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2019-2020

Bachelor of Science: Criminal Justice

VCU

Community college:
Associate of Arts and Sciences: General Studies, Administration of Justice Specialization (Germanna Community College)
Germanna Community College
Germanna Community College
Associate degree

Associate of Arts and Sciences: General Studies, Administration of Justice Specialization

Program description

The L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs is a creative, interdisciplinary grouping of programs in the social sciences and professional arenas that provides students with the knowledge, skills and experience necessary for success in public service.   The Wilder School brings together faculty from multiple disciplines that share a common interest in public affairs. The major objective of this degree program is to prepare students for effective professional careers in criminal justice, forensic crime scene investigation, public service and other helping professions, and/or prepare them to pursue studies in law and other related graduate programs. Career opportunities are available in federal, state, local and private justice-related endeavors. These careers include law enforcement, crime scene investigation, juvenile justice, corrections and the courts.

This program also prepares students to enter law school or to pursue graduate studies in criminal justice or in several of the human services fields, usually related to justice. This program offers and encourages in-service justice employees and others to enhance their professional career development through higher education.


Career opportunities

Criminal justice students study the causes of crime, treatment of offenders and management of the criminal justice system, with a focus on balancing social justice and individual rights.  The Wilder School graduates typically pursue careers in public service and work in law enforcement, the court system, corrections or public policy.  As a student, you’ll work with faculty experts in criminal justice, criminology, law, juvenile justice, organized crime, law enforcement, corrections and transnational crime. 

Bachelor-level job titles
  • Child Protection Agents
  • Child, Family, and School Social Workers
  • Correctional Officer and Jailers
  • Court Clerks
  • Crime Scene Analyst
  • Criminal Investigators and Special Agents
  • Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary
  • Police Detectives
  • Police, Fire and Ambulance Dispatchers
  • Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists
  • Retail Loss Prevention Specialist
  • Security Manager
Graduate and professional level job titles
  • Attorney
  • Forensic Scientist
  • Government Agency Administrator
  • Mental Health Counselor
Contact information


VCU Transfer Center

Telephone: (804) 827-1349

Email: transferinfo@vcu.edu

Transfer Advising Request

VCCS Transfer Planning Checklist


Office of Admissions

Telephone: (804) 828-1222 or (800) 841-3638

Email: ugrad@vcu.edu
Apply Here.

Guaranteed transfer admission requirements

Completion of associate degree
Minimum GPA of 2.5
All courses must be completed with a grade of "C" or better

Degree requirements in Bulletin
Plan of study in Bulletin
Requirements
Highest level of math required
  • STAT 210
Science required
  • Core only
Foreign language requirements
  • Yes
Additional tuition/fees
  • No
GPA requirements (to progress/graduate in the major)
  • 2.0
VCU Major Maps

View VCU Major Map for Criminal Justice with concentration in Forensic Crime Scene Investigation Justice      

Transfer major map
Visit majormaps.vcu.edu for the online version with links.
Sponsored by the Office of the Provost
Major map compass icon
2019-2020

Bachelor of Science: Criminal Justice

Germanna Community College (Associate of Arts and Sciences: General Studies, Administration of Justice Specialization)

MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
Explore Year 1
  • Register for SDV 100.
  • Be prepared for academic challenges and use tutoring resources to get ahead.
  • Schedule an appointment with your academic advisor each semester.
  • Cultivate relationships with your professors.
  • Attend diversity-focused events on campus.
  • Identify a mentor in a diversity organization.
  • Create Linkedln profile.
  • Get involved with a student or professional organization.
  • Visit career services to begin cultivating your own virtual brand across all social media profiles.
  • Browse careers related to criminal justice through the career coach.
  • Explore the community college’s iGrad’s Job Genius Search Engine to look into building a career and financial future.
  • Take a career assessment through the career coach.
  • Assess your preparation for a career by completing a Gap Analysis.
  • Use SDV 100 to create a weekly and monthly budget.
  • Develop personal and career goals and create SMART steps for 2-3 "dream jobs."
  • Work with career services to build resume.
Experience Year 2
  • Learn about short-term, semester and year-long study abroad options.
  • Consider learning a foreign language to open doors to international organizations and future study.
  • Attend diversity-focused events on campus and in your community (i.e. international festival).
  • Continue to partner with diversity leader/ facilitator/ mentor to move towards cultural competence.
  • Get involved with service-learning opportunities.
  • Attend Career & Internship Fairs throughout the year.
  • Acquire career related experience (e.g., job, internship, organization involvement).
  • Run for leadership in your student organization.
  • If your GPA is 3.5 or higher, consider applying for the VCU Honors College.
  • Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of career interest.
  • Use the cost calculator to estimate your tuition/fees as an upperclassman at VCU.
  • Take advantage of free Financial Aid counseling.
  • Using LinkedIn, connect to at least 10 people. Check out the VCU alumni page in My Network.
  • Consider who you would like to have serve as professional and academic references for future letters of recommendation.

Explore
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
  • Register for SDV 100.
  • Be prepared for academic challenges and use tutoring resources to get ahead.
  • Schedule an appointment with your academic advisor each semester.
  • Cultivate relationships with your professors.
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
  • Attend diversity-focused events on campus.
  • Identify a mentor in a diversity organization.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
  • Create Linkedln profile.
  • Get involved with a student or professional organization.
  • Visit career services to begin cultivating your own virtual brand across all social media profiles.
  • Browse careers related to criminal justice through the career coach.
  • Explore the community college’s iGrad’s Job Genius Search Engine to look into building a career and financial future.
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Take a career assessment through the career coach.
  • Assess your preparation for a career by completing a Gap Analysis.
  • Use SDV 100 to create a weekly and monthly budget.
  • Develop personal and career goals and create SMART steps for 2-3 "dream jobs."
  • Work with career services to build resume.

Experience
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
  • Learn about short-term, semester and year-long study abroad options.
  • Consider learning a foreign language to open doors to international organizations and future study.
  • Attend diversity-focused events on campus and in your community (i.e. international festival).
  • Continue to partner with diversity leader/ facilitator/ mentor to move towards cultural competence.
  • Get involved with service-learning opportunities.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
  • Attend Career & Internship Fairs throughout the year.
  • Acquire career related experience (e.g., job, internship, organization involvement).
  • Run for leadership in your student organization.
  • If your GPA is 3.5 or higher, consider applying for the VCU Honors College.
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of career interest.
  • Use the cost calculator to estimate your tuition/fees as an upperclassman at VCU.
  • Take advantage of free Financial Aid counseling.
  • Using LinkedIn, connect to at least 10 people. Check out the VCU alumni page in My Network.
  • Consider who you would like to have serve as professional and academic references for future letters of recommendation.
Recommended courses
Major map compass icon
2019-2020

Bachelor of Science: Criminal Justice

Germanna Community College (Associate of Arts and Sciences: General Studies, Administration of Justice Specialization)

