Department of Justice Studies
Accelerated Bachelor’s — Master’s Program

Graduate Coordinator: Dr. Matthew S. Crow

Minimum Requirements for admission:

• Overall undergraduate GPA of 3.25 or better
• Completion of 75 undergraduate credit hours
• Undergraduate Major GPA of 3.5 or better
• Completion of all Bachelor of Arts Criminal Justice major core requirements
• A grade of B or higher in all Bachelor of Arts Criminal Justice major core classes
• One letter of recommendation from a criminal justice or legal studies faculty member

Program Requirements:

The Criminal Justice Accelerated Bachelor’s — Master’s (ABM) program provides the opportunity for high-performing, academically talented students to expeditiously complete the Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and Master of Science in Criminal Justice degrees. The ABM program provides increased career opportunities for students, allows them to get both the BA and MSCJ degrees in a shorter time period and saves on tuition expenses. The Criminal Justice BA requires 42 semester hours; 21 hours in the Criminal Justice core and 21 hours of upper-division criminal justice coursework. The MSCJ requires 33 semester hours; including a minimum of 24 hours in criminal justice courses. The ABM program allows students to count up to 12 credit hours of graduate criminal justice coursework toward both the BA and MSCJ. The 12 hours of graduate criminal justice coursework will substitute for 12 of the 21 hours of upper-division criminal justice elective coursework in the BA.

A prospective student who meets the eligibility requirements for the ABM program must schedule a meeting with his/her undergraduate advisor and graduate advisor to discuss and develop a degree plan for his/her ABM program. The student must then submit a ABM program application and letter of recommendation to the graduate advisor.

Students must have completed 75 undergraduate credit hours, including credits earned from advanced placement, prior to applying to the ABM program. Transfer students must have completed a minimum of 24 credit hours and at least two semesters at the University of West Florida prior to application to the ABM program. For admission into the ABM program in the summer semester, application materials must be submitted by March 15. For admission into the ABM program in the fall semester, application materials must be submitted by June 15. For admission into the ABM program in the spring semester, application materials must be submitted by October 15.

Admission into the ABM program does not guarantee admission into the MSCJ program upon graduation. Students must still take the GRE or Miller Analogies Test (MAT) and submit an express admission application for the MSCJ program. Students who are a part of the ABM program cannot be provisionally or conditionally admitted into the MSCJ program.

Upon admission into the MSCJ, the 12 graduate credit hours completed as an undergraduate student will count for 12 of the 24 hours in criminal justice coursework for the MSCJ. Students in the ABM program must earn a grade of B (3.0/4.0) or better in each of the graduate level courses that are being applied to both degrees. Courses completed with a grade of B- or below cannot be applied to the MSCJ degree. Students accepted into the MSCJ program must complete all MSCJ requirements within 18 months of completing the BA degree. If the MSCJ program requirements are not completed within 18 months, the student is no longer eligible to apply the graduate credit hours towards both degrees (i.e., the student can only apply the graduate credit hours either towards completion of the BA degree or to include in a future master’s degree) and is automatically terminated from the ABM program.

If a student in the ABM program completes the BA degree requirements with an overall GPA of less than 3.25/4.0, he/she is no longer eligible to apply the graduate credit hours to both degrees (i.e., the student can only apply the credit hours towards completion of the BA degree or to include in a future master’s degree) and is automatically terminated from the ABM program.

A student who becomes ineligible to continue participating in or withdraws from the ABM program cannot apply any graduate credit hours towards both degrees (i.e., the student can only apply the credit hours towards completion of the BA degree or to include in a future master’s degree).

Students who are enrolled in the ABM program are only eligible for graduate assistantship positions after completing the BA degree.

UWF Graduate School General Application

Accelerated Bachelor's - Master's Program

Criminal Justice ABM Application (DOC)