https://www.uwplatt.edu/program/criminal-justice-online
Dr. Patrick Solar
Program Coordinator
B.S. in Criminal Justice
1145 Ullsvik Hall
608.342.6126
solarp@uwplatt.edu
Become an invaluable member of your community - study criminal justice from an institution recognized among the nation's best for excellence, academic service, and affordability.
You'll build knowledge from core criminal justice courses such as Introduction to Criminal Justice, The Police Function, Correctional Philosophy, and more.
Admission Guidelines
First-Time Freshman
We're looking for students who meet these admission requirements:
High school / GED completion: Graduate of a recognized high school and have completed high school coursework required by the University of Wisconsin-Platteville at the time of graduation or have a general equivalency diploma (HSED/GED) with the required scores from the appropriate state department of public instruction or its equivalent.
College preparatory coursework successfully completed*
Subject Units
English 4
Mathematics (Algebra or higher) 3
Social Science 3
Natural Science (2 must include lab experience) 3
Courses from above academic areas, foreign
language, fine arts, computer science or
courses in vocational areas 4
*The requirements listed are for the academic school year 2019-20. Admission requirements will vary based on the year the applicant graduated from high school.
Rank / ACT Score: Top 50 percent of graduating class or ACT composite of 22 (1110 SAT score). Currently, the writing component for each exam is not required. This requirement is waived for prospective students age 22 and over.
Home Schooled Students
To be considered for admission, home-schooled students must provide official transcripts from school(s) attended, a transcript of courses taken at home and grades signed by the individual providing the education verifying the curriculum, an official ACT or SAT score, and any other information related to the student’s education.
Courses taken in the home school curriculum would be considered for admission purposes only. No credit will be given for university degree requirements unless one of the following applies:
- High school courses are completed through an accredited high school, college or university.
- The student successfully passes and completes a recognized exam program (i.e. CLEP)
If you do not meet the traditional admission requirements at the time of your graduation from high school, you may be considered for admission on an individual basis.
Transfer and Re-Entry Students
Transfer students that apply for admission must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0, plus good standing at the university most recently attended. If the GPA is less than 2.0, you will be considered for admission if more than five years have elapsed since the last attended school or two years if the last school you attended was UW-Platteville. You may petition in writing for an exception to the required five-year lapse of time. If you were on probation at the last institution that you attended, five years must have elapsed since the probationary status or two years if the last school you attended was UW-Platteville.
International Students
Demonstrate proficiency in English by taking the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL® Test) score to the Center for Distance Learning. A minimum score of 64 for the internet-based TOEFL is required of all international students whose native language is not English. If you have taken the TOEFL, you must request official evidence be sent from the testing agency directly to the Center for Distance Learning, indicating the date on which you took the examination and your score.
You may be excused from taking the TOEFL if you have demonstrated competence in English through courses taken at such institutions and have earned grades of B or higher in English composition courses and speech or two English composition courses. As an alternative, you may submit scores from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). You must have a band-level score of 5.5 or higher.
Sub-score Minimum TOEFL iBT (internet-based) IELTS
Reading 15 5.0
Listening 15 5.0
Speaking 17 5.0
Writing 17 5.0
Total Composite Minimum 64 5.5
Special Students
You can enroll as a Special Student for single course enrollment. You may enroll in a single course rather than a full degree for personal enrichment, to apply toward a certificate, if you plan on transferring the course to another institution, or if you want to start a course(s) while the admission process is completed.
As a special student you
- Can enroll in a maximum of 12 credits.
- Must meet prerequisites for courses. You may be asked to provide an unofficial transcript to show prerequisites.
- Are not obligated to follow specific degree requirements.
- Are not eligible for financial aid.
- May be admitted to a degree program after completing the admission process and any in-progress coursework. Check program requirements for more information.
To enroll for a single undergraduate course, review the complete list of online and print-based course offerings and complete the Special Student Application.
Bachelor of Science Degree
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Total for graduation | 120 | |
| General education | 44-58 | |
| Major studies | 36 | |
Criminal Justice Major B.S.
