Undergraduate Advising Center

All Criminology and Criminal Justice (CCJ) undergraduate students in CCJ are assigned an academic advisor. Academic advisors provide assistance to CCJ undergraduate majors and minors and post-baccalaureate students, with a wide range of issues related to general university requirements, University Studies, bachelor's degree requirements, course requirements, community college transfers, graduation requirements, and general program information.

Students may request a faculty advisor for issues like career advice within the CCJ field and on pursuing a graduate education. Getting to know a faculty advisor is also a great idea when the time comes to request a letter of recommendation. For tips on getting the best possible letter, click here: How to Obtain References and Letters of Recommendation.

Getting Help with Course Selection & Degree Requirements

The CCJ Division undergraduate degree requirements for its major, minor and post-baccalaureate certificate are provided here. PSU provides students access to the Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS) which is a valuable tool for tracking course requirements. DARS shows your completed courses, including transfer courses accepted to PSU and what you still need to complete prior to graduation.

For this tool to assist you in tracking CCJ requirements, you must officially declare CCJ as your major (or minor) with PSU. This an official process and you should do it as soon as you decide on CCJ or decide to switch from another major to CCJ. Click here for instructions on how to officially declare or change your major/minor at PSU. Note: CCJ-Online students are automatically declared as majors upon admission to the fully online program.

To run your DARS report, go to the PSU Information System and select "DARS-Degree Audit Reporting System" from the Student Services tab. Be aware, DARS is very helpful but is an unofficial advising tool so you need to check in with your academic advisor as well. To learn more about obtaining a DARS report for CCJ majors and how to read a DARS report specifically for CCJ requirements, see the following tutorials:

How to Run a DARS Report
How to Read a DARS Report 

Getting Connected with Your Advisor

CCJ – On Campus Program Students: Our professional academic advisor for the CCJ - On Campus students is Kierstan Betancourt. Kierstan is located in the CCJ office in the Urban Center building on the fifth floor (URBN 550), room 571A. All CCJ – On Campus students should periodically make an appointment with Kierstan about their degree progress. You do not need to bring a DARS report when you visit, Kierstan will review it with you online during the meeting. To schedule an advising appointment, please sign up at: http://pdxsog.youcanbook.me/. For other advising questions, please email Kierstan at kbetanco@pdx.edu.

CCJ – Online Program Students: The CCJO program provides specialized academic advising tailored to the fully online format. CCJO’s professional academic advisor is Angela Barrett (abarrett@pdx.edu).

Please see the CCJO Advising Center Website for more information.