We welcome transfer students, and want to offer some important information for transfer students:

• Justice Studies is not Criminal Justice:

Criminal Justice as it is taught in most colleges tends to have a pre-professional focus. Course work is on such subjects as criminal procedure and criminal investigation. That is the case with JMU’s criminal justice minor. Our Justice Studies program has a different focus. In it we are concerned more with treating justice issues as a general class of social and political problems to be understood than as applied problems to be solved. Neither approach is better than the other. It is a matter of personal preference and you should make sure that you go into a program that fits with how you want to study these issues, and that will best help you work toward your academic and career goals. The Criminal Justice minor at JMU cannot be paired with the Justice Studies major.

• Limited course transfer policy:

Some students looking to transfer into the Justice Studies major or the Criminal Justice minor have already taken criminal justice courses at the school they are currently attending. Please note that criminal justice courses will NOT transfer into the major, since the focus of our major is very different; some might transfer as CRJU minor courses. We will limit you to a maximum of two courses that can be transferred into the major or minor for credit. The rest will count as general elective credits toward graduation. The rationale is simple and direct. It involves “truth in advertising.” If you are going to graduate with a degree from our programs at JMU we want to be able to tell potential employers and graduate programs the type of course work you have had with us and the nature of the assignments you have had. We cannot do this when too much course work is transferred in.  Please also note that Justice Studies is a unique program, and it is unlikely that courses taken at other institutions will transfer in as JUST courses. 

• Courses to take before coming to JMU:

Certainly if you are interested in criminal justice or think you might be, you could take some criminal justice courses. But, remember that we limit how many we accept, and those will generally be for the minor, not the major (see above). What would be most beneficial would be to take the equivalent of MATH 220: Elementary Statistics. Students who do not complete Math 220 before coming to JMU may need additional time to complete the major.  Also be aware that courses taught at the 100 or 200 level at community colleges and elsewhere that are taught at JMU at the 300 level are unlikely to be accepted.  

•  Timeline for completing the major:

Please not that it takes at least 5 semesters to complete the major, because of the prerequisite structure (see below). 

• Prerequisite Structure 

JUST 200 is a prerequisite for all JUST courses.

JUST 200 may NOT be taken during the same semester as any other JUST designated course.

JUST 200 and a 200-level foundation course are requirements for all 300 level courses.

All majors must complete 6 elective courses designated for their concentration. At least 4 of the 6 must be JUST designated courses.

Also note that Math 220 is the prerequisite for JUST 399, which is in turn the prerequisite for JUST 400. 

For more information:

A limited number of students are admitted each year to the Justice Studies major at JMU. Please check with Admissions for guidelines, deadlines, and procedures for applying to JMU.

For general transfer advising information, please see JMU's Transfer Advising Website. 

If you are a prospective or current Justice Studies transfer student, please feel free to contact the Justice Studies Academic Advisor, Daisy L. Breneman, for assistance.