Most Popular Majors

[sanantone]

Biology and psychology majors are often students who hope to get into medical school. Medical school hopefuls who major in psychology instead of biology tend to choose psyc in the hopes that the courses are easier and more likely to result in a higher GPA.

My sister majored in psychology because she was interested in becoming a psychiatrist. Just by being on the premed track at her university, she ended up with a minor in biology.

Yep. You're totally right. Like I said, some of the police forces here do require a degree. The Sheriff department in our county does and it newly stated policy. But, most still do not and will not require it. Like you said, the AA can be in anything. It can be in General/Liberal Studies not CJ for those getting on the force. I think it’s more so that you have the proper English writing, critical thinking, and math skills down. CJ is just popular because it introduces into some areas of criminal justice. The bachelors degree in law enforcement are for those wanting to get into more heavy advanced stuff such as maybe narcotics investigations, homicide detective, and that likes that require heavy training/education. I guess some paralegals take the same route with CJ. Outside of that, there's not really a lot going for it. What you said about Business Administration is so true. We have so many students in the L.A. area majoring in Business. The business courses max out within a few days of open registration. Even the waiting list’s max out. I would guess to say someone with say a Business degree with a concentration on accounting or marketing or even business communication would stand out far better than general business studies. Unless you’re already working at an established business or have a regular job, and getting degree just to advance up or get better pay (like myself) it’s fine. But the teenagers fresh out of high school for them the business administration degree is becoming the new high school diploma in the sense almost everyone has it, and there’s nothing unique or competitive about it anymore. Economics seems also be a popular major amongst those getting into mortgage banking. A degree is a degree. Better something than nothing. My mom wanted met to major in Business. The AA Business degree here was designed for people getting into market trading, loans, stocks, business admin. Stuff I wasn’t into as outside of office management, I had no desire to work on Sunset Blvd working the trade houses lol.

Interesting because some of the businesses even our school district don’t require your degree to be in business. As you long as you have a degree in something, because they train you on their systems and their own way’s of conducting business, and require frequent one day training classes at the district office.

But, yes, CJ is one of those degrees. Some people think you HAVE TO have a degree in Liberal Studies to be a teacher. Although the degree is designed to meet certain state requirements and to help pass CSET, one can major in anything and take an alternate route to teaching. Interesting because someone with a single subject major (BA: History, BA: Psychology, MA: Mathamatics, BA: English Lit) can take in teaching positions if they pass CSET and Single Subject exam and get certified to teach in the high schools. But, none of our Jr and Sr High Schools have classes that teach “Criminal Justice” or “Law”.

I'm completely okay with people studying CJ if they are interested in it and know its limitations. From my personal experience and talking to professors and teaching assistants in my PhD program, a lot of students expect CJ programs to be like the police academy. They get bored and complain when they discover that it's mostly sociology theories.

With your rant on CJ in mind I really wanted to beat my own commander education-wise, but seeing as how I'm on the General Business track too I don't really feel much better for it lol (other than beating him in the time it took to get my degree). Other than having a better shot at my commissioning plans (including specific ones), I'm not too sure what my degree will be good for, but at this point I'll take the any degree option that the USAF will pay for vs. none at all. AACSB will hopefully help.

Also amuses me, now that I've reviewed my commander's educational history, that he promptly didn't bother with CJ, and went with an MA in MIS a few years after (that he most likely paid out of pocket for).

All in all, I'm glad all of you here at this forum keep me grounded and informed with what's going on in the outside world.

A plain business administration degree definitely has more flexibility than a CJ degree. There are so many jobs across so many fields that require or have a preference for this degree. It's just that you're going to have a lot of competition. Psychology at the undergrad level sort of has the same problem. Psychology is often asked for in the social services and CJ occupations, but not only do psychology graduates have to compete with all of the people with psychology degrees, but they also have to compete with people who have degrees in similar fields. However, it's a misconception that there are no jobs that ask for a bachelor's degree in psychology. That couldn't be further from the truth.

[cookderosa]

Exactly! This was very common at one of the brick and mortar schools that I attended. So much so that a B.S in psychology required as much science courses as a Biology degree. Many would find themselves in the same situation, due to all the science requirements, along with all the psychology labs that were required.

Some schools still do this. I've found some colleges offer both. Honestly, I've taken enough graduate level biology AND psychology to feel sorry for the chap who had to take the whole premed sequence but will spend his entire career looked down upon by anyone with a science degree.