2027 Online BA in Psychology - General Psychology After an AAS in Criminal Justice: Compare Transfer Credit and Remaining Coursework
Audited and Verified:
Our Editorial and Data Verification Process
Research.com uses government datasets, official education statistics and primary institutional information to support its career and degree guides. Our review process checks factual accuracy, occupational definitions, source dates and the requirements associated with the credentials discussed.
How This Article Was Fact-Checked
Our editorial team verifies salary estimates, employment projections, education requirements and program information against original data providers and official organizations. Salary figures are checked against the relevant occupational definitions and reporting periods. Information about licensure, accreditation and required in-person training is reviewed separately.
Fact-checked and verified on:
Co-Founder and Chief Data Scientist
An AAS in criminal justice can provide a useful start toward an online BA in general psychology, but its credits may not fill the requirements you expect. Applied criminal justice courses often transfer differently from general education, statistics, and psychology courses. If you are returning to school or moving from justice-system work into a psychology-related role, the crucial comparison is not how many credits a college accepts - it is how many requirements those credits satisfy.
This guide shows you how to read a transfer evaluation, estimate the coursework left, and compare programs before committing time or tuition.
Key Things You Should Know
- An AAS does not automatically transfer as a complete first half of a psychology BA; compare accepted credits with credits applied to general education, the major, electives, and graduation requirements.
- For an illustrative 120-credit BA, 60 applicable transfer credits leave 60 credits by subtraction, while 45 applicable credits leave 75; required courses and residency rules can affect the actual path.
- Request a program-specific degree audit before enrolling, especially for statistics, research methods, psychology prerequisites, and upper-division courses.
How Does an AAS in Criminal Justice Transfer to an Online BA in Psychology?
An associate of applied science (AAS) is commonly designed around occupational coursework. A receiving college may accept its courses without treating the degree as equivalent to a transfer-oriented associate degree or as satisfying a general education package. The college - not the prior school's description of a course - decides how each credit applies to its BA.
Read a transfer evaluation in layers: admission determines whether you can enroll; credit acceptance records prior study; requirement application places those credits in the degree audit; and graduation eligibility depends on finishing every remaining rule. A criminal justice course accepted only as a free elective still has value, but it may not shorten the sequence of psychology courses.
Ask each prospective school for an evaluation against its general psychology BA, not just a preliminary total of transferable credits. When comparing online bachelor's program choices in psychology, use the same transcript and target start term for each request so the resulting audits are comparable.
How Many Credits Remain After Transferring a Criminal Justice AAS?
Start with the BA's required total and subtract credits the school says will apply. Then inspect the audit for unfinished categories. The table uses a hypothetical 120-credit degree; it is arithmetic, not a prediction of any school's transfer award or graduation timeline.
| Illustrative audit result | Credits still needed by subtraction | What could change the course plan |
| 60 applicable transfer credits | 60 | Psychology prerequisites, upper-division requirements, and courses required in residence |
| 45 applicable transfer credits | 75 | Unmet general education requirements as well as major requirements |
A credit total alone cannot tell you whether you can graduate on schedule. A school might apply criminal justice electives to the total while still requiring its full psychology sequence; conversely, an approved statistics equivalency could remove a prerequisite and open later courses sooner. Check whether the audit distinguishes credits remaining from specific courses remaining, and ask when each required online course is offered. If speed matters, compare that sequence - not just advertised terms - with online psychology programs with faster pacing.
What Is an Online BA in General Psychology?
A general psychology BA studies behavior and mental processes across several subfields rather than training students for one licensed occupation. Its breadth can suit an AAS graduate who wants to add research literacy, human-development knowledge, and behavioral-science skills to justice-system experience. "Online" describes delivery; it does not establish that every class is asynchronous or that an internship, exam, or campus visit can be completed remotely.
Check the actual degree plan for psychology electives, research opportunities, and any live-session or placement obligations. A BA can also prepare you to apply to further study, but graduate programs set their own prerequisites. If a nonclinical master's is a possible later goal, compare its purpose and eventual expense separately from the BA; a list of low-cost master's degrees in psychology cannot establish what your undergraduate credits will satisfy.
Course titles are clues, not equivalencies. The receiving psychology department may need a syllabus, learning outcomes, assignments, and credit-hour information before deciding whether a course replaces a requirement. This comparison shows where an AAS course might land; every placement requires the school's approval.
| Prior coursework | Possible application | Main issue to verify |
| College writing, mathematics, or humanities | General education | Whether the course meets the receiving school's specific category |
| Statistics | Statistics requirement or elective | Coverage of the methods and analysis expected by the psychology major |
| Introduction to psychology | Psychology prerequisite | Approved course equivalency and minimum grade |
| Criminology, juvenile justice, or corrections | Social science category or elective | Whether it counts toward the psychology major rather than only the degree total |
| Law-enforcement or technical training | Elective, if accepted | Limits on applied or nonacademic credit |
In particular, criminology is not automatically social psychology, and a criminal justice research course is not automatically psychology research methods. If a forensic direction appeals to you, separate that interest from the immediate transfer decision: information about tuition and eligibility for forensic psychology programs does not replace an equivalency decision for your general psychology BA.
