The mission of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice is to maintain high quality academic programs to meet the needs of our students. The program offers a broad array of coursework and activities designed to provide students with the requisite preparation to become well-qualified criminal justice professionals or to continue their professional education (e.g., law school administration, postgraduate degree).
The School of Criminology and Criminal Justice provides a broad range of courses to provide students with a comprehensive and solid background in criminal justice. We offer courses examining: 1) law enforcement, 2) corrections, 3) courts, and 4) various aspects of crime including gangs, drugs, white-collar crime, crime analysis, homeland security, and criminological theory. Students in our program will learn how the criminal justice system works, why people offend, how society and law react to crime, and how to conduct research methodologies for scientific study that can address policy and criminal justice reform.
Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice Online
Program Design
A system of criminal justice must meet the needs of each citizen as well as the needs of complex social, economic, and governmental institutions. The Bachelor of Arts degree program in criminal justice was developed with these needs in mind and is appropriate for both career-bound preservice students and in-service personnel in law enforcement, probation, parole, corrections, social service agencies and related areas.
Program Format
- The program is 100% online and can be completed from the convenience of your home and your schedule.
- A semester will consist of two sessions (session 1 and session 2). Each session is approximately seven weeks long and courses are delivered in an accelerated format.
- During the CEGE registration period, eligible students will receive an enrollment request form from the program.*
- Students are enrolled for the program courses by the Academic Advisor.*
- Students will follow a student program plan, which is developed by the Academic Advisor.
- Total units required for graduation: 120
Elective Courses
As part of the degree requirement students will complete six elective courses. The Criminal Justice Online program offers an array of elective courses each term. Selected elective courses will be offered intermittently throughout the academic year. The elective courses for the current academic year are: Women and Crime, White Collar Crimes, Gangs, Forensic Profiling, Domestic Violence, Hate Crime and Law, Justice and the Media, Wildlife Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security*, Criminal Procedure, Victimology, Law and the Courts, Crime Prevention, Correctional Administration, Community Corrections, Correctional Counseling, Police Administration, Community Policing.
Homeland Security Certificate
The Homeland Security Certificate is an option for those who are interested in furthering their development and understanding of this exciting field. The six courses will count towards the elective course degree requirement of the program, as well as, the culmination of the Homeland Security Certificate issued by the College of Extended and Global Education.
The six elective courses will be reflected on a CSUSB transcript as academic credit only. Please note, the Homeland Security Certificate issued by the College of Extended and Global Education will not appear on any unofficial or official CSUSB transcript.
To earn the Homeland Security Certificate students must complete the following elective courses (listed below).
- CJUS 4465 – Hate Crime & Law Policy
- CJUS 5504 – Criminal Procedure
- CJUS 5554 – Terrorism
- CJUS 5555 – Homeland Security
- CJUS 5556 – Transnational Organized Crime
- CJUS 5903 – Cybercrime
Program Recognition
We are proud of the prestigious recognitions and rankings that CSUSB's Criminal Justice Online program has received throughout the years. In 2021 CSUSB was ranked #1 in California by Best Value Schools, as "one of the finest criminal justice colleges in California offering online degrees"!
