BS/MA Five Year Program

The BS/MA program enables high achieving undergraduate majors to begin fulfilling requirements for a master's degree while completing the bachelor's degree. The program is designed so that students may complete their MA degree in one year after graduating with their BS degree rather than the traditional two years of study. BS/MA students will have more challenging courses during their senior year of study and will have broader career opportunities after completing the MA degree. Successful students have obtained desired careers, gained admission to law schools, or gained admission to PhD programs.

Loyola undergraduates with an overall GPA of 3.5 may apply for our combined BS/MA program in their junior year. Fall admitted BS/MA students will take 4 graduate (400 level) classes in their senior year that will count toward both their BS degree and their MA degree. Spring admitted BS/MA students will take 2 graduate (400 level) classes in their senior year that will count toward both degrees. Students should save their CJC electives so that graduate-level CJC courses can count as CJC electives in the major. Therefore, up to 15- of the 30-credit hours needed to successfully complete the MA degree will be completed during the student's senior year. After graduating with their BS degree (during year five), students will take the remaining 6 courses as a full-time graduate student.

CURRICULUM

Once enrolled in the BS/MA program, admitted students can enroll in up to 15-credit hours during their senior year. The Master of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice requires 30-credit hours of coursework, consisting of 5 required courses (including a culminating experience) and 5 elective courses. In order to demonstrate cumulative proficiency, students are required to pass either Applied Research in Criminal Justice & Criminology or complete a thesis. By default, all students are placed in the non-thesis option unless they select and are approved for the thesis option.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
BS Required Courses
CJC 101	Criminal Justice in a Global Context	3
CJC 201	Theories of Criminal Behavior	3
CJC 205	Research Methods 1	3
Select two of the following:		6
CJC 202	Criminal Courts
CJC 203	Policing
CJC 204	Corrections
CJC 323	Criminal Procedure
Elective Courses		18
Select six (6) electives from CJC 200- or 300-level courses, as well as a statistics course in the Sociology, Psychology, or Statistics Department 2,3
OR
Select five (5) electives from CJC 200- or 300-level courses 2,3
CJC 206	Statistics
Capstone
CJC 399	Senior Capstone 4	3
or CJC 390	Capstone Experience Internship
MA Required Courses
CJC 401	Politics and Policies in the Criminal Justice System	3
CJC 402	Theories of Criminal Behavior	3
CJC 403	Research Methods and Program Evaluation 5	3
CJC 404	Applied Data Analysis and Interpretation 5	4
Culminating Experience Course 7
CJC 408	Applied Research in Criminal Justice & Criminology 5	2
or CJC 501	Thesis Research
Select Five Electives 6		15
CJC 415	Mental Illness and Crime
CJC 416	International Criminal Justice
CJC 499	Independent Study
CJC 502	Practicum in Criminal Justice
Variable Topics Electives - Maximum of 3 in each area
CJC 410	Advanced Topics in Criminology
CJC 411	Advanced Topics in Policing
CJC 412	Advanced Topics in Courts
CJC 413	Advanced Topics in Corrections
CJC 414	General Special Topics
Total Hours		51

¹

Students double-majoring in Sociology/CJC or Psychology/CJC may also fulfill the research methods requirement in Sociology or Psychology; in such cases, students then will need to complete seven (7) CJC elective courses.

²

A list of available undergraduate courses can be found in our Undergraduate Course Descriptions.

³

If students take CJC 206 Statistics, then they only need to complete five (5) CJC elective courses; however, if students fulfill the statistics requirement in another department, then they will need to complete six (6) CJC elective courses.

⁴

With the approval of the department, qualified students may also complete CJC 391 Capstone Experience Research 

⁵

Student must earn a grade of B or better in order to graduate (a B- or below will not fulfill this requirement), and class must be repeated if grade below a B is earned.

⁶

In consultation with the Graduate Program Director, students may select graduate-level electives among those offered within the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology as well as from other programs such as Social Work, Psychology, Women's Studies and Gender Studies, Public Policy, or Sociology.

⁷

Students choosing the thesis track will complete a research thesis and take CJC 501 Thesis Research, while students who choose a non-thesis option will complete a major research paper and take CJC 408 Applied Research in Criminal Justice & Criminology.

Guidelines for Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Programs

Terms

• Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s programs: In this type of program, students share limited credits between their undergraduate and graduate degrees to facilitate completion of both degrees.  
• Shared credits: Graduate level credit hours taken during the undergraduate program and then applied towards graduate program requirements will be referred to as shared credits.

Admission Requirements

Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s programs are designed to enhance opportunities for advanced training for Loyola’s undergraduates. Admission to these programs must be competitive and will depend upon a positive review of credentials by the program’s admissions committee. Accordingly, the admission requirements for these programs may be higher than those required if the master’s degree were pursued entirely after the receipt of a bachelor’s degree. That is, programs may choose to have more stringent admissions requirements in addition to those minimal requirements below.

Requirements:

• Declared appropriate undergraduate major,
• By the time students begin taking graduate courses as an undergraduate, the student has completed approximately 90 credit hours, or the credit hours required in a program that is accredited by a specialty organization,¹
• A minimum cumulative GPA for coursework at Loyola that is at or above the program-specific requirements, a minimum major GPA that is at or above the program-specific requirements, and/or appropriate designated coursework for evaluation of student readiness in their discipline.²

Students not eligible for the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program (e.g., students who have not declared the appropriate undergraduate major) may apply to the master’s program through the regular admissions process. Students enrolled in an Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program who choose not to continue to the master’s degree program upon completion of the bachelor’s degree will face no consequences.³

Ideally, a student will apply for admission (or confirm interest in proceeding towards the graduate degree in opt-out programs) as they approach 90 credit hours. Programs are encouraged to begin advising students early in their major so that they are aware of the program and, if interested, can complete their bachelor’s degree requirements in a way that facilitates completion of the program. Once admitted as an undergraduate, Program Directors should ensure that students are enrolled using the plan code associated with the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program. Using the plan code associated with the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program will ensure that students may be easily identified as they move through the program. Students will not officially matriculate into the master’s degree program and be labeled as a graduate student by the university, with accompanying changes to tuition and Financial Aid (see below), until the undergraduate degree has been awarded. Once admitted to the graduate program, students must meet the academic standing requirements of their graduate program as they complete the program curriculum.

