Criminal Justice, BA-CJ

General Information

The Bachelor of Arts - Criminal Justice is a four year baccalaureate degree program. The curriculum for the degree educates students in six program areas including; Foundations in Justice Studies, Human Relations, Human Justice, Criminological Literacy, Experiential Learning and General Education. This program provides professional preparation for students wishing to pursue careers such as Law Enforcement, Canadian Border Services, Immigration Canada, Federal, Provincial and Community Corrections and Probation/Parole. As well, the Bachelor of Arts - Criminal Justice will prepare students for a range justice-related careers outside of law enforcement and corrections. The Honours stream in the Bachelor of Arts - Criminal Justice is unique in Alberta. Students in the Honours stream will develop enhanced knowledge and skills that are particularly suited for preparation to apply for graduate study in criminology/criminal justice and law school.

Continuance in the Program

Students accepted into the Bachelor of Arts - Criminal Justice degree program must comply with all University policies and regulations relating to Bachelor of Arts degrees and continuance.

Opportunities for Further Study

The Bachelor of Arts - Criminal Justice degree, and the Honours stream, do not guarantee either eligibility for, or admission into, graduate studies or law school. Graduates must meet the individual universities’ admission requirements in a competitive process. However, past graduates of Mount Royal’s justice-related undergraduate degree have earned admission into several justice-related Master of Arts degrees and law schools across Canada. Students considering graduate school or law school are encouraged to investigate their postgraduate educational plans with an academic advisor at the institution in which they are seeking to enrol.

Police Security Clearance

In order to graduate with the Bachelor of Arts - Criminal Justice degree, students may complete a practicum course in a justice-related agency. In some cases, agencies may require students to provide proof of a police information check prior to commencing the course. All costs related to the police information check are the responsibility of the student. Refer to the statement regarding police information and other background checks in this calendar.

General Admission Requirements

All students must meet the general admission requirements for Mount Royal University programs, as indicated in the Admission section of this calendar.

Additional Admission Requirements

In addition to meeting the general admission requirements indicated in the Admission section of this calendar, applicants must also satisfy the following criteria:

Academic Course Requirements

The following specific courses (or equivalencies) with the specified minimum grades are required for admission into the Bachelor of Arts - Criminal Justice program:

English Language Arts 30-1 - 60%
Mathematics 30-1 or 30-2

Although Conditional Admission may be granted in advance of receipt of final/official transcripts, confirmation of the achievement of specified minimum grades will take place after all final/official transcripts have been received by the University. Applicants who do not meet these minimum grade requirements will be denied admission.

Aboriginal Student Admission

Each year 10% of the seats in the Bachelor of Arts - Criminal Justice program will be reserved for Aboriginal applicants through an Aboriginal admission target.

To be considered for admission under the Aboriginal admission target, the applicant must:

self-identify as an Aboriginal applicant on the Application for Admission
meet the definition of an Aboriginal Applicant
meet the minimum admission requirements as indicated in the General Admission requirements for Mount Royal University as well as any program level admission requirements

Designated seats for this special consideration target will be filled by Aboriginal applicants on a competitive basis. Applicants are encouraged to apply during Early Admission period. Any unfilled designated seats will be released on June 1 to students applying under the general admission requirements.

See general admission requirements in the Admissions section of this calendar for further information.

Curriculum

Practicum Stream

The foundation of the Bachelor of Arts - Criminal Justice degree (Practicum Stream) includes 18 required core courses, three criminal justice option courses, 12 General Education* courses and four Electives, for a total of 37 courses over four years.

*Please consult the University Calendar for information concerning the University’s General Education requirements.

The 18 required core courses in the Bachelor of Arts - Criminal Justice degree (Practicum Stream) consists of the following:

Three of the following

All students in the Bachelor of Arts - Criminal Justice (Practicum Stream) must complete three of the following criminal justice option courses (exceptions require department approval):

General Education

For course information visit mtroyal.ca/gened/courses. Students are encouraged to meet with an advisor before registering in a course.

Practica in the Bachelor of Arts - Criminal Justice

Students in the Bachelor of Arts - Criminal Justice must complete a 6-credit capstone practicum in order to graduate. There is no practicum requirement in the Honours stream.

Capstone Practicum

A capstone practicum normally occurs in the fourth year of study. Coordinated by the Department’s Practicum Coordinator, students are placed with a justice-related agency to gain practical experience and enhance their experiential learning. Traditionally, practica are unpaid work experiences. Practica involve approximately 2.5 days of full-time work within an agency, biweekly academic seminars and required course assignments supervised by a faculty instructor. In total, practica involves 360 hours of placement hours and academic work over the academic term. Students are required to work with the Department’s Practicum Coordinator well in advance of going out on a placement and before registering for the practicum course.