Program Overview

Accelerated Bachelors (B.A.)/Masters (M.S.) in Criminal Justice Option

The Accelerated Bachelors (B.A.)/Masters (M.S.) in Criminal Justice Option is a program designed for students who wish to pursue both a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice in an accelerated manner.

Minimum Requirements for Admission

To be eligible for admission into the Accelerated BA/MSCJ program, students must meet the following minimum requirements:

• Overall undergraduate GPA of 3.25 or better
• Completion of 75 undergraduate credit hours
• Undergraduate Major GPA of 3.5 or better
• Completion of all Bachelor of Arts Criminal Justice (BACJ) major core requirements
• A grade of "B" (3.0) or higher in all BACJ major core classes
• One letter of recommendation from a Criminal Justice or Legal Studies faculty member

Process

A prospective student who meets the minimum requirements for admission to the Accelerated BA/MSCJ program must schedule a meeting with their undergraduate advisor and graduate advisor to discuss and develop a degree plan for the student's Accelerated Bachelor of Arts/Master of Science in Criminal Justice (BA/MSCJ) program. The student must then submit an Accelerated BA/MSCJ program application and letter of recommendation to the graduate advisor.

Eligibility and Restrictions

• Students must have completed 75 undergraduate credit hours, including credits earned from advanced placement, prior to applying to the Accelerated BA/MSCJ program.
• Transfer students must have completed a minimum of two semesters and at least 24 credit hours at the University of West Florida prior to application to the Accelerated BA/MSCJ program.
• Eligible students can apply for the program at any time, and if they are accepted, they can start in the following semester.
• Admission into the Accelerated BA/MSCJ program does not guarantee admission into the MSCJ program upon completion of the BACJ.
• Students must still submit an Express Admission application for the MSCJ program.
• Students who are a part of the BA/MSCJ program cannot be provisionally or conditionally admitted into the MSCJ program.

Program Requirements

• Upon admission into the MSCJ, the 12 graduate credit hours completed as an undergraduate student will count for 12 of the 24 hours in Criminal Justice coursework for the MSCJ.
• Students in the Accelerated BA/MSCJ program must earn a grade of "B" (3.0/4.0) or better in each of the graduate-level courses that are being applied to both degrees.
• Courses completed with a grade of "B-" or below cannot be applied to the MSCJ degree.
• Students accepted into the MSCJ program must complete all MSCJ requirements within 18 months of completing the BACJ degree.
• If the MSCJ program requirements are not completed within 18 months, the student is no longer eligible to apply the graduate credit hours toward both degrees and is automatically terminated from the Accelerated BA/MSCJ program.
• If a student in the Accelerated BA/MSCJ program completes the BACJ degree requirements with an overall GPA of less than 3.25/4.0, the student is no longer eligible to apply the graduate credit hours to both degrees and is automatically terminated from the Accelerated BA/MSCJ program.
• A student who becomes ineligible to continue participating in or withdraws from the Accelerated BA/MSCJ program cannot apply any graduate credit hours toward both degrees.
• Students who are enrolled in the Accelerated BA/MSCJ program are eligible for graduate assistantship positions only after completing the BACJ degree.