Criminal Justice - Student Resources
Graduate Handbook
View the graduate handbook
Master’s Thesis Guidelines
Review the master’s thesis guidelines
BS/MS Option
The criminal justice BS/MS program is an accelerated dual-degree option that provides an opportunity for students to complete both undergraduate and graduate degree programs in five years. This dual-degree program is designed for students that are looking to develop a stronger foundation in criminological and criminal justice theory and social scientific research skills. Graduates of the program will be well positioned for careers in the policy analysis arena or to be able to easily transition into a criminal justice doctoral program.
Students accepted into the program will be able to complete up to two graduate courses (6 credit hours) in criminal justice and apply them to both the BS and MS degree requirements. This provides students with an opportunity to earn both the bachelor’s and master’s degree in less time than it would normally take to complete each degree separately. In general, most graduate courses in the CRIM-MS program will be acceptable to be counted towards both degrees.
Admissions Requirements:
Applications to this program are accepted from matriculated undergraduate criminal justice students. To be considered for admission into the BS/MS program, students need at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average, have at least a third year standing, and must have been enrolled in the CRIM-BS program for at least two terms. Prior to application students are encouraged to have successfully completed the following undergraduate criminal justice classes:
CRIM 100: Seminar in Criminal Justice
CRIM 110: Introduction to Criminal Justice
CRIM 300: Quantitative Methods for Criminal Justice
CRIM 350: Theories of Crime and Criminality
The application to the BS/MS option in criminal justice can be found here.
Student Organizations
The Criminal Justice Student Association at RIT provides students interested in Criminal Justice a chance to engage their interests outside of the classroom in exciting ways. CJSA is an organization that allows students and faculty to work together to explore opportunities in the community and criminal justice fields through research, volunteer work and trips.
Open to all majors, Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International is a professional law fraternity advancing integrity, compassion and courage through service to the student, the school, the profession and the community.
Open to all majors, the RIT Pre-law Association holds monthly meetings and seminars on preparing for law school and sponsors a speaker's series on law related topics.
In the past, the Association has participated in mock trial competition and also publishes student research papers in "The Journal of Social and Legal Research at RIT", which was the first undergraduate prelaw journal in the country.
The purpose of the Prelaw Association is to:
- Encourage students interested in law or law related professions.
- To prepare students to apply for and attend law school.
- To develop student research, writing, and advocacy skills.
Objectives:
- Organize Rochester Area Law Day trip.
- Presentations on LSAT, law school admission and essay writing, and joint degree programs.
- Panel discussion with RIT Alumni currently attending or graduated from law school.
- Guest presentations by local attorneys.
- Trip(s) to law schools.
- Mock Court experience.
- Pre-Law Journal.
- Establish mentoring program between perspective law students and attorneys.
To join, contact:
LaVerne McQuiller-Williams, JD
Senior Associate Dean and Pre-Law Advisor
(585) 475-2935
llmgcj@rit.edu
The Journal of Social and Legal Research at RIT, is a publication made up entirely of undergraduate student papers. The Editorial Board is comprised of all undergraduate students, and the publication was the first undergraduate prelaw journal in the country. Currently, the Journal is sent to fifty law schools and the White House.