Criminal Justice (BS)

FSU offers the first Criminal Justice program in the state. Read why Fayetteville State can be the right fit for you.

online icon There is an Online Degree Completion (ODC) Option Available. Click to learn more.

FSU’s online degree completion programs allow you to complete your upper-division (junior and senior level) courses online. To be admitted to an ODC program, you must already have completed the University College Core Curriculum (General Education Requirements) or be dual enrolled with a partnering community college. A partnering community college is a community college in which there is a signed articulation agreement between FSU and the community college.

Why Choose Criminal Justice

What percentage of criminal cases are solved with DNA evidence? Only 1 percent! Approximately how many Americans spend at least one day in jail each year? About 7 million! What percentage of criminal cases result in a trial? Less than 5 percent! Did you know that 1 out of 3 people think their school-aged kids will be physically assaulted in school - even though children are more likely to be harmed at home? Did you know that 68 percent of people think crime is worse now than ever before - even though crime has been declining? Did you know that murder has a higher rate of clearance by the police than any other crime? If you are interested in learning more information about the criminal justice system and its role in our society, then choose Criminal Justice as your major.

What We Offer in Criminal Justice

At FSU, we offer two undergraduate programs: a Bachelor of Science degree program and a minor and in Criminal Justice. The BS program, which is certified by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS), requires completion of 120 credit hours (38 credit hours of university core courses and 82 credit hours of criminal justice courses). If you are a transfer student, you must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours at FSU, but you can apply up to 90 transfer credit hours toward your degree requirements.

We offer an online degree completion option, for both the Bachelor of Science degree program and the minor in Criminal Justice. After competing 38 credit hours of university core courses and four 200-level required criminal justice courses (or receiving approval for transfer credits), you may complete elective courses and required upper-level Criminal Justice courses in a face-to-face or online environment.

As you may know, being a Soldier and attending college is sometimes impossible to do. However, just attending one class per semester sparked my interest in this very important topic. I finally completed the Bachelor’s of Criminal Justice degree this summer, 2017.
Shontae L. Halsey
Criminal Justice Graduate
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What You Will Learn

Our department provides a variety of courses related to criminology and criminal justice. Here are some examples: introduction to law enforcement, introduction to criminal justice, criminological theory, and criminal justice ethics. We also provide different elective courses such as police and society, drugs and crime, white collar crime, and comparative criminal justice. For more information, please visit our catalog.

What You Will Do

Having a degree in Criminal Justice will help you get hired for a variety of jobs within the criminal justice field. Here are some examples: police officer, probation officer, juvenile detention officer, correctional officer, FBI agent, crime analyst, DEA agent, and legal researcher.

Courses

Here are some of the courses that we offer:

  • Introduction to the Criminal Justice System
  • Criminological Theory
  • Criminal Justice Ethics
  • Juvenile Justice System
  • Criminal Law
  • Police and Society
  • Prisons and Society
  • Race, Class, and Gender in Criminal Justice
  • Victimology
  • Drugs and Crime
  • Media and Crime
  • White Collar Crime
  • Comparative Criminal Justice
  • Sex, Sexuality and the Law
  • Restorative Justice
Jobs

Having a degree in Criminal Justice will help you get hired for a variety of jobs within the criminal justice field. Some of the career possibilities for Criminal Justice graduates include:

  • Police Officer
  • Victim Advocate
  • Juvenile Detention Officer
  • Court Intake Officer
  • FBI Agent
  • Drug Enforcement Agent
  • Juvenile Probation Officer
  • Probation Officer
  • Correctional Officer
  • Crime Analyst
  • Attorney
  • Legal Researcher
  • Magistrate
  • Loss Prevention Agent
  • Private Investigator
  • Mediator
Research

To find out more about research, please go to each professor's individual page.