Germanna Community College courses
Course Title Equivalent course Credits Requirements
SDV 100 or 101 College Success Skills UNIV 101 1 Elective
ENG 111 College Composition I UNIV 111-112 3 General education
MTH 154 Quantitative Reasoning MATH 131 3 General education
ITE 115 Introduction to Computer Applications and Concepts INFO 160, 161, 162 3 Elective
ADJ 133 Ethics and the Criminal Justice Professional CRJS 1XX 3 Elective
HLT/PED Health/PE VCU Equivalent 2 Elective
ENG 112 College Composition  II UNIV 200 3 General education
MTH 245 Statistics I STAT 210 3 General education
PLS 136 State and Local Politics POLI 1XX 3 Elective
Laboratory Science Laboratory Science (select two semester sequence): BIO 101-102, CHM 101-102, GOL 105-106, or PHY 201-202 VCU equivalent 4 General education
ADJ 211 Criminal Law Evidence and Procedures I CRJS 2XX 3 Elective
ENG Any 200-level ENG literature course (select 1): ENG 241, 242, 243, 244, 251, 252 ENGL 3 General education
Laboratory Science Laboratory Science (select two semester sequence): BIO 101-102, CHM 101-102, GOL 105-106, or PHY 201-202 VCU equivalent 4 General education
Humanities Humanities(select 1): ART 101, 102, 106, HUM 100 or any REL VCU equivalent 3 General education
HIS U.S. or Western Civilization History (select 1): HIS 101, 102, 121, 122 HIST 3 General education
ADJ 212 Criminal Law Evidence and Procedures II CRJS 2XX 3 Elective
CST 100 Principles of Public Speaking (or CST 110 or CST 126) SPCH 121 3 Elective
HIS U.S. or Western Civilization History (select 1): HIS 101, 102, 121, 122 HIST 3 General education
ADJ 100 Survey of Criminal Justice CRJS 181 3 Major
Social science Social science (select 1): PSY 200, PSY 230, SOC 200, SOC 211 VCU equivalent 3 General education
Humanities Humanities: Foreign Language (the VCU foreign language requirement is waived if the student completed up through the third level of a foreign language in high school; select alternate humanities elective if foreign language is waived) VCU equivalent 3 to 4 General education
ADJ ADJ elective CRJS 2XX 3 Elective
Germmana Credits Transferred to VCU 65
VCU courses
Course Title Credits Requirements
Bachelor of Science: Criminal Justice with a concentration in Justice
Foreign language through the 102 level. (This requirement can be fulfilled by means of completion of the 102-level of a language or waived if the student completed up through the third level of a foreign language in high school. Additionally, language waiver and placement testing options are available for native or heritage speakers of a non-english language.) 0 to 8 General education (not waived by associate degree)
CRJS 253 Introduction to Corrections 3 Major
CRJS 254 Introduction to Policing 3 Major
CRJS 355 Criminological Theory 3 Major
CRJS 380 Research Methods in Criminal Justice 3 Major
CRJS 475 Criminal Procedure 3 Major
CRJS 480 Senior Seminar 3 Major
CRJS Select six CRJS upper-level electives (300- or 400-level courses) 18 Major
Upper-level electives (300- or 400-level courses): consider a minor or a second major Note: Students must complete a minimum of 45 upper-level credits to graduate from VCU. 18 Elective
Open elective 1 Elective
Credits Completed at VCU 55
Bachelor's degree total 120
Bachelor of Science: Criminal Justice with a concentration in forensic crime scene investigation
Foreign language through the 102 level. (This requirement can be fulfilled by means of completion of the 102-level of a language or waived if the student completed up through the third level of a foreign language in high school. Additionally, language waiver and placement testing options are available for native or heritage speakers of a non-english language.) 0 to 8 General education (not waived by associate degree)
CRJS 253 Introduction to Corrections 3 Major
CRJS 254 Introduction to Policing 3 Major
CRJS 355 Criminological Theory 3 Major
CRJS 380 Research Methods in Criminal Justice 3 Major
CRJS 475 Criminal Procedure 3 Major
CRJS 480 Senior Seminar 3 Major
CRJS 320 Principles of Criminal Investigation 3 Major
CRJS 370 Criminalistics and Crime Analysis 3 Major
CRJS 373 Crime Scene Evidence: Law and Trial Procedure 3 Major
CRJS 425 Violent Crime Scene Investigation 3 Major
CRJS Select two CRJS upper-level electives (300- or 400-level courses) 6 Major
Upper-level electives (300- or 400-level courses): consider a minor or a second major Note: Students must complete a minimum of 45 upper-level credits to graduate from VCU. 18 Elective
Open elective 1 Elective
Credits Completed at VCU 55
Bachelor's degree total 120