Undergraduate Degrees & Minor in Criminal Justice

Help Protect Our Communities: Earn a BS in Criminal Justice

Our world needs well-trained and competent criminal justice professionals who understand our complex legal system and are able to communicate effectively.

Through Bridgewater State University’s undergraduate and bachelor’s in criminal justice programs, gain a comprehensive understanding of the criminal justice process and a broad overview of criminology. BSU’s Department of Criminal Justice offers a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, a BS in criminal justice with a victimology degree concentration and a criminal justice minor.

Our undergraduate and bachelor’s in criminal justice programs put a unique emphasis on social justice and other topics that impact policing, corrections and the court system. When you graduate with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, you will have the expertise to lead, protect and serve in this ever-growing and rapidly changing profession.

Criminal Justice Program Highlights

BSU research symposium with students presenting posters on their research

Challenge yourself with cutting-edge research

BSU faculty members take on leading research initiatives involving immigration and crime, gang violence reduction and cybercrime. Whether you pursue Bridgewater’s bachelor’s in criminal justice degree or minor, you will be able to join a research project or pursue one of your own through independent study.

BSU female student interning with local police department shown at dispatch desk

Gain real-world work experience

Get expertise in the criminal justice field through an internship, part-time job or job shadowing experience. With strong ties to local partners, we connect you to a variety of opportunities that will enhance your studies in criminal justice. Our BS in criminal justice students have interned at probation and police departments, the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, law offices, victim service agencies and more.

Dr. Mia Ortiz smiling and speaking to a class in front of a white board

Get the support you need

As a student in BSU’s bachelor’s degree in criminal justice programs, you will have a faculty adviser who is available to discuss your academic and career path, plan program coursework, survey job prospects and help you earn your degree. You will always have the guidance and support you need to succeed within BSU’s bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and beyond.

Join a criminal justice student group

BSU’s Criminal Justice Student Organization hosts events and promotes programming that helps advance crime prevention efforts. These experiences give our students in the minor or bachelor’s in criminal justice program a chance to put their knowledge into action and impact communities at local, state and national levels.

A community that will help you excel

Our Community Advisory Board brings together leaders in the criminal justice system throughout Southeastern Massachusetts who are strong advocates of BSU’s Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice program. These professionals — community activists, nonprofit leaders and government officials — help criminal justice students with internships, employment opportunities and research pursuits.

Cutting-edge cyber lab

BSU’s Department of Criminal Justice recently added space to help administer cybersecurity training for students in our bachelor’s degree in criminal justice program and professionals throughout Southeastern Massachusetts.

Flexibility to learn on your schedule

BSU’s College of Continuing Studies gives you maximum flexibility to complete your degree. The BS in criminal justice program may be taken on Bridgewater’s main campus during the day, or you may pursue your degree at night or online. Our night and online programs follow the same requirements and curriculum as our day program, and many of our faculty members teach during the day as well as at night and online.

Earn your law degree

BSU now has a 3+3 program in partnership with UMass Law. Through this accelerated program, you may complete your bachelor's degree in criminal justice at Bridgewater and your JD law degree at UMass Law in a total of six years, instead of the usual seven.

Program of Study for Criminal Justice Majors and Minors

Program courses vary depending on whether you’re taking on the bachelor’s in criminal justice program, pursuing the victimology degree concentration or complementing another degree with a criminal justice minor. Regardless of which Bachelor of Science in criminal justice program you’re in, gain the skills that are needed by criminal justice professionals. While you build your critical thinking and communication skills, you’ll also learn how to conceptualize ideas and interpret criminal justice data.

For example, our Restorative Justice Course instructs students — including those seeking the victimology degree concentration — in techniques and related concepts involved in repairing relationships between crime victims and offenders.

Click any link below to reveal each program's course detail.

Program details from 2024-2025 Undergraduate/Graduate Catalog

BSU has allowed me to prove to myself what I am capable of, while being the home away from home I needed. I have conducted research in the field of Criminal Justice under the mentorship of an amazing professor, I have met amazing people, and I have had (and still get) so many opportunities coming my way.”

Paulina Aguilar Delgado, ’23

Criminal Justice, Victimology Concentration, BS

Careers in Criminal Justice

Whether you’re interested in pursuing a career at the local, state or federal level, you’ll find that a minor or bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from BSU will set you up for professional success. You could pursue an advanced degree or additional job training. Our Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice degree graduates are working as:

Correctional, parole or probation officers
Crime analysts
Police officers
Private detective or investigator
Probation officers
Security managers

Jobs in criminal justice are expected to continue to grow over the next decade — faster than the national average, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Phillip Rondelli, '17, smiling wearing a white button up shirt with a tan tie. He is holding paperwork with several computer screens in the background

Continue your education beyond your BS in criminal justice

Advance your criminal justice career with a master’s degree or graduate certificate from BSU.

You can further your knowledge by pursuing one of four master’s degrees in criminal justice options:

Administration of Justice
Crime and Corrections
Restorative and Transformative Justice
Trauma and Victim Studies

If you’re not ready to commit to a master’s degree, you can also enhance your bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a graduate certificate in cybercriminology and cybersecurity, restorative and transformative justice, or trauma and victim studies.

View BSU Graduate Programs »

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