Introduction

Please click here to see School of Public Affairs information.

The Pathway BA/MCJ program is designed to allow students to work concurrently toward the Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice (BACJ) and the Master of Criminal Justice (MCJ). Graduate credit hours earned while enrolled in the BA/MCJ program can be counted toward both the BACJ and MCJ. This program offers high-achieving students the opportunity to complete their undergraduate and graduate degrees in criminal justice in less time than completing both separately. The undergraduate and graduate degrees are conferred upon completion of each of the degree’s requirements.

Program Delivery

• Courses are offered on campus, online, and in remote and hybrid formats.

Declaring This Major

• Please contact spa.advising@ucdenver.edu.

Both current CU Denver students and new transfer students are eligible to apply to the Criminal Justice BA/MCJ after meeting the following requirements:

• Currently enrolled in the School of Public Affairs as a Criminal Justice major

• Completed the University of Colorado Denver's undergraduate core curriculum

• Completed 60 credit hours

• Completed the following 12 credit hours in criminal justice:

  Course List

  Code	Title	Hours
  CRJU 1000	Criminology and Criminal Justice: An Overview	3
  CRJU 2041	Criminological Theory	3
  CRJU 3100	Research Methods	3
  CRJU 3150	Statistics for Criminal Justice	3
  Total Hours		12

• Transfer Criminal Justice courses must have been approved and accepted toward the major

• Minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA

• Minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA in criminal justice courses

General Requirements

To earn a degree, students must satisfy all requirements in each of the three areas below, in addition to their individual major requirements.

• CU Denver Graduation Requirements  

• CU Denver Undergraduate Core Curriculum   

• School of Public Affairs Graduation Requirements  

• Click here for information about Academic Policies

Program Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum of 30 resident credit hours, 21 of which must be in resident coursework.

2. Students must receive a minimum B grade in each required core MCJ course.

3. A minimum of 3.0 GPA overall is required in all graduate-level coursework.

4. Students must successfully complete an MCJ capstone or thesis.

5. Students must fulfill all college and major requirements.

6. Students are eligible to receive the Bachelor of Criminal Justice degree once they have successfully completed 120 credit hours and all CU Denver undergraduate degree requirements.

7. Students must seek full acceptance to the Graduate School and the MCJ program.

8. For competitive admission to the Graduate School and the MCJ program, students must have a minimum of a 3.0 CU cumulative grade point average in undergraduate Criminal Justice courses.

9. The MCJ will be conferred once the student has completed all requirements of the Master of Criminal Justice degree.

10. Application to the pathway program is completed after the student is already admitted to the University of Colorado Denver and meets the requirements as listed above. Students must have an established CU Denver cumulative GPA and major GPA before they can seek approval in the pathway program. Students will work with their undergraduate academic advisor in seeking approval to the pathway program, which includes a separate application than the one used for general admission to CU Denver.