Option B: Criminal Justice BAAS

The Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences BAAS degree is designed to offer students with workforce education, vocational-technical training and/or professional experience in occupational fields the opportunity to obtain a baccalaureate degree. Such experienced professional/vocational students may obtain credit toward this degree via regionally accredited college-level course work and/or certain types of professional and educational training. Students who pursue the degree are required to complete the academic core requirements, thirty-six hours of advanced credit that is complementary to the vocational-technical or professional area, and any additional hours necessary to meet the 120-hour university requirement as stated in the catalog.

Before a student can be admitted, the student must arrange an interview with the Director or Assistant Director of the BAAS Program.

BAAS students are limited to not more than twenty-five percent of their total semester credit hours in courses transferable to a program in a school of business and not more than fifteen semester credit hours in business school courses completed at Midwestern State University. However, students may select a minor in Business Administration with the approval of the Dean of the Dillard College of Business Administration. 

Students currently enrolled at Midwestern State University in a designated degree program who satisfy the intent of the mission statement and have at least a 2.75 GPA will be allowed to transfer to the BAAS degree program. Exceptions to this policy will be considered on an individual basis by the BAAS Director. In such cases, the student must submit to the BAAS Director a petition letter accompanied by a letter of recommendation from an advisor in the student’s current major.

All transfers from another MSU program must complete at least 12 hours under the BAAS program at MSU to be eligible to graduate from the BAAS program.

The student must complete a baccalaureate degree plan from residence and transfer credit hours by meeting the requirements as follows:

The Criminal Justice Emphasis provides students the background to pursue employment options in the criminal justice career field. The combination of such courses as law enforcement, political science, psychology, sociology, and social work prepares those already working in the field for career advancement. For those wishing to enter a criminal justice field, the degree offers the graduate the possibility of employment in such career fields as federal, state, and local law enforcement, institutional and community-based corrections, and criminal investigations.

Please use this link MSU Texas Catalog Changes

Credits toward an area of coherent specialization may be earned from community colleges, this university and other senior institutions (including elective hours), workforce education, vocational or technical schools, armed forces schools, work experiences, and non-traditional learning experiences that can be equated to college credit. To qualify for work experience credit, a student must have 3 consecutive years of full-time employment within the last 6 years. A student may be awarded 2 hours of credit for each qualifying year of job experience related to the student’s occupational specialty up to a maximum of 6 hours. Credit for non-traditional experiences is granted on the basis of evaluation by the Director and the BAAS staff utilizing the National Guide of the American Council on Education ACE and other appropriate publications. Documentation will be placed in the student’s permanent file in the Office of the Registrar. A minimum of 24 semester hours in the area of occupational specialty must be completed before the student can be accepted into the program. Cognate vocational-technical courses may be accepted within the area of occupational specialty or professional development.