Criminal Justice, B.S.

The Criminal Justice major consists of 42 credits. All students must complete at least 21 credits of Criminal Justice coursework at Westfield State University. There are six required courses in the major (Major Core) that comprise 18 of the 42 required credits. For students entering Westfield State University in the academic year 2025-26 or later, all Criminal Justice majors must receive a grade of C- or above in all six core classes. Students earning a grade below a C- in any of the six major core classes must retake that class until they earn a grade of C- or above, with a cumulative CJ core GPA of 2.3. Students transferring into the major must complete at least 24 credits at Westfield State with a 2.3 GPA or greater.

Students are not required to take a concentration for the Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Degree
Students may take only one concentration for the Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Degree, even if they have completed the coursework for more than one concentration

Major Core Courses

CRJU 0101 - Introduction to Criminal Justice Credits: 3
CRJU 0121 - Theories of Crime Credits: 3
CRJU 0201 - Law Enforcement and Society Credits: 3
CRJU 0202 - Introduction to Corrections Credits: 3
CRJU 0205 - American Judicial System Credits: 3
CRJU 0231 - Research Methods in Criminal Justice Credits: 3

Note:

Students choose upper-level electives in the major to complete the remaining 21 credits. A student, who has not maintained the requisite 2.5 GPA for the six Major Core courses or had a grade below a C- in any one of the Major Core courses, will be required to correct this deficiency in order to enroll in upper level major electives.

Additional Graduation Requirements

All students must meet the University Graduation Requirements and complete a general education or common core of studies, distributed among the different academic areas as detailed in General Education: WISE or Common Core .