Overview
Sacramento State has been a leader in criminal justice and public
safety education in California since the early 1960s. For the
past 15+ years, we have expanded access to our quality education
in criminal justice through this fully online degree
program.
Students will earn a comprehensive education that includes
training essential for careers that help to create a safer
community.
This program is offered through a partnership between the
College of Continuing Education and the College of Health and
Human Services at Sacramento State.
Criminal Justice Information Session
This information session recording will provide information
to students interested in starting the program in Fall 2023.
“As a full time mother and full time employee, I found that
CCE’s Criminal Justice program worked out great for me. The
program allowed me to study at my own pace — anytime,
anywhere.”
Christina C., Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice graduate
Benefits
-
Career opportunities: Completion of this
bachelor’s degree opens up many career opportunities in a
variety of environments, including courts, corrections, parole
and probation systems, and law enforcement.
-
Cultivation of real-life skills: Federal,
state, local and private agencies have an active interest in
employees who can translate their work experience and previous
course work into an academic degree. The undergraduate program
cultivates real-life skills and resources for professionals who
currently work within the criminal justice and public safety
fields.
-
Stepping stone to graduate education: Earning a
bachelor’s degree is a major accomplishment and is a stepping
stone to graduate education. Combining the flexibility of
online education and the mobility of the criminal justice field
creates an unparalleled career enhancement.
Audience
This online and accelerated program is designed for transfer
students who have all four of their lower division CRJ courses
complete in the major, as well as a majority of CSU General
Education coursework complete and a minimum GPA of a 2.6.
Structure
Coursework Evaluation
Prospective students receive an evaluation of existing
coursework to use as a road map toward degree completion. Each
applicant’s academic transcripts and professional experience are
reviewed by the program coordinator and an academic counselor.
The individualized evaluation process is an important one. Major
courses are identified and graduation requirements are defined
for each student. The evaluation provides both the student and
the advisor with a detailed review of previous coursework, and in
effect becomes a learning contract between the university and
student.
The applicant then receives a degree completion plan which
details and outlines specific courses and activities they must
complete to earn the bachelor’s degree.
Program Requirements
Students must be admitted to Sacramento State and the online
criminal justice program in order to take courses.
Candidates must complete all Sacramento State general education
and graduation requirements for the degree. Sacramento State
provides the upper division coursework required for the major and
graduation requirements. Applicants transfer the lower division
coursework from another university or community college.
Program Delivery
The program is delivered completely online via
Canvas. Courses are taught by a live faculty member behind
the computer screen and are taken with your fellow classmates.
Online classes do have specific start and end dates as well as
assignment deadlines. However, there are not specific days
and times (such as Wednesday at 2 p.m.) that you are required to
log in — you can log in at a time that is convenient for you
during the day or night.
Courses are eight (8) weeks long in fall and spring terms, and
six (6) weeks long in summer. A student who needs to complete all
upper-division courses for the major and enrolls in a full load
of courses each semester may complete the program in
approximately two years. Students who transfer upper division
course work into the program may complete the program at an
accelerated pace.
This online program provides the class schedule in advance to
assist students with planning their course selections for degree
completion. We find that planning your program schedule and
keeping in frequent contact with an advisor often translates to
successful degree completion.
Program Faculty
Courses are taught by Sacramento State faculty who are experts in
their fields. The Division of Criminal Justice faculty are a
diverse group with backgrounds in both academic and applied
areas. Their academic department is the largest west of the
Mississippi River and has the seventh most diverse student
enrollment in the country.
Information for current applicants
Initial Application Process
Please follow the instructions to submit your initial
departmental application for review BEFORE you submit your CSU
Apply application for formal admission to the university.
Please see https://www.cce.csus.edu/pod/apply-now-3.
Formal Admission
If you have been approved for the program, please refer to page
one of your unofficial evaluation which includes a checklist
of items that you need to submit in order to be formally admitted
to the program. Please complete all items marked as “To Do”
on this page, with the exception of the $50 departmental
application fee as we will post this fee to your Sac State
student record after you are admitted.
Soon after you have submitted your CSU Apply application, you can
set up your SacLink account at https://mysaclink.csus.edu/Default.aspx.
Please note that it may take a few days for our records to be
refreshed to allow you to set this up after submitting your CSU
Apply application.
The admissions processes for our program usually is not completed
until August for Fall admissions, and early January for Spring
admissions. You will receive an email along with a program
schedule and student handbook from the program staff once you are
formally admitted. You will also be added to the
program’s Canvas Resource Center which will keep you
informed about important deadlines and program information.
Enrolling in Courses
Registration for our courses follows a slightly different process
than our main campus; please do not worry about not seeing enough
online course options in the searchable class schedule at this
time. You will receive a separate email from our program
with registration instructions including the list of available
classes that are set up specifically for our program. You also do
not need to adhere to your registration date that is posted in
your student schedule as that is only for registering for
traditional classes through the main campus.
Fees and Financial Aid
As of Spring 2024, course fees are $489 per unit. The number of
units you may need to take will vary based on your transfer
credits and what all you have left to complete at Sacramento
State in order to graduate. Our advisors can help you
determine how many units you would need to complete in our
program in order to graduate.
You may apply for financial aid through the FAFSA
at https://fafsa.ed.gov/.
Please note that fees for this program are not the same as the
tuition and fees for the traditional program at Sacramento State,
and different policies apply. Please see our CCE Financial Aid
webpage at https://cce.csus.edu/financial-aid for
more information.
All fees are subject to change or increase as needed.
You can learn more about academic program fees at https://www.cce.csus.edu/pod/academic-programs-estimated-costs.
Student Handbook
Many of your questions about this program and how it works
are answered in our Student Handbook: https://sway.office.com/TU3o7nAe5ZfbzKOA?ref=Link
