Western Carolina University

Transfer Guide

Western Carolina University
Criminal Justice, BS

Transfer Guide for Associate in Arts

2024-2025

Concentration(s): Administration of Justice
Delivery Method: Fully Online

Program Admission Notes:

Transfer students should apply to Western Carolina University at applynow.wcu.edu. A minimum 2.2 GPA is required for consideration, however, this does not guarantee admission. We recommend that you aim for an average cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above on 12+ hours of college credit for competitiveness with other incoming transfer applicants.

Please note that admission to the institution does not guarantee admission to specific programs, and some programs do require a supplemental application. Check the program website at WCU.edu for supplemental application details and instructions, or reach out to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at 828.227.7317.

Contact:

Advising Center
transferadvising@wcu.edu

Revised: May, 2024

College Level Foreign Language Requirements:

No foreign language requirement for this program.

Major-Specific Course Recommendations:

Students are encouraged to build the Community College course recommendations below into the associate degree to best prepare for the intended major.

Recommended CC Course Credit
Hours		 University Equivalent Associate Degree
Requirement Fulfilled		 University Requirement Fulfilled
CJC 111: Intro to Criminal Justice 3 CJ 150: Intro to CJ & Criminology Elective/Pre-Major Courses Required Course
PSY 150: General Psychology 3 PSY 150: General Psychology UGETC Social/Behavioral Sciences Suggested Course, General Education
MAT 152: Statistical Methods I 4 MATH 170: Applied Statistics & MATH 19A: Lower Level Electives UGETC Math Suggested Course, General Education
CJC 121: Law Enforcement Operations 3 CJ 320: Police in Society Elective/Pre-Major Courses Suggested Course
CJC 141: Corrections 3 CJ 340: Institutional Corrections Elective/Pre-Major Courses Suggested Course

Remaining Associate Degree Requirements:

In addition to major-specific course recommendations above, students should work with a community college advisor to select additional community college courses to fulfill the remaining associate degree requirements identified below.

Recommended CC Course Credit
Hours		 University Equivalent Associate Degree
Requirement Fulfilled		 University Requirement Fulfilled
ENG 111: Writing and Inquiry 3 ENGL 101: Writing and Rhetoric English Composition General Education
ENG 112: Writing/Research in the Disc 3 ENGL 202: Writing and Critical Inquiry English Composition General Education
COM 231: Public Speaking 3 COMM 201: Foundations of Communication UGETC Humanities/Fine Arts General Education
Student Choice/No Preference (Approved Course Options) 6 University Equivalencies UGETC Humanities/Fine Arts General Education
Student Choice/No Preference (Approved Course Options) 6 University Equivalencies UGETC Social/Behavioral Sciences General Education
Student Choice/No Preference (Approved Course Options) 4 University Equivalencies UGETC Natural Sciences General Education
Student Choice/No Preference (Approved Course Options) 14 University Equivalencies Additional General Education Courses General Education
ACA 122: College Transfer Success 1 ELEC 19A: Lower Level Electives Academic Transition Elective
Student Choice/No Preference (Approved Course Options) 5 University Equivalencies Elective/Pre-Major Courses Elective

Additional Information From Western Carolina University:

Declaration of a major in distance education Criminal Justice does not guarantee admission into the program. Admission includes a two-stage process, with admission into the university as the first stage and admission into the Criminal Justice program (Administration of Justice concentration) as a separate stage. In addition to the admission requirements listed above, distance-education requirements include the following:

  • A cumulative 2.00 GPA or better on all coursework at other colleges or universities
  • Completion of an Associate of Arts or an Associate of Science degree from a community college or completion of the “44 General Core” courses that satisfy the General Education/Liberal Studies requirement for a North Carolina community college
  • At least one year experience (documentable) in the criminal justice field

This program is for distance students only. Only students with a minimum one year of experience working in the criminal justice field are admitted to this program. Program requires applicants to be transfer students with either an AA, AS, or AAS (or at least 45-60 hours completed).

Remaining Bachelor’s Degree Requirements at University:

University Course Credit
Hours		 University Course Notes
Criminal Justice Core Requirements 13
  • CJ 185 - Majoring in Criminology and Criminal Justice Credits: 1
  • CJ 280 - Research Methods for Criminology & Criminal Justice Credits: 3
  • CJ 355 - Theories of Crime Credits: 3
  • CJ 380 - Statistical Analysis for Criminology & Criminal Justice Credits: 3
  • CJ 495 - Senior Seminar Credits: 3
Administration of Justice Concentration Core 9

Students should select three courses (nine hours) from the following:

  • CJ 305 - Social Justice and the Law Credits: 3
  • CJ 343 - Criminal Procedure and Judicial Process Credits: 3
  • CJ 434 - Legal Liability and Criminal Justice Personnel Credits: 3
  • CJ 439 - Criminal Justice Management Credits: 3
  • CJ 470 - Criminal Justice Policy Credits: 3
Administration of Justice Concentration Electives 9

Students should select three courses (nine hours) from the following:

  • CJ 322 - Stress Management in Criminal Justice Professions Credits: 3
  • CJ 358 - Computer Applications & Criminal Justice Credits: 3
  • CJ 363 - Geographic Information Systems in Criminal Justice Credits: 3
  • CJ 365 - Cyber Crimes Credits: 3
  • CJ 385 - Issues in Correctional Treatment Credits: 3
  • CJ 425 - Police Practices and Problems Credits: 3
  • CJ 438 - Minorities, Crime and Social Policy Credits: 3
  • EDM 350 - Cyber Terrorism Credits: 3
  • EDM 352 - Disaster and Crime Credits: 3
  • EDM 358 - Vulnerable Populations and Emergency and Disaster Management Credits: 3
  • EDM 360 - Asset Protection & Critical Infrastructure Credits: 3
  • EDM 400 - Missing Persons and Search and Rescue Credits: 3
  • EDM 406 - Incident Management Systems Credits: 3
  • EDM 410 - Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Emergency and Disaster Management Credits: 3
  • EDM 435 - Homeland Security Credits: 3
  • EDM 457 - Terrorism Credits: 3
Criminal Justice Electives 15

Take 15 hours of major elective courses and/or additional hours in the Concentration Core or the Concentration Electives. Six hours of credit earned by completion of Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) can be used to partially satisfy this requirement.  A maximum of 9 credit hours from EDM can be applied to the Concentration Electives or the Criminal Justice Electives.
General Electives 30

To complete 120 hours, students may need to take additional General Electives (the number depends on how many Liberal Studies courses also count toward the major).