Criminal Justice Pathway (part-time)
Associate in Arts Degree
Meta-Major: Public Safety
Intended Bachelor’s Program: Criminal Justice (UCF)
Catalog: 2025 - 2026
Planning Your Degree Pathway
This document is a sample outline of the courses needed to complete your AA degree (which requires 60 eligible credits) based on your degree pathway. These courses include general education requirements and courses that may be used to meet elective requirements and common program prerequisites (CPPs), which are courses required to earn your intended bachelor's degree from a public Florida college or university. Please connect with your student success coach if you need introductory coursework or have previously earned college credit (such as AP, CLEP, military, or transfer). Your student success coach can help you modify this plan based on the number of courses that you want to take in a term and your individual needs and goals.
Credit Requirements
- 36 General Education Credits
- 24 Elective Credits
Additional Degree Requirements
- Introductory Coursework: Required courses based on placement tests including developmental education if needed
- Foreign Language: Required to have 2 years of one high school foreign language or meet college-level foreign language equivalency
- Civic Literacy Exam: Must satisfy Florida Civic Literacy Exam or appropriate scores in AP or CLEP exams
- Grade Point Average (GPA): Need to maintain 2.0 or higher for both Overall GPA and Valencia GPA
- Valencia Residency: Must complete at Valencia at least 25% of the college-level credits required for the AA degree
* Class has a prerequisite
+ Class requires “C” grade or higher
^ Course may require a specific grade for transfer institution
GESC General Education Student Choice
Bold is a Common Program Prerequisite (CPP)
- Classes fill quickly, make plans with the Class Schedule Search for early registration
- For registration instructions, review our How-To Videos
- Meet with your Student Success Coach to create an education plan.
Common Program Prerequisites (CPP)
- None
Sample Term-by-Term Plan | Part-Time (6-9 credits)
Introductory Coursework
| Courses | Credits |
|---|---|
Term 1
| Courses | Credits |
|---|---|
| ENC 1101 - Freshman Composition I*+ | 3 |
| General Education Student Choice | 3 |
Term 2
| Courses | Credits |
|---|---|
| ENC 1102 - Freshman Composition II+* | 3 |
| Math Core*+ | 3 |
Term 3
| Courses | Credits |
|---|---|
| POS 2041 - U.S. Government+, AMH 2010 - United States History to 1877+, AMH 2020 - U.S. History 1877 to Present+ | 3 |
| Math Core or Institutional*+ | 3 |
Term 4
| Courses | Credits |
|---|---|
| Science Core | 3 |
| SPC 1608 - Fundamentals of Speech+ or SPC 1017 - Interpersonal Communication+ | 3 |
Term 5
| Courses | Credits |
|---|---|
| General Education Student Choice | 3 |
| Humanities Core | 3 |
Term 6
| Courses | Credits |
|---|---|
| General Education Student Choice | 3 |
| Elective | 3 |
Term 7
| Courses | Credits |
|---|---|
| General Education Student Choice | 3 |
| Elective | 3 |
Term 8
| Courses | Credits |
|---|---|
| Elective | 3 |
| Elective | 3 |
Term 9
| Courses | Credits |
|---|---|
| Elective | 3 |
| Elective | 3 |
Term 10
| Courses | Credits |
|---|---|
| Elective | 3 |
| Elective | 3 |
Electives and Pathway-Specific Information
The AA degree requires 24 credits of electives. Some electives may have been pre-filled into the term-by-term plan based on your pathway. If you are missing the Foreign Language or Civic Literacy requirements, you may need to use elective space to satisfy these.
- Suggested electives: CCJ 1020, CJ 2452, CJE 2600, CJC 2000, CJL 2102, CCJ 2358, CCJ 2053, and CJL 2000. Students who complete these courses will have the opportunity to earn one or more technical certificates. In addition, students who complete the recommended electives would have an opportunity to meet the requirements for an A.S. degree in Criminal Justice. Consult your Student Success Coach and also consider the critical required courses at UCF; CJE 2000 and CJC 2000.
- Also consider taking a service-learning course and/or completing an intership(s).
- Students are encouraged to take CCJ 1020 in Term 1 as their General Education Student Choice.
- If you elect to graduate with the B.A. in Criminal Justice from UCF, then you will also need to satisfy proficiency equivalent to two semesters of college instruction in a foreign language or in American Sign Language (ASL).
General Education Course Requirements (36 Total Credits)
Courses listed below are 3 credit hours each unless otherwise stated.
See key for the meaning of symbols
See pathway-specific information
Communications (9 Credits)
These courses need to be completed with a C or higher.
Select one of the following courses:
Humanities Core (3 Credits)
Select one of the following Humanities courses.
- ARH 1000 – Art Appreciation
- HUM 1020 – Introduction to Humanities
- LIT 1000 – Introduction to Literature
- MUL 1010 – Music Appreciation
- PHI 2010 – Philosophy
- THE 1000 – Introduction to Theater
Math (6 Credits)
These courses need to be completed with a C or higher.
