Undergraduate Admissions

In response to student demand and the University's continued commitment to develop new and exciting curricula, the School of Criminal Justice offers an undergraduate major. The school is known throughout the world for its outstanding graduate program, and its undergraduate major provides a sound basic education in justice theory.

This program offers education with a high level of abstraction clearly focused upon preparation for graduate work. Because criminal justice is by nature interdisciplinary, students will be urged to take preparatory courses in basic writing, history, English and math. In addition, a concentration requirement in an area outside of criminal justice affords an opportunity for students to study a disciplinary field related to criminal justice.

The school also offers graduate programs leading to the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy.

All undergraduate courses offered by the School of Criminal Justice are considered liberal arts and science courses for purposes of degree requirements for the B.A. or B.S. degrees. Courses listed in this section are preceded by the school's letter R.

Degree Requirements for the Major in Criminal Justice

General Program B.A.

The major in criminal justice requires a minimum of 36 credits distributed as follows:

·   CRJ201 – Introduction to Criminal Justice;

·   CRJ202 – Introduction to Law and Criminal Justice;

·   CRJ203 (or SOC203) – Criminology;

·   3 credits of statistics, either RCRJ 281, ASOC 221, APSY 210, or 

    AMAT 108;

·   3 credits in research methods, either RCRJ 282, ASOC 220, or

    APSY 211;

·   One 400 level writing intensive senior Capstone Seminar, either

    RCRJ 4**Z, RCRJ 4**W, or RCRJ 4**V;

·   16 – 18 additional credits from any 300 or 400 level criminal justice

    courses and/or ASOC 283

*Students are also advised that only one of RCRJ 203 and ASOC 203 may be taken for credit.

Admissions Requirements:

Guaranteed Admission to the Criminal Justice Major :

Students who have a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher (following completion of at least a total of 56 credits of which 30 credit hours must be taken at the University at Albany); have earned a grade of B or better in two of the following courses-CRJ 201, 203 or 203 or equivalents; and have completed the statistics and research methods classes required of majors (CRJ 281 and 282, or equivalents) with a grade of B or better.

Application into the Criminal Justice Major:

Students who do not meet the conditions for guaranteed admission into the major, can still apply for admission. However, it is important to note that Criminal justice is a restricted major with limited enrollment. Applications for admission to the criminal justice major are reviewed by the School's Undergraduate Admissions and Awards Committee. Applicants must have completed at least 42 graduation credits prior to application and 56 credits at the time of admission, and they must have earned a B or higher in R Crj 201, R Crj 202, or R Crj 203 (or A Soc 203).

•  Overall grade point average.

•  Breadth and quality of liberal arts background. The committee will view favorably students who have strong records in history, mathematics, English, languages, and/or natural sciences. •  Statement by student of reason for seeking to undertake a criminal justice major.

Application Dates:

For fall admission, applications must be received by the last Friday in February.

For spring admission, applications must be received by the last Friday in September.

Admittance of Transfer Students to the Criminal Justice Major

Transfer students have two avenues through which they can be admitted to the undergraduate criminal justice major. 

  1.    Transfer students may apply to the major upon admittance to the University if they have achieved a grade of B or better in either CRJ201, CRJ202 or CRJ203 (equivalent courses at their prior college will be recognized as meeting this requirement if they received a B or better in those courses).  Their application will be evaluated and compared to other applicants by the Associate and Assistant Deans.  The evaluation will primarily focus on both their overall GPA and the required essay.  The best applicants will be admitted until we have reached our targeted number of majors.

2. Students who have transferred to the University of Albany will be eligible for guaranteed admission to the program under the same guidelines as native students.  Specifically, students who have a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher (following completion of at least a total of 56 credits of which 30 credit hours must be taken at the University at Albany); have earned a grade of B or better in two of the following courses-CRJ 201, 203 or 203 or equivalents; and have completed the statistics and research methods classes required of majors (CRJ 281 and 282, or equivalents) with a grade of B or better. 

It should be noted that because this program is not intended for persons interested in police science, criminalistics, etc., transfer students who have taken courses in such areas may expect such credits not to be transferable into the major. Articulation of such courses will be processed on a case-by-case basis.