Possible career paths for students in this degree are

• Law Enforcement:  Government agencies (Federal, State, Local)-- police officer, special agent, investigations, dispatcher, crime scene analyst 
• Court Workers: Prosecution or Defense Attorney, Judge, Restorative Justice mediator, Court reporter, Paralegal
• Corrections: Victim advocate, Case Manager, Probation/Parole officer, Restorative Justice Program Director,  Correctional Officer, Prison Counselor/Teacher
• Private Security- Loss prevention, fraud specialist, investigator 

Marketable Skills

Students will develop the following marketable skills:

1. Critical thinking: Analyze and evaluate issues in order to solve problems and develop informed opinions
2. Social responsibility: Act ethically and responsibly for the benefit of society and the public good
3. Social skills: Effectively use body language, verbal and non-verbal communication skills and personal appearance to communicate and interact with others
4. Writing: Be able to write in a clear and comprehensible manner to the reader

In addition, students will learn:

1. Compassion and understanding of social problems (child abuse/neglect, addiction, homelessness, mental illness) that may later contribute to legal problems and reasons why people commit crime
2. Understanding of the law and legal processes for suspects, defendants, and convicted persons
3. Ability to distinguish effective crime policies that control crime and/or reduce recidivism

General Requirements

For the ON-LINE BA in Criminal Justice the student must complete:

1. Complete a minimum of 120 semester hours, including at least 39 hours at the advanced (3000 or 4000) level. 
2. Fulfill the general education, block electives, and foreign language requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree in the College of Liberal Arts.
   1. Criminal Justice majors need to fulfill the mathematics requirement by taking MATH 1320 or its equivalent.

3. Complete six (6) credit hours of Spanish; pre-requisites may exist. Spanish is the only foreign language available as an online format. 

4. A minimum of 21 credit hours in the major must be taken at the advanced (3300-4300) level.

5.  Complete 18 hours of additional electives.  Elective credit cannot be used in meeting any other degree requirement, except requirement for the 39 advanced/upper level hours.  Students are encouraged to complete as many of these electives as possible in the area of Criminal Justice.

6. All students must complete electives as needed to bring the total semester hours of credit to 120.

Switching between UTEP Connect and on-campus Criminal Justice programs

Students having less than 24 hours of CRIJ major courses must go through a Change of Major Consultation with the UTEP Connect Advisor. On-campus undergraduate students who have completed 24 hours or more of CRIJ major course requirements are ineligible to change their major to the UTEP Connect Criminal Justice program. UTEP on-campus students may change their major to the online UTEP Connect Criminal Justice program one time only. Students wishing to return to the on-campus degree program (after having changed their major to the online UTEP Connect program) must appeal to the department chair in writing.

Current UTEP Connect undergraduate students wishing to change their major from the fully online major to the on-campus program must select and complete a minor. Any petitions for change of major from the fully online UTEP Connect program to the campus-based UTEP program are subject to approval by the department chair of the program receiving the student. UTEP Connect students may change their major to the campus-based Criminal Justice major one time only. Students wishing to return to the fully-online Criminal Justice degree program (after having changed their major to a campus-based program) must appeal to the Dean of Extended University in writing. All courses are offered on an intensive, 7 week online format for maximum scheduling flexibility for full-time, working students. This rigorous, but ultimately convenient undergraduate program can be taken on a full-time or part-time basis. 

Degree Plan

_{1. Although the UTEP choice is larger, these choices satisfy the requirements of both the core and the major.}

_{2. Selection of upper-division courses is highly recommended to facilitate meeting the requirement of forty-five upper-division hours.}

_{3. French and Spanish majors must fulfill this requirement in a language other than their major.}