BS Criminal Justice & Criminology

The Bachelor of Science (BS) in Criminal Justice and Criminology (CJC) introduces students to theories of criminal behavior, concepts of justice, and all aspects of contemporary criminal justice systems, while giving them a strong background in the liberal arts.

Students majoring in criminal justice and criminology are required to complete a total of 12 criminal justice and criminology courses, totaling 36 credit hours in addition to the required courses identified by Loyola University Chicago for students to receive a BS degree from the university.

Students are required to take the following three (3) CJC courses:

  • CJC 101 Criminal Justice in a Global Context
  • CJC 201 Theories of Criminal Behavior
  • CJC 205 Research Methods

Students are required to take any two (2) of the following courses:

Students must take six (6) elective courses from CJC 200- or 300- level courses. A list of available undergraduate courses can be found in our Undergraduate Course Descriptions

Students also must take a statistics course; they may take CJC 206 (Statistics) or a comparable course in sociology, psychology, or statistics. If students take CJC 206, 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.

Double majors in CJC/Sociology or CJC/Psychology may also fulfill the research methods requirement by taking the research methods equivalent in Sociology or Psychology; in such cases, students then will need to complete seven (7) CJC elective courses.

Students also must complete a capstone requirement by taking either CJC 399 Capstone Course OR CJC 390 Capstone Experience Internship. With the approval of the department, qualified students may also complete CJC 391 Capstone Research.