Math Core
Select one from core
- MAC 1105 – College Algebra*+
- MGF 1130 – Mathematical Thinking*+
- MAC 2311 – Calculus with Analytic Geometry I*+ (4 Credits)
- STA 2023 – Statistical Methods*+
Math Institutional
Select one course from Math core or Math institutional
- MAC 1114 – College Trigonometry*+
- MAC 1140 – Precalculus Algebra*+
- MAC 2312 – Calculus with Analytic Geometry II*+ (4 Credits)
- MAC 2233 – Calculus for Business and Social Science*+
- MGF 1131 – Mathematics in Context*+
Science Core (3 Credits)
Select one of the following Science courses.
- AST 1002 – Astronomy
- BSC 1005 – Biological Science
- BSC 1005L – Lab in Applied Biology (1 credit)
- BSC 1005C – Biological Science Combined w/ Lab (4 credits)
- BSC 1010C – General Biology I* (4 credits)
- BSC 2085C – Anatomy and Physiology I* (4 credits)
- CHM 1020 – Chemistry in Everyday Life
- CHM 1045C – General Chemistry with Qualitative Analysis I* (4 credits)
- ESC 1000 – Earth Science
- EVR 1001 – Introduction to Environmental Science
- GLY 2010C – Physical Geology (4 credits)
- OCE 1001 – Introduction to Oceanography
- PHY 1020 – Conceptual Physics*
- PHY 2048C – General Physics with Calculus I* (4 credits)
- PHY 2053C – College Physics I with Algebra and Trigonometry* (4 credits)
Social Sciences (3 Credits)
Select one of the following Social Science Courses. These courses need to be completed with a C or higher.
- AMH 2010 – U.S. History to 1877+
- AMH 2020 – U.S. History 1877 to Present+
- POS 2041 – U.S. Government+
General Education Student Choice (12 Credits)
IMPORTANT: You have the option to choose 12 credits from any of the courses listed above or below.
- You can satisfy Foreign Language requirement with courses from the communications area.
- We recommend courses listed in your degree pathway (refer to Common Program Prerequisites and Elective Pathway-Specific sections above). You can also choose courses of interest. Connect with your student success coach if you have questions.
See key for the meaning of symbols
See pathway-specific information
Communications Institutional
- ASL 2140 – American Sign Language I (4 credits)
- ASL 2150 – American Sign Language II* (4 credits)
- FRE 1120 – Elementary French I (4 credits)
- FRE 1121 – Elementary French II* (4 credits)
- GER 1120 – Elementary German I (4 credits)
- GER 1121 – Elementary German II* (4 credits)
- POR 1120 – Elementary Portuguese I (4 credits)
- POR 1121 – Elementary Portuguese II* (4 credits)
- SPN 1120 – Elementary Spanish I (4 credits)
- SPN 1121 – Elementary Spanish II* (4 credits)
Humanities Institutional
- ARH 2050 – Art History I
- ARH 2051 – Introduction to Art History II*
- FIL 1000 – Intro to Film
- HUM 2210 – Ancient to Medieval
- HUM 2230 – Renaissance to Modern Period
- HUM 2250 – 20th/21st Centuries
- LAT 1120 – Elementary Latin I (4 credits)
- LAT 1121 – Elementary Latin II* (4 credits)
- PHI 2600 – Ethics and Critical Thinking*
- REL 2300 – World Religions*+
Math Institutional
- MAC 1114 – College Trigonometry*+
- MAC 1140 – Precalculus Algebra*+
- MAC 2312 – Calculus with Analytic Geometry II*+
- MAC 2233 – Calculus for Business and Social Science*+
- MGF 1131 – Mathematics in Context*+
Science Institutional
- BSC 1011C – General Biology II* (4 credits)
- BSC 2086C – Anatomy & Physiology II* (4 credits)
- CHM 1025C – Intro. to General Chemistry* (4 credits)
- CHM 1046C – General Chemistry with Qualitative Analysis II (4 credits)
- HUN 1201 – The Science of Nutrition
- MCB 2010C – Microbiology* (4 credits)
- PHY 2049C – General Physics II with Calculus* (4 credits)
- PHY 2054C – General Physics II with Algebra & Trigonometry* (4 credits)
Social Sciences
Social Sciences Core
- ANT 2000 – Introductory Anthropology
- ECO 2013 – Principles of Economics
- PSY 2012 – General Psychology
Social Sciences Institutional
- CCJ 1020 – Introduction to Criminal Justice
- DEP 2004 – Developmental Psychology*
- ECO 2023 – Principles of Economics – Micro
- EDF 2005 – Introduction to Education
- EUH 2000 – Ancient and Medieval Western Civilization
- EUH 2001 – Modern Western Civilization
- GEB 1011 – Introduction to Business
- INR 2002 – International Politics
- POS 2112 – State and Local Government
- SYG 2000 – Introductory Sociology
- WOH 2012 – World History to 1500
- WOH 2022 – World History Since 1500
Financial Aid Notice
Federal financial aid assists with funding for up to 60 eligible credits of your AA degree (36 credits of general education and 24 credits of electives). If your pathway exceeds 60 credits (e.g., transfer courses, prerequisites, or other coursework not included in this plan), you may need to plan for alternative payment methods, which may include out-of-pocket payments. See a student success coach to discuss your options.
Ready for Transfer? Let's check!
- Meet with a student success coach to discuss your graduation status
- Apply to graduate before the start of your final semester
- Submit an application to your bachelor's program
- Monitor your MyVC email for updates from the Graduation department