Criminology/Criminal Justice
ufv.ca/criminologyA two-year, 60-credit program designed to prepare students for front-line/entry-level jobs in the criminal justice field. The program consists of a combination of theoretical and skill development courses, and will be of interest to people who wish to become (for example) police officers, correctional officers, immigration officers, customs inspectors, youth workers, administrative legal assistants, security guards, conservation officers, bylaw enforcement officers, community service order officers, or sheriff's officers.
Notice to applicants:
B.C. secondary school graduation or equivalent with:
Note: Students may also present English 12, English Literature 12, English 12 First Peoples, AP English, IB English A (standard level or higher level), or out-of-province equivalent.
Students who do not meet these requirements might consider Qualifying Studies.
Applications are accepted for entrance to the Fall semester only. For application deadlines, see Specific intake application process.
There are a limited number of seats available in the Criminology and Criminal Justice diploma program. Acceptance into the Criminology and Criminal Justice diploma program will be determined through a first-come first-serve basis, assuming entrance requirements are met. Applicants who meet the entrance requirements will be admitted in order of their application date. This date is set when an application, all required documentation, and the application fee have been submitted.
Upon admission to the Criminal Justice diploma program and in accordance with the B.C. government's Criminal Records Review Act, UFV requires all students who participate in a practicum to pass a criminal record check through the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General. For clarification and more details, please visit the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General's website. Students will be notified when this is required.
See the Fees and Other Costs section. Books and additional supplies cost approximately $100–200 per course.
The Criminal Justice diploma is two years in duration.
The normal university year is from September through April, with 15–18 credits required in each of the Fall and Winter semesters. Students enrolled in field practicum in either the Fall or Winter semester (normally requiring two full days per week) would normally take nine credits in addition to the practicum. Occasionally, courses are challenged for credit, making it possible to complete the program more quickly. Mastery of course objectives must be demonstrated in order to successfully challenge a course; contact the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice for further information.
Course | Title | Credits |
CRIM 100 | Introduction to Criminology | 3 |
CRIM 103 | Introduction to the Criminal Justice System | 3 |
CMNS 125 | Communicating Professionally to Academic and Workplace Audiences (see Note 1) | 3 |
or ENGL 105 | Academic Writing | |
SOC 101 | Introductory Sociology | 3 |
One of: (see Note 2) | 3 | |
AIS 108 | Academic Literacy I (formerly CSM 108) | |
PHIL 100 | Reasoning: An Introduction to Critical Thinking | |
PHIL 110 | Introduction to Ethics and Moral Problems | |
PHIL 120 | Knowledge and Reality |
Note 1: It is recommended that students planning on completing a Bachelor of Arts (Criminal Justice) degree complete the first writing requirement (CMNS 125 or ENGL 105) within the first 30 credits of the program.
Note 2: It is recommended that students planning on completing a Bachelor of Arts (Criminal Justice) degree complete the critical thinking requirement (AIS 108, PHIL 100, PHIL 110, or PHIL 120) within the first 60 credits of the program.
Course | Title | Credits |
CRIM 104 | Sociological Explanations of Criminal and Deviant Behaviour | 3 |
CRIM 105 | Psychological Explanations of Criminal and Deviant Behaviour | 3 |
CRIM 135 | Introduction to Canadian Law and Legal Institutions | 3 |
PSYC 102 | Introduction to Psychology II (see Note 1) | 3 |
Plus: | Any 200-level CRIM elective (see Note 2) | 3 |
Note 1: Students who have successfully completed PSYC 101 prior to acceptance do not need to complete PSYC 102.
Note 2: Students cannot use CRIM 201, CRIM 202, or CRIM 203 as their 200-level CRIM elective.
Course | Title | Credits |
CRIM 265 | Problem Management Skills for Criminal Justice Interventions | 3 |
Plus: | Any 100-level or higher CRIM or non-CRIM course | 3 |
Plus: | Any 200-level or higher CRIM or non-CRIM course | 3 |
POSC 110 | Introduction to Canadian Politics | 3 |
One of: (see Note) | 3 | |
CMNS 235 | Public Speaking | |
CMNS 251 | Professional Report Writing | |
CMNS 280 | Team and Small Group Communication for the Workplace | |
ENGL 210 | The Art of the Essay | |
SOC 254 | Writing for the Social Sciences |
Note: It is recommended that students planning on completing a Bachelor of Arts (Criminal Justice) degree complete the second oral/writing requirement (CMNS 235, CMNS 251, CMNS 280, ENGL 210, or SOC 254) within the first 60 credits of the program.
Course | Title | Credits |
CRIM 220 | Research Methods in Criminology | 3 |
CRIM 230 | Criminal Law | 3 |
CRIM 281 | Practicum I (or two-course option; see Practicum regulations section below for details) | 6 |
Plus: | Any 200-level CRIM course | 3 |
Note 1: It is recommended that students planning on completing a Bachelor of Arts (Criminal Justice) degree complete the science requirement in the first two years of the program.
Note 2: Students should plan their lower-level electives to ensure they will have the necessary prerequisites for the required upper-level non-criminology electives if continuing onto the Bachelor of Arts (Criminal Justice) degree.
