Important Announcement for Continuing Students in Fall 2008

Professor Jane Siegel, Chairperson
July 2008


Effective with the 2008-09 academic year, the department is changing the requirements for the major in criminal justice.  All new students entering Rutgers during the 2008-09 academic year and in subsequent years will be governed by these new requirements, as will any current students who declare a criminal justice major in 2008-09 or later.  See below for the requirements and a link to a worksheet to keep track of your progress in the major.

Current students who are already criminal justice majors and were following the requirements in effect through the 2007-08 academic year can elect to follow the new program as well.  If you wish to do so, you MUST contact Professor Siegel, the department chairperson - not your adviser - so that your Degree Navigator record can be modified to reflect the correct degree requirements.   Contact Professor Siegel after mid-August 2008, when the Degree Navigator system should be ready for these changes.Current students who opt to change their curricular requirements should inform their adviser when they meet with him or her.

Current students who have already completed the requirements under the old system or do not wish to switch do not need to notify anyone.  Your Degree Navigator record will  continue to reflect the requirements previously in effect.

The differences between the old and new curricular requirements are as follows:

  • Instead of needing 42 credits to complete the major, the new requirements call for 36 credits.
  • The following courses are no longer required:
    • 920:207 - Introduction to Sociology
    • A 3-credit course in multicultural or non-western courses from among the offerings in anthropology and sociology, and political science
    • A 3-credit course from the offerings of philosophy, political science, social work, or urban studies
  • 15 credits of approved crime or criminal justice-related electives from the offerings of criminal justice or sociology are now required.  The old requirement was 12 credits.
  • Students have been required to take either Race and Ethnicity (920:316) or Social Stratification (920:332).  A third option has been added: students can now satisfy this requirement by taking The Poor, Minorities and Justice (202:337).  If 202:337 is used to satisfy this requirement, it cannot also be counted towards the 15 credits of CJ electives
Please note that this change does not affect the total number of credits required for graduation, which remains at 120.  Also, all other requirements for the CJ major remain the same.

If you have questions about the new requirements, please contact Professor Siegel.  If you would like advice about whether to switch, please contact your adviser.  If you do not know who your adviser is, please check the list of assigned advisers available on our homepage:  http://sociology.camden.rutgers.edu/  If you have not been assigned an adviser, please contact Sherry Pisacano, our department secretary, who will assign one for you:  pisacano@camden.rutgers.edu or 225-6470.

Return to the major programs page.