Frequently Asked Questions about the Criminology Advising Center

The CAC is open five days a week. One day is a partial daysee center hours outside Wilson Hall G-1.

Dr. Lewis is director of the Criminology Advising Center. Trained graduate students serve as your "advisors" in the Criminology Advising Center and are here to answer any questions you may have.

You can come to the Advising Center during our normal working hours on a first-come, first-serve basis. You may make an appointment with Dr. Lewis for any issues the Advising Center can't help you with.

You must meet the prerequisite requirements (i.e., CRIM 101, 102), and you must come to the Advising Center to fill out a course override form to register for the course.

Once you apply for graduation, the Criminology Advising Center must process your application by making sure you meet all requirements to graduate. If you do not meet these requirements, you will receive an e-mail from the Advising Center. Once your application is approved, it will go to the dean's office for processing after final grades are posted for the semester.

Every semester you get a new alternate PIN in order to register for your courses in MyIUP. You can pick it up at the Criminology scheduling meetings held each semester before registration begins.

Registration times are first designated by attachment to a special group (i.e., sports teams, etc.), and then by earned credits (i.e., class standing: sophomore, junior, etc.). The only exception is that freshmen during the Spring semester will register before the seniors, juniors, and sophomores (see next question).

Freshmen are allowed to register first for the Spring semester during their first year.

Both CRIM 101 and CRIM 102 are required for most upper-level Criminology courses and must be taken before registering for upper-level Criminology classes. In addition, 400-level Criminology courses will require junior standing.

Students who entered before 2003 should follow the "old" curriculum. All other Criminology students are required to follow the "new" curriculum. Students cannot choose which curriculum to follow. The curriculum is based on when you declare Criminology as your major. Students must follow only one curriculum. Students may not mix and match the curriculum requirements. Anyone in the Criminology Advising Center can assist you if you have questions about the curriculums.

To change your major/minor to Criminology, you need to come to the Criminology Advising Center to fill out a Change of Major Form. You must have at least a 2.0 GPA and a minimum of 12 completed IUP credits.

You must go to the new major/minor department and complete a Change of Major/Minor Form.

You need to come to the Criminology Advising Center to fill out a Change of Major form.

All students entering Criminology after fall 2003 are required to declare and complete a minor, unless they are double-majoring or are a Criminology/Pre Law major.

No. The Pre-Law track fulfills your minor requirements.

Criminology majors run the spectrum of minors at IUP. You are advised to declare and complete a minor that will be beneficial toward your future career goals and plans.

These are the possible minors you can choose from: Accounting, Applied Statistics, Child Development/Family Relations, Computer Science, Environmental Health Science, Information Assurance, Journalism, Psychology Science, Psychology, Safety Science, Sociology, and others that are found in the IUP Undergraduate Catalog.

You need 120 earned credits.

First and foremost, you must follow your Criminology checklist to make sure you are meeting all the requirements. It is also recommended that you take 15 credits each semester.

This sometimes happens if students take one class that meets more than one requirement (e.g., ANTH 110 fulfills a social science elective and the non-Western requirement). If you have met the course requirements, but are lacking in earned credits, you will have to take classes to earn the 120 credits. We advise students to take classes that are beneficial to their future career plans.

Come to the Criminology Advising Center and fill out a "Request for Credit Override" form. In order to take 18 credits you must have an overall GPA of 2.50. To be approved for 19 credits you must have a GPA of 2.75. If you want to take 20 credits, your GPA must be at least a 3.0, and for over 20 credits you must have a 3.50 GPA.