Students cannot double major in criminal justice and forensic investigation, but can major in one and minor in the other.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| General Requirements | ||
| On-Campus General Education | 40-53 | |
| Online General Education Requirements | ||
| Required Courses 1, 2, 3 | ||
| CRIMLJUS 1130 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | 3 |
| CRIMLJUS 2130 | Foundations of Policing | 3 |
| CRIMLJUS 2230 | Foundations of Corrections | 3 |
| CRIMLJUS 4030 | Criminal Law | 3 |
| CRIMLJUS 4930 | Criminal Justice Seminar | 3 |
| Theory 3 | 3 | |
| Select one of the following courses: | ||
| Criminology | ||
| Crime and Delinquency | ||
| Research Methods 3 | 3-9 | |
| Select one of the following options to complete the research methods requirement for the major: | ||
| Research Methods in Criminal Justice | ||
| Social Research | ||
Completion of all three of the following courses: | ||
| Introduction to Experimental Psychology | ||
| Behavioral Research I (or PSYCHLGY 3960) | ||
| Behavioral Research II (or PSYCHLGY 3970) | ||
| Electives 3 | 15 | |
| Select 15 credits from the list below: | ||
| U S Courts and the Criminal Justice System | ||
| Private Security Operations | ||
| Issues in Criminal Justice | ||
| Ethnicity, Race and Crime | ||
| White Collar Crime | ||
| Foundations of Interviewing | ||
| Police Ethics | ||
| Criminal Investigation | ||
| Comparative Criminal Justice Systems | ||
| Police Administration | ||
| Correctional Institutions | ||
| Juvenile Justice | ||
| Women, Gender, and Justice | ||
| Crime Prevention | ||
| Law of Corrections | ||
| Police-Community Relations | ||
| Community-Based Corrections | ||
| Criminal Procedure and Evidence | ||
| Issues in Criminal Justice Planning and Management | ||
| Directed Individual Studies | ||
| Social Welfare Policy | ||
| Social Work Practice with Communities, Organizations and Social Institutions | ||
| Current Topics In Criminal Justice | ||
| Honors in Criminal Justice Research | ||
| Victimology and Restorative Justice | ||
| Substance Abuse I: Theory and Assessment | ||
| Substance Abuse II: Intervention and Special Populations | ||
| Internship | ||
| Introduction to Crime Scene Investigation | ||
| Forensic Criminology | ||
| Research Methods in Forensic Investigation | ||
| Courtroom Testimony and Evidence | ||
| The Washington Center - The LEAD Colloquium | ||
| The Washington Center - Evening Topics Course | ||
| The Washington Center - CJ Internship | ||
| Total Credits | 76-95 | |
| 1 | In addition, all criminal justice majors must earn a “C-” or better in ENGLISH 1130 and ENGLISH 1230. |
| 2 | In addition to the social science requirements of the university, all criminal justice majors must either complete at least six credits each in psychology, sociology and political science; or complete a minor or second major in any discipline. |
| 3 | In addition, all criminal justice majors must earn a “C-” or better in each required and elective course. |
Supplemental Credits or Optional Minor (18-24 credits)
In addition to the social science requirements of the university, all criminal justice majors must either complete at least six credits each in psychology, sociology, and political science; or complete a minor or second major in any discipline.
Supplemental Credits (18 credits)
Supplemental credits can be taken in addition to courses taken to fulfill the social science credit.
Psychology (6 credits)
Sociology* (6 credits)
Political Science* (6 credits)
PSYCHLGY 1130 General Psychology is available through UW-Platteville. All other supplemental credit courses are not currently available through UW-Platteville's Distance Learning Program.
Business Administration Minor
At least 12 of the credits required for the business minor must be from UW-Platteville in order for the minor to be awarded.
Required Courses (12 credits)
ACCTING 2010 Financial Accounting
BUSADMIN 1300 Global Business
BUSADMIN 2330 Leadership and Management
BUSADMIN 2630 Introduction to Marketing
Elective Courses (12 credits)
BUSADMIN 2100 Supply Chain Management
BUSADMIN 2340 Business Analytics
BUSADMIN 3010 Business Communication (formerly MEDIA 3010)
BUSADMIN 3030 Human Resource Management
BUSADMIN 3100 Compensation Management
BUSADMIN 3110 Strategic Promotions Management
BUSADMIN 3120 Retailing
BUSADMIN 3130 Legal Environment of Business
BUSADMIN 3240 E-Commerce and E-Marketing in Today's World
BUSADMIN 3340 Management, Gender, and Race
BUSADMIN 3400 Personal Financial Planning
BUSADMIN 3500 Employee Training and Development
BUSADMIN 3530 Organizational Behavior
BUSADMIN 3540 Quality Management
BUSADMIN 3620 Corporate Finance
BUSADMIN 3640 Financial Systems Analysis
BUSADMIN 3650 International Finance
BUSADMIN 3700 Marketing Research
BUSADMIN 3710 Bank Management
BUSADMIN 3720 International Marketing
BUSADMIN 3740 Consumer Behavior
BUSADMIN 4120 Operations Management
BUSADMIN 4140 International Management
BUSADMIN 4160 Purchasing Management
BUSADMIN 4200 Employee Recruitment and Selection
BUSADMIN 4330 Labor-Management Relations
BUSADMIN 4630 Marketing Management
Check all courses for prerequisites.
