students must take a minimum of two writing-intensive courses as part of the major. See below for a list of the specific courses required for your major.
• Students must complete requirements of the General Education (GenEd) Program. See the General Education section of the Undergraduate Bulletin for more details.

2. College of Liberal Arts Requirements:

• Completion of a minimum of 123 credits, including: 90 credits in CLA/CST courses, 45 credits of which must be at the upper level (numbered 2000-4999). For Social Science majors, 6 upper level credits must be taken in the Humanities Departments (English, French, German, Greek and Roman Classics, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese (only available at our Japan campus), Philosophy, Religion, Russian, and Spanish), Art History, or any department in the College of Science and Technology.
• A minimum GPA of 2.0, cumulatively, in CLA/CST coursework, and in the major.
• Only courses in which a student receives a grade of at least C- can satisfy GenEd, major, minor, or CLA Foreign Language and Global Studies requirements.

3.  Foreign Language/Global Studies Requirements:

1) All students must complete the second level of a foreign language;

2) All students must complete at least one course from the GenEd Global/World Society category; and

3) All students must complete one of the following options:

• Third level of a foreign language;
• Demonstrated proficiency in a foreign language;
• A second General Education Global/World Society course;
• Study Abroad at an approved program; or
• Take one Global Studies course from the list on the CLA College Graduation Requirements page.

4. Major Requirements (42 s.h.)

• Specifically Required courses:  Criminal Justice 1001, 2401, 2501, 2601, 2602, and 2696
• Other Requirements:
  • One Writing Seminar, select from: Criminal Justice 4096, 4098, or 4196
• Electives in Major
  • Seven Criminal Justice electives numbered 2000-4999 (may not overlap with any of the above-noted courses)

5. General electives vary according to a student's individual program of study. Consult your academic advisor for more information.

Requirements for the Major

## DUPLICATE CREDIT WARNING:

    The following courses have similar content and students may only earn academic credit for one from each set:

• Criminal Justice 4001 (Crime and Social Policy) OR Criminal Justice 4096 (Writing Seminar: Crime and Social Policy)
• Criminal Justice 4101 (Critical Issues in Law Enforcement) OR Criminal Justice 4196 (Writing Seminar: Critical Issues in Law Enforcement)

All Temple students must take a minimum of two writing-intensive courses. The specific writing-intensive courses required for this major are listed above and are identified by "WI" in the Attribute column.

Distinction in Major

Criminal Justice majors may graduate with distinction in the major if they have earned a GPA of 3.5 in the major and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25.

Requirements of Minor

Suggested Semester-by-Semester Plan

Please note that this is a suggested academic plan. Depending on your situation, your academic plan may look different.