Criminal Justice Honors Program

PURPOSE

The purpose of the Honors Program in Criminal Justice is to identify the creative, imaginative, and/or exceptional student and to encourage and recognize the development of this student’s potential. The Honors Program in Criminal Justice & Criminology shall encourage independent study and shall evaluate each student’s achievement in terms of her or his ability to proceed as a self-directed learner.

HONORS RECOGNITION

Upon recommendation of the Honors Committee in Criminal Justice and the Department Chair, and upon certification by the University Honors Council, the honors candidate shall be graduated with Honors in Criminal Justice & Criminology. Recognition of such distinction shall be noted on the student’s permanent record. The phrase, Honors in Criminal Justice, shall be inscribed on the student’s diploma.

ADMISSION TO THE HONORS PROGRAM

  1. Consideration for admission to the Honors Program may be initiated by the student or by any faculty member in the Criminal Justice & Criminology Department. A student may be removed from the Honors Program at any time upon her/his own request or upon recommendation of the two-person Honors Program Committee in consultation with the Chair of the Criminal Justice & Criminology Department. There shall be no penalty for removal from the Honors Program.
  2. A student is eligible to participate in the Honors Program in her/his Sophomore or Junior year of study.
  3. The student must have an overall GPA 3.20 and a GPA of 3.50 in the Criminal Justice major.
  4. The student must submit a typed statement (maximum length 500 words) explaining:
    • what the person’s academic/career goals are in the field of criminal justice;
    • how departmental Honors is relevant to the student’s academic and/or career interests.
  5. The Honors Program Committee will review the materials of all eligible student applicants on an ad hoc basis and recommend to the department Chair those individuals who should be admitted into the Program.
  6. Please note – The above criteria are minimum expectations. The Criminal Justice and Criminology Department reserves the right to set restrictions on the number of students admitted into the Program for any given year, consistent with the demands on the overall Department.

REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADUATION WITH HONORS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE

To qualify for graduation with departmental honors recognition, the student must:

  1. be admitted formally to honors candidacy by the Honors Committee in Criminal Justice & Criminology and the University Honors Council at least two semesters before the student’s graduation.
  2. have an overall GPA of 3.5 in the Criminal Justice & Criminology major
  3. have an overall GPA of 3.20 for all courses outside the Criminal Justice & Criminology major, including non-Honors courses
  4. complete at least six (6) credit hours of Honors coursework (not including the thesis) offered by the Honors College, and obtain an overall GPA of 3.5 for these courses
  5. select a 3-person Committee (at least one person must be from Criminal Justice & Criminology) to serve as the student’s Honors Thesis Committee
  6. successfully complete an Honors Thesis (application to candidacy must occur the semester before graduation), orally defend the Honors Thesis in front of the student’s Thesis Committee, and obtain the grade of “A” for the Thesis. This grade will also be the grade assigned for the 3-hour course, “Honors Thesis Research in Criminal Justice.”

For more information concerning the Criminal Justice & Criminology Honors Program, contact Dr. John Stogner by email.