Writing Proficiency Exam
Grading criteria for the writing proficiency exam will consist of:
- Content: awareness of purpose, focus, logic, length, redundancy, does not address topic/thesis
- Organization: logical order, coherence, unity
- Development: inadequate explanation, ineffective examples, insufficient details
- Paragraphing: too many or too few, inadequately developed, transitions needed
- Sentence Structure: fragments, comma splices, run-ons, awkwardness, wordy, lack of parallelism, lack of variety
- Diction: wrong word, slang, cliché
- Exactness: missing words, vague words, needless repetition of words
- Grammar: pronoun shift, tense shift, wrong verb, wrong pronoun, passive voice, subject/verb agreement, adjective/adverb error, pronoun/antecedent error
- Spelling: wrong word ending, incorrect form of words, misspelled words
- Mechanics: commas, capitals, apostrophes, semicolons, colons
Graduation Requirements:
1. Earn a minimum of 120 credits.
2. A minimum of 42 of the 120 credits must be upper-division credits (3,000 and 4,000 level).
3. A minimum of 32 of the 120 credits must be taken under the direction of UW-Platteville faculty.
4. Of the last 32 credits, 23 of them must be taken under the direction of UW-Platteville faculty.
5. A minimum of 18 credits with the CRIMLJUS prefix must be taken under the direction of UW-Platteville faculty.
6. No more than 72 credits may be transferred from any and all two-year lower-division college.
7. A grade of "C-" or better must be earned in courses taken with other institutions in order for courses to be considered for transfer.
8. A minimum GPA of 2.0 overall, as well as in any minor, must be maintained, and a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher in the major for work from UW-Platteville.
9. A grade of "C-" or better must be earned in each criminal justice core courses before moving onto the next criminal justice course.
10. Maintain degree progress by completing at least one UW-Platteville course every two years in order to remain under these catalog requirements. Failure to do so will result in discontinuation from the program.
11. These requirements are for the 2018-19 catalog; some requirements are subject to change without notice.
CRIMLJUS 1130 Introduction to Criminal Justice 3 Credits
A survey of the administration of Criminal justice, including the structural components of the criminal justice system and the stages of the criminal process from the detection of crime and arrest through prosecution, adjudication, sentencing and correctional intervention; emphasis upon analysis of decisions and practices within the context of the entire criminal justice system.
Components: Class
GE: Social Sciences
Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
CRIMLJUS 2130 Foundations of Policing 3 Credits
The roles and functions of police in a democratic society, including their responsibilities for peacekeeping, law enforcement and service; the police as part of the criminal justice system and as agents of municipal government; models and styles of police behavior.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CRIMLJUS 1130 with a "C-" or better
Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer,Fall/Summer
CRIMLJUS 2230 Foundations of Corrections 3 Credits
The theories, philosophies and practices of corrections; sentencing structures and their relationship to correctional objectives; the modes of correctional intervention.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CRIMLJUS 1130 with a "C-" or better
Typically Offered: Fall/Spring,Spring/Summer
CRIMLJUS 2630 Private Security Operations 3 Credits
A survey of the physical, personnel and informational aspects of the security field; concept of physical information and personnel security systems integrated with management systems; controls in regard to private, public and government owned complexes.
Components: Class
Typically Offered: Fall,Fall/Spring/Summer
CRIMLJUS 3130 Criminal Investigation 3 Credits
An introduction to the principles and procedures of criminal investigation, including the identification of physical and testimonial evidence, creation of hypotheses for the development of leads and documentation of findings.
