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+--- Thread: Degree planning advice request (/Thread-Degree-planning-advice-request)
Degree planning advice request - outofcomfortzone - 03-28-2026
Hi all,
I was hoping to get some advice/thoughts on the path I should take moving forward. I had previously (after coming here, thank you again for the previous advice) planned to complete a criminal justice degree given my previous schooling. I had to take a rather lengthy pause due to unforeseen circumstances but I am ready to start back up (today). I have a fine job, but wanted to get a degree to build up my resume for future movement. Due to this being more of a 'check the box' I was rethinking of doing a more general degree that I can get quick/easy. I have been leaning towards doing UMPI BLS Management, as it seems like a good option for what I am looking for. If there are better options, I am all ears.
Your Location: US
Your Age: Mid 30s
What kind of degree do you want?: Possible BLS Management
Current Regional Accredited Credits:
- AJ 14 Criminal Law
- AJ 19 Intro into investigation
- AJ 101 Admin of Justice System
- AJ 102 Criminal Procedures
- PHIL 2 Intro into Logic
- ANTH 101 Intro to Physical Anthropology
- HED 100 Health and Wellnes
- PSY 101 General Psychology
- SOC 101 Intro to Sociology
- FSN 109 Basic Nutrition for health
- HIST 119 History of CA
- HUM 102 World Civ. since 1500
- CHEM 110 Chemistry and Society (4 credits)
- ENGL 101 Freshman Comp (4 credits)
- FILM 102 Hollywood and the American Film
Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: N/A
Any certifications or military experience?: No
Budget: Under $5K if possible
Commitments: Full time job, family
Dedicated time to study: 15-20 hrs per week
Timeline: Fast as possible
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: N/A
If UMPI BLS Management is the route, I believe I would need to complete the following for GE (Sophia) :
US Government
Spanish
Ethics
Intro to Stats
Human Biology
English comp II (I understand that many don't like the Sophia course, still deciding where to take that)
I get a little fuzzy on what would be needed to go towards the minor, and which of my current credits would count as electives.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Referencing:
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UMPI_!General_Education_Requirements_Roadmap
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UMPI_BLS_Management_Degree_Plan
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UMPI_Sophia_Transfer_Equivalents
RE: Degree planning advice request - slaterjack - 03-29-2026
I completed the BA in CJ at UMPI if you're still on the fence or have any questions.
RE: Degree planning advice request - outofcomfortzone - 03-29-2026
(03-29-2026, 12:56 AM)slaterjack Wrote: I completed the BA in CJ at UMPI if you're still on the fence or have any questions.
I'm still open to CJ, I just wanted to also be realistic about my approach given where I'm at in life.
Are you in a field where the degree sets you apart?
Did you find the coursework particularly hard?
RE: Degree planning advice request - slaterjack - 03-29-2026
For my goal I needed a BA in anything, so I chose what I was personally interested in because I wanted to enjoy the process and not dredd the work.
Most of the classes are similar. 3-5 milestones, which are usually 1-3 page papers, sometimes a project like a 1 min slideshow or something. The final's different, usually a paper anywhere from 4-7 pages. The final course is the capstone which was a lot of work, but paced out completely manageable. I actually finished the final capstone 2 weeks ahead of schedule.
I made a thread about it:
https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-UMPI-Criminal-Justice-BA-YourPace-Program-Completed
RE: Degree planning advice request - outofcomfortzone - 03-31-2026
(03-29-2026, 03:16 PM)slaterjack Wrote: For my goal I needed a BA in anything, so I chose what I was personally interested in because I wanted to enjoy the process and not dredd the work.
Most of the classes are similar. 3-5 milestones, which are usually 1-3 page papers, sometimes a project like a 1 min slideshow or something. The final's different, usually a paper anywhere from 4-7 pages. The final course is the capstone which was a lot of work, but paced out completely manageable. I actually finished the final capstone 2 weeks ahead of schedule.
I made a thread about it:
https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-UMPI-Criminal-Justice-BA-YourPace-Program-Completed
Thanks for that info, that is helpful.
You make it seem very doable. How long did it take you overall with how many hours per week or day? How was the English comp 2 class?
RE: Degree planning advice request - slaterjack - 03-31-2026
Well I really took my time so it was just over a year because I was super busy irl and wasn't pushing myself, I was only working on school probably 3 times a week for an hour or two, so very side hustle ish. I was afraid of both English courses but they turned out to be pretty easy and in fact I enjoyed doing them.
RE: Degree planning advice request - outofcomfortzone - 03-31-2026
That is good to know, that is something that I have been trying to read a lot about since I have been trying to decide where to take it.
I'm really now up in the air about which route to go, I may just do a little extra and minor in both. I am starting on Sophia now at least, I can finalize in a little bit I figure.
Thank you for the input here!
RE: Degree planning advice request - bjcheung77 - 04-04-2026
Make sure to transfer the max of 90 credits, mainly from ACE options such as Sophia.org, Study.com, etc. Once that has been transferred, you'll need to complete the 30 residency credits. Do the minor of choice and add the 4 classes that can go towards the MAOL later, if you ever wanted to do that in the future... https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/University_of_Maine_at_Presque_Isle
RE: Degree planning advice request - outofcomfortzone - 04-14-2026
Ok, I have landing on doing the BLS, Management with the ultimate goal of doing the MAOL program.
At Sophia, I have completed:
US Government
Ethics
Intro to Statistics
I believe I will still need the following for gen ed:
Spanish I
Human Biology
Visual Communication
Does that look about right?
I will being doing English Comp II at UMPI.
I thought I had this but I really started second guessing myself.
I also need to determine what courses I would need towards the management portion at Sophia.
(04-04-2026, 08:23 PM)bjcheung77 Wrote: Make sure to transfer the max of 90 credits, mainly from ACE options such as Sophia.org, Study.com, etc. Once that has been transferred, you'll need to complete the 30 residency credits. Do the minor of choice and add the 4 classes that can go towards the MAOL later, if you ever wanted to do that in the future... https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/University_of_Maine_at_Presque_Isle
This is the plan, thank you for that!!