Students wishing to major in criminal justice at BGSU must apply for admission to the program and meet admission requirements over and above those for the university. The application can be downloaded from this web-site. Applications are accepted at any time, although the deadline is the final day of classes BEFORE finals week in each term. Admission decisions are made at the end of Fall, Spring and Summer terms.

Click HERE to download the Application Form

Students can be admitted by meeting one of two criteria.  It is important to note that no matter what criteria a student meets, all students follow the same program check list of courses, see the same advisors and make the same progress toward graduation during both the freshman and sophomore years.  Therefore, students who are not admitted directly out of high school entering their freshman year are at no disadvantage.  Indeed, most students (over 95%) are admitted to the program after completing at least their freshman year. 

For admission directly out of high school, students need:

1. An ACT composite score of 24 or higher, and
2. A high school GPA of 3.0 or above (on a 4.0 scale)

For those who apply to the program after they have graduated from high school and have been (or are) enrolled in a college, the admission requirements are:

1. Completion of CRJU 210, Introduction to Criminal Justice, or its equivalent, with a grade of "C" or better,
2. The completion of at least 25 graded semester hours of college course work, and
3. A college GPA of 2.5 or better (based on all college course work) and a minimum 2.5 GPA at BGSU (if the student has taken any courses at BGSU).

REMEMBER, regardless of a person's status as a freshman, the course requirements, advising, and course scheduling are the same. Failure to be admitted to the Criminal Justice Program as a new freshman will have no impact on the courses taken or the expected graduation date.

Students gaining entrance to the program after the beginning of their junior year should be aware that completion of the program may not be possible in less than 2 additional years. This means that those students may have to stay at the university beyond the normal 4 years.

All Criminal Justice majors must maintain an overall GPA of 2.5 or better. Failure to do so will result in probation for one semester during which time the student GPA must be raised to the 2.5 minimum required for continued retention in the Program.  A 2.5 GPA is required for graduation with a degree in Criminal Justice.

Click HERE for a full description of the CRJU Admission Policies