Components: Discussion, Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CRIMLJUS 2130 with a "C-" or better and junior standing or junior standing and a Forensic Investigation Major
Typically Offered: Fall/Spring
CRIMLJUS 3330 Police Administration 3 Credits
Principles of police administration and organization; detailed analysis of police administration such as budgeting, personnel management, implementation of programs toward fulfillment of objectives and decision making.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CRIMLJUS 2130 with a "C-" or better and junior standing
Typically Offered: Fall/Spring,Spring/Summer
CRIMLJUS 3430 Criminology 3 Credits
The legal and behavioral classification of crimes and criminals based on analysis of the criminal career of the offender, group support of the behavior, society's reaction and the response of the legal system; analysis of crimes as systems of behavior: property, violent, professional organized, victimless, white-collar, conventional and political crime.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CRIMLJUS 2130 and CRIMLJUS 2230 with a "C-" or better in each and junior standing
Typically Offered: Fall/Spring
CRIMLJUS 3630 Juvenile Justice 3 Credits
Conceptions of juvenile delinquency; the juvenile offender in the juvenile justice system; the philosophy, structure and function of juvenile courts; legal rights of accused juveniles, correctional theories, and programs in juvenile institutions; methods and models of rehabilitating juvenile offenders and prevention of juvenile delinquency.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CRIMLJUS 2230 with a "C-" or better and junior standing
Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer,Fall/Summer
CRIMLJUS 3900 Research Methods in Criminal Justice 3 Credits
An introduction to research methods in criminal justice and criminology, with applications to both pure and applied research. The course provides a basic conceptual framework for understanding and interpreting criminal justice research as well as designing, conducting, and evaluating research projects.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CRIMLJUS 2130 and CRIMLJUS 2230 with a "C-" or better in each, MATH 1830 and junior standing or a Forensic Investigation major, MATH 1830 and junior standing
Typically Offered: Fall/Spring
CRIMLJUS 4030 Criminal Law 3 Credits
A study of the principles, doctrines and selected rules of criminal law; the sources of substantive criminal law and historical development of common law principles of criminal responsibility; constitutional constraints on the decision to define behavior as criminal.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CRIMJUS 2130 and CRIMJUS 2230 with a "C-" or better in each and junior standing; a forensic investigation major, CRIMLJUS 2130 with a "C-" or better and junior standing
Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer,Fall/Summer
CRIMLJUS 4130 Police-Community Relations 3 Credits
Analysis of the interdependence of the police and community in maintaining order and controlling crime; theories of community and the community's role in the development of police systems; tension and conflict in police-community interaction; programs and strategies for improving the quality of police-community relations.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CRIMLJUS 2130 with a "C-" or better and junior standing
Typically Offered: Occasional,Fall/Summer
CRIMLJUS 4230 Community-Based Corrections 3 Credits
Community-based correctional programs; pre- and post-trial; a critical investigation of theories, practices and problems involved in pre-trial diversion, probation and parole.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CRIMLJUS 2230 with a "C-" or better and junior standing
Typically Offered: Occasional,Spring/Summer
CRIMLJUS 4330 Criminal Procedure and Evidence 3 Credits
A study of case law defining constitutional constraints on police behavior in the areas of arrest, search and seizure, interrogation, identification and investigation; rules on the exclusion of illegally seized evidence.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CRIMLJUS 1130 or FORENSIC 1320 and junior standing
Typically Offered: Spring,Fall/Spring
CRIMLJUS 4500 Directed Individual Studies 1-3 Credits
Supervised individual study of a topic selected by the student with staff approval.
Components: Independent Study
Cross Offering: FORENSIC 4500
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CRIMLJUS 1130 or FORENSIC 1320, Junior Standing, and Departmental Consent
Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
CRIMLJUS 4630 Current Topics In Criminal Justice 1-3 Credits
Current issues in criminal justice which may not warrant a permanent course. Course content will be announced each time the course is presented.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CRIMLJUS 1130 with a "C-" or better,P: CRIMLJUS 1130 with a "C-" or better and Junior Standing
Typically Offered: Fall/Spring
CRIMLJUS 4880 Internship 1-8 Credits
Enhancement of the educational experience through placement of a student with a governmental or private agency, emphasis place on integration of criminal justice theory and practice through field observations, practical experience, and extensive report writing, including submission of daily reports, administrative reports, and case reports.
Components: Field Studies
Cross Offering: FORENSIC 4880
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: 60 credits plus 12 upper division criminal justice/forensic investigation credits, an accumulated GPA of 2.50 and have passed the department's writing certification requirement
Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
CRIMLJUS 4930 Criminal Justice Seminar 3 Credits
Discussion and evaluation of problems in the contemporary criminal justice system; individual research and presentation of findings.
Components: Seminar
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CRIMLJUS 4030 with a "C-" or better, senior standing and have passed the department's writing certification requirement,P: FORENSIC 4020 or CRIMLJUS 4330 and senior standing and have passed the department's writing certification requirement
Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer