Incomplete B.S Bio to B.A CJ

[fthlee08]

So I was going to school in person at an expensive Wesleyan college and had to drop out due to personal and financial issues. I decided to finish online in something I truly want while working Full Time. I was wondering what classes might be best for me since I am bringing in a bunch of college credits. I have looked at the Wiki for CJ but I'm still confused lol. So for a quick summary of what I have:

• All standard GEC including: 
  Comp I and II, Speech, Music and Art Appreciation (one course), Alg and Trig (one course), American History, and Intro to Comp
• 39 Biology Credits
  
• 9 Religion/Bible Credit
  

In total, I have 120 Credits with a 1.7 GPA. Honestly, anything I can do to finish in one or two sessions will be great. I am ready to start on Study, Sophia, or Instacert to finish my degree by the end of the year. THANKS!

[bjcheung77]

@fthlee08, Welcome to the board, I recommend providing a bit more details as an overview of your situation, in regards to your post, that's a short and sweet introduction to start the conversation and get the ball rolling... However, it's missing a few things within the template/last post addendum here:  https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

If you have upper level Biology requirements and you want to continue in Biology, the TESU Bio may be an option for you.  My question is, did you take any language courses or do you know another language?  I ask because UMPI requires a language class (or two if you're doing the History degree - which you're not).  With a bigger picture, we'll know your overall situation and be able to advise and guide you better...

[PrettyFlyforaChiGuy]

Any chance it was Wesleyan College in Macon? Their admissions officer just came to speak to our students, who only perked up when she mentioned the horses on campus.

If you want CJ, UMPI's YourPace program could be a good choice. You can transfer in many CJ courses from SDC. You'd still need to take at least 30 credit hours at UMPI, no matter what program you pursue. Keep in mind that their CJ program requires a capstone project at some sort of criminal/social justice organization.

[dfrecore]

List your courses:

Course #, full course name, number of credits, grade if less than a C
don't include any F grades

This way, we can tell you if UMPI is your best bet, or if there might be a better fit elsewhere. We can also tell you what you need to complete the CJ degree at UMPI.

[ss20ts]

You need to list out your courses. There's no such thing as a standard GEC. Every school has its own gen ed reqs. UMPI requires multiple sciences and a foreign language which trips up a lot of people.

Your low GPA may be an issue as you're below academic standards which is typically a 2.0 GPA. You may have to take a few classes at UMPI prior to being granted regular admission. Some else on here just went through this so it's not like UMPI says nope your GPA is too low go away. They give you a chance which many schools won't do unfortunately.

Do you already work in law enforcement? I ask because one of the courses requires a 100 hours externship type of thing. Many students struggle to find a place to do their 100 hours unless they're already in LE. UMPI doesn't help you find the externship. It's up to you to provide it. Something to consider if you go this route.

InstaCert is gone so forget that. Sophia is all you'll need for UMPI. You must complete a minimum of 30 credits at UMPI.

[fthlee08]

Hey, thank you guys, so much! So to clarify I realized after a couple years that I wanted to do forensic psychology instead of Biology so I believe getting a bachelor's in Criminal Justice would be best since it is difficult to get a job with a psych bachelors. I don't have any law enforcement experience. I currently just do admin work at a hospital. At one point I was a media minor so I have a ton of free electives. Also, my Wesleyan school was in South Carolina. I'm not sure if that helps. So here is a more detailed list of my classes:

General Education
CPSC 1103: Intro to Computers (B; 3 credits)
RELG 2403: Basic Christian Beliefs (B-; 3 credits)
SEMR 2323: Foundations for Success (B+; 3 credits)
ASTH 2053: Music and Art Appreciation (B+; 3 credits)
BIBL 1013: Old Testament Survey (C; 3 credits)
BIBL 1023: New Testament Survey (C; 3 credits)
ENGL 1003: Freshman Composition I (C; 3 credits)
ENGL 1013: Freshman Composition II (C; 3 credits)
ENGL 2103: Speech Communication (C+; 3 credits)
MATH 1024: Algebra and Trigonometry (C-; 4 credits)
HIST 2013: American History II (C; 3 credits)
PSYC 2003: General Psychology (C-; 3 credits)

Biology Major
BIOL 1004: General Biology Molecular (C-; 4 credits)
BIOL 1014: General Biology Organismal (C; 4 credits)
CHEM 1004: General Chemistry I (C-; 4 credits)
CHEM 1054: General Chemistry II (C; 4 credits)
SEMR 2021: Cornerstone Natural Science Seminar (P; 1 credit)
SEMR 2051: Science Literacy (C; 1 credit)
SEMR 4501: Natural Science Capstone Seminar (P; 1 credit)
BIOL 3104: Microbiology (C; 4 credits)
BIOL 3454: Cellular and Molecular Biology (C-; 4 credits)
BIOL 3204: Anatomy and Physiology I (C-; 4 credits)
BIOL 3214: Anatomy and Physiology II (C-; 4 credits)
BIOL 3404: Physiology of Behavior (C-; 4 credits)

Free electives
COMM 1003: Intro to Communication Studies (A-; 3 credits)
COMM 1203: History of Media (A-; 3 credits)
COMM 3063: Media & Communication Theory (A; 3 credits)
COMM 3153: Reporting (A-; 3 credits)
RECR 4003: First Aid and CPR (A; 1 credit)
MATH 2504: Calculus I (D; 3 credits)

[bjcheung77]

@fthlee08, great job. So I was correct, you're missing the language course. Are you firm on BACJ or are you more into say a BACJ and adding a minor or two in Biology/Psychology? It really depends on you, and the missing info on the template/addendum. My suggestion at this time is to complete all the Sophia.org classes that you're missing for the General Education requirements and complete the remaining required CJ classes at UMPI.

[dfrecore]

The bad news is you have no CJ coursework; the good news is, you have a lot of credit from an RA school.  Here are 3 options that are NOT CJ, just in case you want "ANY" degree and then maybe want to get a CJ degree afterwards (or a master's, or a specialized undergrad or post-grad certificate):
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TESU BALS - you have 92cr, including most of the GE, most free electives, all UL in the AoS, and possibly most LL in the AoS
Courses needed
1) a Diversity course (like Sociology, World Religions, or World Geography)
2) an Ethics course
3) a Civic Engagement course (like American Government)
4) 12cr of 200-level coursework in Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Science/Math
5) 1cr of Free Electives
*this all assumes that the courses I show in your AoS are 200-level, which they may not be, in which case you'd need a few extra courses
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Excelsior BLS - you have 89cr, including most of your GE, all of your UL
Courses needed
1) an Ethics course
2) a Social Science course
3) 22cr of Free Electives
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UMPI BLS - you have 89cr, including most of your GE, your Free Electives, and tons of UL
Courses needed
2D) a hands-on creative course (best taken at UMPI)
5A) a Diverse World Views course (like Sociology or World Geography)
5C) a Foreign Language course
5D) an Ethics course
5E) a Civic Knowledge course (like American Gov)
9 courses from UMPI, 6 of which will be in the concentration/minor
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If you still want a CJ degree, here are the options that I can see:

TESU BA in CJ - you have 92cr, including most of the GE, most free electives, all UL in the AoS, and possibly most LL in the AoS
Courses needed
1) a Diversity course (like World Religions or World Geography, save Sociology for the AoS)
2) an Ethics course
3) a Civic Engagement course
4) required courses for the AoS
- CJ 101: Intro to Criminal Justice (SDC)
- CJ 104: Intro to Criminology (SDC)
- CJ 305: The Juvenile Justice System (SDC-UL)
- CJ 306: Research Methods in CJ (SDC-UL)
- Intro to Law Enforcement (DSST exam)
5) CJ Electives (3 courses, 1 of which is UL)
- CJ 301: White Collar Crime (SDC-UL) or CJ 381: Victimology (SDC-UL)
- CJ 106: Forensic Science
- CJ 107: Criminal Law
6) SOC Electives (3 courses)
- SOC 101: Intro to Sociology (SDC)
- SOC 305: Sociology of Work (SDC-UL)
- SOC-210: Marriage & the Family (TECEP Exam)
7) a 16cr term at TESU which includes:
- Courts & Criminal Procedures
- Intro to Corrections
- Ethics in CJ
- Cornerstone
- Capstone
- a 1cr course
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UMPI BA in CJ - you have 89cr, including most of your GE, your Free Electives, and tons of UL
Courses needed
2D, 5A, 5C, 5D, 5E
8 courses from SDC that will transfer into the major
8 courses from UMPI in the major
And you'd still have to figure out how to get the Field Experience, which could be rather difficult to do
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And if you wanted to get a degree in Psych, TESU has one that's available via alt-credit.  You could do a combined CJ/Psych degree as well, although that would add a LOT of courses to your situation, which I don't necessarily advise.

And CSU-Global has a degree in CJ, with a Degree Specialization in Criminology, which might be a good thing to look at.  Closest thing to Forensic Psychology that I can see.

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Last, SNHU has a Bachelor's and a Master's in Forensic Psychology.

[ss20ts]

Or get a bachelor's degree in liberal arts and then a master's in forensic psychology.

[dfrecore]

Or get a bachelor's degree in liberal arts and then a master's in forensic psychology.

I'd lean that way too, except that the Master's in Forensic Psych is $22k, while the bachelor's could come in at around $10k.

I think it really depends on what the job you want requires - if you have to get a master's to get into the job, then I agree with ss20ts.  But if you just need a bachelor's degree, then it would behoove you to spend a bit more on the bachelor's (more expensive than UMPI, EU, and TESU) and get the bachelor's that will help most in your career.