The Justice, Law and Public Safety Studies Department (JLPSS) offers a Bachelor's to Master's Fast Track Program option for Lewis University undergraduate Forensic Criminal Investigation majors.  The Fast Track Program option allows qualified undergraduates to complete the graduate MSCSJ (Master of Science in Criminal Justice) in less time than would be possible if the two programs would be taken separately.  Nine to fifteen graduate hours may be used to complete the Bachelor's degree (120 hours) and to satisfy specific course requirements for the Master's program.  The total number of required graduate credits (36) will remain the same.  Students apply for admission to the Fast Track Program option by submitting both the department application form and Block Tuition Exemption form to the Department Chair of JLPSS when they reach 75 completed credit hours and have achieved an overall GPA 3.0.  Qualified students approved for the Fast Track Program option may apply for financial aid to graduate courses and are exempt from the 18-hour block in the semesters when they take these select graduate courses.  With planning, the MSCSJ could be awarded within one year of graduating with the Bachelor's degree.  Students who take nine to fifteen credit hours of approved graduate courses in Criminal Justice in their senior year and earn a grade of "B" or better in each of those courses will have to complete only 21 to 27 more credit hours of remaining core and elective courses including passing a comprehensive examination to earn the MSCSJ.  Students accepted into this Fast Track Program option are required to apply for admission to the MSCSJ.

Graduate courses that may be taken in their senior year during the fall and spring semesters are listed below.  With permission of the JLPSS Department Chair, one to five of these graduate courses may be applied to the undergraduate core or elective courses in the Forensic Criminal Investigation curricula.  Listed next to each graduate course is the undergraduate course for which it substitutes:

CSJS 52000 Violent Crime substitutes for CSJS 35700 Victims and Victimization

CSJS 52400 Correctional Counseling and Rehabilitation substitutes for CSJS 48500 Rehabilitative Counseling

CSJS 52500 Drugs-Distribution and Impact substitutes for CSJS 34000 Drugs: Incidence and Abuse

CSJS 53300 Ethics and Integrity substitutes for CSJS 35600 Professionalism and Ethics

CSJS 53600 Criminal Procedure substitutes for CSJS 44500 Criminal Procedure / Rules of Evidence

CSJS 55900 Police Civil Liability substitutes for CSJS 49000 Research Methods

CSJS 55500 Criminal Law substitutes for CSJS 43000 Elements of Criminal Law

See Baccalaureate-to-Masters Degree Program Guidelines for additional information.