¹

Programs that have specialized accreditation will adhere to the admissions criteria provided by, or approved by, their specialized accreditors.

²

The program will identify appropriate indicators of student readiness for graduate coursework (e.g., high-level performance in 300 level courses). Recognizing differences between how majors are designed, we do not specify a blanket requirement.

³

If students choose not to enroll in the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program, they still must complete all of the standard requirements associated with the undergraduate degree (e.g., a capstone).

For more information on Admissions requirements, visit here.

Curriculum

Level and progression of courses. The Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s programs are designed to be competitive and attractive to our most capable students. Students admitted to Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s programs should be capable of meeting graduate level learning outcomes. Following guidance from the Higher Learning Commission, only courses taken at the 400 level or higher (including 300/400 level courses taken at the 400 level) will count toward the graduate program.^1,2  Up to 50% of the total graduate level credit hours, required in the graduate program, may come from 300/400 level courses where the student is enrolled in the 400 level of the course. Further, at least 50% of the credit hours for the graduate program must come from courses that are designed for and restricted to graduate students who have been admitted to a graduate program at Loyola (e.g., enrolled in plan code that indicates the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program, typically ending with the letter “D”).³

In general, graduate level coursework should not be taken prior to admission into the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program. Exceptions may be granted for professional programs where curriculum for the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program is designed to begin earlier. On the recommendation of the program’s Graduate Director, students may take one of their graduate level courses before they are admitted to the Accelerated Bachelors/Master’s program if they have advanced abilities in their discipline and course offerings warrant such an exception.⁴ Undergraduate degree requirements outside of the major are in no way impacted by admission to an Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program.⁵

Shared credits. Undergraduate courses (i.e., courses offered at the 300 level or below) cannot be counted as shared credits nor count towards the master’s degree. Up to 50% of the total graduate level credit hours, required in the graduate program, may be counted in meeting both the undergraduate and graduate degree requirements. Of those shared credits, students in an Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program should begin their graduate program with the standard introductory course(s) for the program whenever possible. So that students may progress through the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program in a timely manner, undergraduate programs are encouraged to design their curriculum such that a student can complete some required graduate credit hours while completing the undergraduate degree. For instance, some of the graduate curriculum should also satisfy electives for the undergraduate major.

The program’s Graduate Director will designate credit hours to be shared through the advising form and master’s degree conferral review process. Shared credit hours will not be marked on the undergraduate record as having a special status in the undergraduate program. They will be included in the student’s undergraduate earned hours and GPA. Graduate credit hours taken during the undergraduate program will not be included in the graduate GPA calculation.

¹

If students wish to transfer credits from another university to Loyola University Chicago, the program’s Graduate director will review the relevant syllabus(es) to determine whether it meets the criteria for a 400 level course or higher.

²

Programs with specialized accreditation requirements that allow programs to offer graduate curriculum to undergraduate students will conform to those specialized accreditation requirements.

³

In rare cases, the Graduate Director may authorize enrollment in a 400-level course for a highly qualified and highly motivated undergraduate, ensuring that the undergraduate's exceptional participation in the graduate class will not diminish in any way the experience of the graduate students regularly enrolled.

⁴

For example, if a particular course is only offered once every 2-3 years, and a student has demonstrated the necessary ability to be successful, the Graduate Director may allow a student to take a graduate level course to be shared prior to the student being formally admitted to the graduate program. See, also, footnote 3.

⁵

Students should not, for example, attempt to negotiate themselves out of a writing intensive requirement on the basis of admission to a graduate program.

Graduation

Degrees are awarded sequentially. All details of undergraduate commencement are handled in the ordinary way as for all students in the School/College/Institute. Once in the graduate program, students abide by the graduation deadlines set forth by the graduate program. Students in these programs must be continuously enrolled from undergraduate to graduate degree program unless given explicit permission by their program for a gap year or approved leave of absence. In offering the option of an Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program, the university is making possible the acceleration of a student’s graduate degree completion. It should be understood that students may not request deferral of their matriculation into the Master’s degree program. If students would like to delay their graduate studies after earning the undergraduate degree, they may apply for admission to the traditional master’s degree program. Any application of graduate credit earned while in the undergraduate program is subject to the policies of the graduate degree granting school.

Learning Outcomes

• Provide students with a broad liberal arts background, with stimulating and challenging courses pertinent to the study of criminal justice and criminology.
• Give students the awareness and appreciation of group similarities and differences, especially those relating to culture and race, and to ethics, norms, and values.
• Help students develop theoretical and practical knowledge of the structures, processes, and functions of the criminal justice system, always stressing its links and interdependence with other institutions in the social system.
• Provide students with an understanding of criminological theory and how these apply to criminal justice policy and practice.
• Offer students the opportunity to test their interests and abilities in criminal justice fields through controlled involvement in the form of agency visits, field experience, and research.
• Help prepare students for professional service in a wide range of careers in criminal justice.
• Enable talented students to enter confidently into graduate or professional school programs in criminal justice, law, social work, or any of the social sciences.