How to Become a Criminal Justice Major

Criminal Justice major is transitioning to a Pre-Major! This means that students can declare the major beginning with Spring 2025 admission. New applicants, including transfer students, must be admitted to Sac State before declaring the major.

Pre-Major Requirements

What are the prerequisites for the major?

Students who want to declare Criminal Justice as their major must complete the following prerequisite requirements:

  1. Overall GPA of 2.5 or higher.
  2. Completion of 45 units*
  3. All prerequisite coursework completed with a grade of C or better.

The prerequisite courses are:

*Students who are initially admitted to campus as freshmen are admitted to Sac State as Pre-majors into Criminal Justice.

Transfer students are also admitted as Pre-majors, but may become Criminal Justice majors via the eligibility form (link Qualtrics) process before beginning coursework at Sac State.

Declare Criminal Justice as Your Major

  1. Identify a semester that fits with your academic plan to declare Criminal Justice. Review the Academic Calendar for important dates.
  2. Complete ALL prerequisites! Prerequisite courses in-progress will not be accepted.
  3. Submit final, official transcripts from all colleges you have attended. See Transcript section. Do not submit multiple copies of your transcripts.
  4. Submit the Criminal Justice Major Eligibility Form. All fields must be filled out on the Eligibility Form and all official transcripts must be submitted in order for the Division of Criminal Justice to consider your file complete. Eligibility Forms are reviewed on a continuous basis, however, please keep in mind the processing time of your eligibility form in time for registration.
    *You must submit your Intent to Enroll (ITE) PRIOR to submitting the Criminal Justice Major Eligibility Form. If you submit your Eligibility Form without your ITE, we cannot process your change of major.     Visit the Admissions & Outreach website for transcript deadlines & other important dates.
  5. Once you have submitted the Eligibility Form, it will take 2-4 weeks to review and process your eligibility form. You will not be able to enroll in "Major Only" courses until your major change form has been processed. It is important that you plan accordingly.
  6. For eligible students, the Division of Criminal Justice will submit the Change of Major form to the Office of University Registrar on the student's behalf.Please allow a minimum of 14 business days for the form to be processed.

Advising: Pre-Major and Prospective Students

The Division of Criminal Justice advises all Pre-Major and Prospective students interested in Criminal Justice. Please visit their website for the drop-in hours and to schedule an appointment. You can email us directly at: crj-advising@csus.edu

Official Transcripts

Official transcripts must be in their sealed envelopes from the source. Opened transcripts or transcripts in personal envelopes will be considered unofficial.

Electronic

Transcripts may be sent electronically directly from the college/university you attended. Inquire at the college/university to check if the service is available. Official electronic transcripts can be sent from college/university to incomingtranscripts@csus.edu

Mail

Sacramento State
Admissions & Outreach
6000 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95819-6048

Drop Off

Admissions & Outreach
Welcome Center
(located by parking structure 5)
Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Which community college classes are equivalent to the prerequisites?

Articulation agreements, also called transfer agreements, exist between community colleges and Sacramento State to define equivalent course requirements. If you attended or plan to attend a California community college, you can check at ASSIST.org to help you find the articulated courses that meet the Sac State Criminal Justice requirements. We also have an Articulation Agreement document that lists of all the courses we accept from California community colleges.

What about transferring other college-level Criminal Justice courses?

If you attended an out-of-state college or have criminal justice coursework from another four-year institution, please be prepared to provide syllabi to Destiny Effiong, Criminal Justice Advising Coordinator, so that she may determine whether any substitutions may be made. Please understand that lower-division and community college courses cannot be substituted for upper-division course requirements at Sacramento State.

Can I reapply to the major if I'm not accepted the first time?

Yes, you can reapply if you were missing coursework or units, or needed to improve your GPA to qualify.

If your GPA is significantly lower than the minimum, it can be very difficult to improve if you have already completed a lot of units, as in the case of juniors and seniors. Destiny Effiong, Criminal Justice Advising Coordinator, will be happy to review your records and make suggestions that will help you reach your academic and career goals.

Can I minor in Criminal Justice?

No. Because we are an impacted program, we cannot offer a Criminal Justice minor at this time. It is indefinitely suspended. You may have seen a minor in a previous catalog. This was an error that has since been corrected.

There is a Forensic Investigations Minor (Fori) that is only offered to students majoring in Biological Science or Chemistry. For more information, see the Forensic Investigations Minor page.

I am a working student. Can I take classes online?

Our program does offer some classes in an online or hybrid format. You can also take take advantage of the CSU Fully Online program which lets you take one online course through any of the CSU's campuses at no additional cost. Many classes will still be in-person only though. You cannot complete the entire program online.

If you need a fully-online program, please see the Criminal Justice Degree Completion Program offered through the College of Continuing Education (CCE). This program is designed for working professionals who have completed their general education requirements and are ready to finish their baccalaureate degree. This program offers the same content and is taught by the same instructors. Students in this program earn a degree identical to the traditional program.