Planning Tips for Your Major
Planning Tips for Your Major:
Avoid Surprises
All CJBS majors should read the CJBS Major Information Packet carefully, not only to be aware of requirements, but to make sure they plan ahead when it comes to taking the necessary prerequisites.
THIS IS A VERY SEQUENTIAL MAJOR, with a number of courses that build on each other, and being prepared will ensure that you don’t have any surprises!
- Be sure you establish the necessary math foundation as early as you can. If you have a MAT 105 (College Algebra) placement, you will need that course, and then MAT 108 (or MAT 141), before you can take the CJBS 250, CJBS 300, and CJBS 415 sequence. That is FIVE courses that must be taken one after the other, which translates to FIVE semesters. Please remember that every effort is made to offer these courses in winter and summer sessions as well as Fall and Spring, but even if you take advantage of those sessions, you will still need to do some careful planning.
- The Degree Audit is a helpful tool, but it can sometimes mislead students when it comes to Part 3 of the CJBS major requirements. Please see the CJBS Major Worksheet. Part 3 of the major requires THREE courses, one from each of the categories (Police, Law, Corrections), and TWO of these three courses must be at the 300 or 400 level. If you forget this and take a 200 level course in all of these areas, you will need to go back and take a 300 or 400 level course in two of them. Remember this rule so you don’t take courses that are unnecessary.
- Please note that a course can only meet ONE CJBS requirement. See the CJBS Major Worksheet. You’ll notice that COR 320 is on both the Part 2 Diversity list and the Part 3 Corrections list. If you take that course, you can choose which area you want it to meet, BUT IT CANNOT MEET BOTH. The Degree Audit will sometimes indicate that it can meet two requirements, but this is incorrect.