2022: Ranked #34 in “Best Online Master’s in Criminal Justice Programs by U.S. News & World Report
2022: Ranked #32 “Best Online Master’s in Criminal Justice” by OnlineMastersDegrees.org (OMD)
2022: Ranked #7 in “Best Online Colleges in California - Best for Criminal Justice” (Intelligent.com)
2022: Ranked #8 in “Best Master’s in Criminal Justice Degree Programs - Best Value” (Intelligent.com)
2022: Ranked #10 in “Best Online Criminal Justice Degree Programs for Best Advisors” (Intelligent.com)
2022: Ranked #14 in “Most Affordable Online Criminal Justice Degree Programs - Best in the Pacific Region” (Intelligent.com)
2022: Ranked #15 in “Best Online Master’s in Criminal Justice Programs for Nationally Recognized Faculty”(Intelligent.com)
2021: The Master’s Program was ranked #4 in “15 Best Online MA Programs in Criminal Justice, 2021” (Best Value Schools)
2021: Ranked #1 in the State of California for our fully online Criminal Justice BA Degree Completion Program in CEGE (Best Value Schools)
2021: Ranked #38 in "Best Online Graduate Criminal Justice Programs" (U.S. News and World Report)
2020: Ranked #18 in “Top 50 Criminal Justice Degree Programs for 2020” (Intelligent.com)
2020: Ranked #35 in “Best Online Graduate Criminal Justice Programs” (U.S. News and World Report)
2019: Ranked #30 in “Best Online Graduate Criminal Justice Programs” (U.S. News and World Report)
2018: Ranked #21 in “Best Online Masters in Criminal Justice Degree Program, 2018” (College Choice)
2018: Ranked #34 in “Best Online Graduate Criminal Justice Programs” (U.S. News and World Report)
2018: Ranked #39 in 'The Top 50 Institutions for Online Master of Criminal Justice Degree Programs' (Master's Programs Guide)
2017: Ranked #19 in 'The 30 Best Online Bachelor of Criminal Justice Degree Programs' (The Best Schools)
2017: The Master's Program was ranked #15 in 'The 25 Best Online Master of Criminal Justice Degree Programs' (The Best Schools)
2016: Ranked #2 in 'The 25 Best Online Bachelor's in Criminal Justice Degree Programs' (The Center for Online Education)
2016: Ranked #7 in the 'Top 30 Best Online Criminal Justice Degree Programs (Bachelor's) 2016' (Best Degree Programs)
2016: The Master's Program was ranked #4 in “Most Affordable online Master’s in Criminal Justice Program” (Collegevaluesonline)
2016: The Master's Program was ranked #12 in “Best Online Masters in Criminal Justice Degree Program, 2016” (College Choice)
2016: Ranked #9 in the 'Best Online Criminal Justice Programs' (Best Colleges)
2015: The Master's Program was ranked #3 in “50 Best value Colleges for a Criminal Justice Degree, 2015” (Best Value Schools)
2015: The Master's Program was ranked # 17 in “50 Best Online Criminal Justice Programs, 2015” (Super Scholar)
2015: The Master's Program was ranked #20 in “Best Online Graduate Criminal Justice Programs” (U.S. News and World Report)
- CSUSB online master's degree criminal justice and MBA programs listed among nation’s best, Published January 26, 2021
- CSUSB online criminal justice program is No. 1 in the state, Published March 25, 2021
- CSUSB’s online criminal justice programs recognized nationally, Published April 21, 2021
- CSUSB’s online criminal justice and MBA programs are among the best in the nation, Published January 25, 2022
- CSUSB announces U.S. News & World Report online program rankings, Published January 24, 2023
Frequently Asked Questions
The program information is available on the CEGE - PaCE webpage. Each of the icons located on the right hand side of the page will direct the user to the requested section.
To speak with a student advisor, select the icon 'Schedule Advising Appointment' and select the meeting type. Students who are interested in the program and who are not admitted to the program should select the option 'Application and Admission Advising.' Appointments may be conducted through the telephone or through Zoom.
Applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements.
- Lower Division: Complete lower division coursework by successfully obtaining 60 semester (90 quarter) units of transferable course work taken at a regionally accredited* community college or university.
- A complete list of transferable courses from the California Community Colleges to CSUSB may be found at ASSIST.
- General Education: Completion of lower-division general education requirements, which includes CSU History, Constitution and American Ideals requirement.
- For more information on the General Education requirements, please visit the CSUSB Bulletin - General Education Program. Requirements may include the completion of the course with a grade of “C-” or better.
- Two Prerequisite Courses: Completed with a grade of “C-” or better.
- Golden Four Courses: Completed with a grade of “C-” or better in each course.
- Oral Communication (GE Category A1) (3 units)
- Written Communication (A2)
- Critical Thinking (A3)
- Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning (B4)
- GPA: Meet minimum GPA requirements of 2.7 ("C") or better.
- Eligible to enroll: Students must be in good standing and eligible to enroll at the last institution they attended.
For more information on the program requirements and how to apply, visit the admission requirements page for the College of Extended and Global Education - Professional and Continuing Education.
Additional Resources
Catalogs
ASSIST - Course Transfer and Articulation System - Support
The College of Extended and Global Education is unable to provide a pre-assessment of transcripts and or the review of course equivalency materials prior to an official application submission. Applicants seeking assistance in this area may visit the website ASSIST which is best used in combination with seeing a counselor on your campus. ASSIST is intended to help students and counselors work together to establish an appropriate path toward transferring from a public California community college to a public California university. Furthermore, a complete list of transferable courses from the California Community Colleges to CSUSB may be found on the ASSIST webpage.