UFV requires all students who participate in practicum to complete a criminal record check through the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General. For clarification and more details, please visit the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General’s website. Students will be notified when this is required.
Acceptance into the Criminal Justice diploma program or the BA (Criminal Justice) does not guarantee practicum placement.
The prerequisites for placement in CRIM 281 are:
Students must complete 200 hours of practicum work in CRIM 281.
Criminal Justice diploma students who meet these requirements must complete CRIM 281 for the diploma. Students who do not meet the requirement for CRIM 281 must take two additional 200-level CRIM electives from the list below in place of CRIM 281.
Course | Title | Credits |
One of: | 3 | |
CRIM 210 | Youth Crime and Youth Justice System in Canada | |
CRIM 211 | Indigenous Peoples, Crime, and Criminal Justice | |
CRIM 212 | Women, Crime, and Criminal Justice | |
CRIM 215 | Theory and Practice of Restorative Justice | |
One of: | 3 | |
CRIM 214 | Selected Topics in Crime and Criminal Justice | |
CRIM 216 | Psychopathy and the Criminal Justice System | |
CRIM 240 | Comparative Criminal Justice Systems | |
CRIM 250 | Customs and Immigration Law | |
CRIM 251 | Law Enforcement in Canada | |
CRIM 252 | Corrections in Canada |
The Career Development Coordinator will work collaboratively with each student to identify practicum sites that respond to individual learning interests and that provide criminal justice learning opportunities. Practicum placements are competitive and students should meet with the Career Development Coordinator early in the Winter semester to discuss options for Fall placement, and early in the Fall semester to discuss options for Winter placement.
Practicums are offered throughout the region of the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver, although other placement sites may be considered. Students are responsible for transportation to and from practicum sites. Students are also responsible for maintaining suitable personal appearance.
The Criminal Justice diploma program must approve any agency or institution that provides placements for student practicums, and reserves the right to change any placement assigned to a student. Students have the right to be informed in writing of the reasons for any change in placement. While the program accepts the responsibility to provide a sufficient number of practicum opportunities to serve the needs of all registered students, a student may be required to withdraw from a practicum course if none of the available practicum agencies will accept that particular student.
The Co-operative Education option provides students with the opportunity to acquire paid, career-related work experience in conjunction with their studies in the Bachelor of Arts (Criminal Justice) diploma program. See the Co-operative Education section for more details.
Students can complete a semester of study abroad at an institution with a partnership agreement with UFV. Students interested in Study Abroad opportunities can visit UFV International to review the list of countries, institutions, and programs with an exchange partnership with the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Students should speak with the Program Advisor prior to selecting their courses for completion abroad.
To maintain status as a program student and to continue in the program, students with more than 15 credits must maintain a minimum program and cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 2.00.
Students enrolled in undergraduate courses (courses numbered 100 or higher) must maintain an undergraduate Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of at least 2.00 to remain enrolled in Good Academic Standing at UFV. Students in Good Academic Standing will have no registration limits placed on them. Failure to meet the minimum CGPA requirement will result in restrictions on registration and may eventually lead to academic suspension from undergraduate studies at UFV. Students on Academic Warning or Academic Probation are limited to registering in 10 credits. For further details, see the Academic standing and undergraduate continuance section of the academic calendar. Academic standing is governed by UFV's Undergraduate Continuance policy (92).
For assistance, please contact criminfo@ufv.ca.
Students are not permitted to register for the same course more than three times. Students wishing to register for a course for a fourth time should connect with the Student Rights and Responsibilities Office. All attempts will be recorded on the transcript, but only the highest grade will be included in the GPA. Transfer courses are considered in the number of attempts. A “W” or “AU” course is not counted as a duplication. Multiple repeats of the same course count as a single duplication.
Course audits will be governed by UFV’s Course Audit Policy (108).
Course withdrawal deadlines follow UFV's Course Withdrawal policy (81).
The School of Criminology and Criminal Justice does not approve challenge requests from students who are asking to re-take a Criminology/Criminal Justice course. These students must register in, and complete the requirements for, a regularly timetabled section of the course.
Students who have been required to withdraw from UFV under the Undergraduate Continuance policy (92) are subject to readmission and continuance requirements as listed in the UFV academic calendar. Students are normally only readmitted once to the same program.
Students must complete at least 25% of the course work at UFV.
It is the student’s responsibility to ensure all program requirements are met. This should be done by regular consultation with a Criminal Justice Program Advisor. To be eligible to graduate, students must achieve a minimum program and cumulative GPA of 2.00. For students intending to proceed to the Bachelor of Arts (Criminal Justice) degree, please note that there is a duplication policy which prevents students with more than five course duplications from graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (Criminal Justice) degree.
Candidates who qualify to receive a UFV diploma must be approved by the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and the Senate. Students must apply for graduation in the first month of their final semester. Visit the Graduation webpage for more information. The final deadline for students who wish to attend the June Convocation ceremony is April 1 of each year, with all program requirements completed by April 30.
For complete details on courses see the course descriptions section.