Requirements vary, but a general psychology major commonly builds from introductory psychology into statistics and research methods, followed by study of areas such as development, social behavior, cognition, and biological or abnormal psychology. Upper-division electives and a capstone may also be required. Your audit should identify which courses are prerequisites for others and which must be completed at the BA-granting institution.
For an AAS graduate, the likely planning challenge is sequence rather than subject interest: an accepted justice elective may add credits without opening a psychology research course that requires statistics first. Ask whether statistics must precede methods, whether methods must precede a capstone, and whether those courses run every term online.
Choose electives around a documented goal, not an implied credential. For example, addiction psychology bachelor's degree planning may help you compare subject coverage if you want recovery-service work, but an addiction elective or general psychology BA does not itself qualify you to counsel people with substance-use disorders.
Expect the institution to request transcripts from prior colleges and to apply its own transfer-admission and minimum-grade rules. Entry to the university, entry to the psychology major, and approval of course substitutions can be separate decisions. Do not assume an AAS waives high-school documentation, general education, or a major prerequisite; ask what applies to your record and entry term.
Before applying, gather official transcripts and course descriptions or syllabi for psychology, statistics, research, and any disputed criminal justice courses. Request a written degree audit, then direct proposed major substitutions to the psychology department and transfer-credit questions to the registrar or transfer office. If the evaluation is provisional, ask what would make it final and whether an appeal is available.
Keep undergraduate transfer admission distinct from a possible later graduate application. Even accelerated forensic psychology master's costs and outcomes should be considered only after checking that program's separate admissions and preparation requirements; finishing a BA does not guarantee graduate admission.
Completion time depends on the approved audit, course sequencing, and the number of credits you can realistically take each term. In the illustrative 120-credit example above, 60 applicable credits leave fewer credits to complete than 45 - but a prerequisite offered infrequently can delay either student. Working students should check live meetings, group work, and any site-based requirements before choosing an accelerated schedule.
For a useful cost comparison, obtain each school's per-credit tuition and mandatory online fees, then price the remaining required courses, not just the credits accepted. Add likely books, technology, travel, and any costs of an approved placement. Confirm whether transfer credits, enrollment intensity, and satisfactory academic progress affect your aid, and ask your employer whether education assistance is available.
Financial-aid rules depend on the school and your circumstances. Guidance on comparing grants for undergraduate addiction counseling study may help frame aid questions, but do not assume a grant or a specialization applies to this general psychology BA. Compare written net-cost estimates after each school evaluates your record.
Verify the BA-granting institution's current institutional accreditation through the accreditor's directory and the U.S. Department of Education's accreditation records. Match the institution and location to the program offering your degree, and ask the school which accreditation status applies to your enrollment term. Accreditation does not tell you how an AAS will transfer; you still need the degree audit.
Do not look for American Psychological Association accreditation as a general-psychology BA requirement. APA accreditation applies to specified professional psychology training programs, not broadly to undergraduate psychology majors. If your long-term goal is licensed counseling, that is a different degree and credential pathway; investigate the recognition and state requirements relevant to online clinical counseling graduate completion options rather than assuming this BA provides clinical eligibility.
Your criminal justice background may be especially relevant to victim services, reentry programs, community support, or justice-agency administration. A psychology BA can add knowledge of research, development, and behavior for roles involving outreach, documentation, referrals, and program support. Hiring still depends on the employer's requirements, your experience, and - where applicable - state credentials.
Compare the BA against the job you actually want. For an existing justice-system employee seeking an internal support or coordination role, an employer-approved course, supervised experience, or targeted training might be more direct. For a move into research support, prioritize statistics, methods, and evidence of careful data handling. If recovery services are the goal, review addiction recovery job families and check the credential and supervision rules for the particular position.
A general psychology BA does not authorize psychotherapy, diagnosis, independent psychological assessment, or practice as a licensed psychologist. Exposure to clients through an internship or prior justice work does not change those boundaries.
What Are the Salary and Job Outlook for Psychology Graduates?
There is no single reliable salary or job-growth figure for "general psychology BA graduates": they enter different occupations, often with different credentials and experience. For a realistic estimate, identify a specific target job and location, then consult the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook entry for that occupation. Check its wage reference year, projection period, typical entry requirements, and duties before using its figures in a return-on-investment calculation.
For example, pay reported for a human-services occupation describes workers in that occupation, not the expected pay from earning this BA. Licensed counseling is a separate comparison because it requires further qualifying education and state-specific steps. If that is your goal, examine clinical counseling master's time-to-degree and salary outlook alongside its full training costs; do not attribute a counselor's occupational wage to a psychology bachelor's degree.
Other Things You Should Know About Psychology
Not necessarily. Some schools consider applicants based on completed college credits, but finishing the AAS could affect a transfer agreement or admission category. Ask the receiving school to evaluate both scenarios.
Possibly. Request the receiving school's examination-credit policy and a degree audit showing where each award applies. A credit award may not replace a psychology major course.
Sometimes, with advance approval. Confirm course equivalency, concurrent-enrollment rules, residency requirements, and financial-aid effects before registering elsewhere.
Policies vary by school and subject. Ask whether the program has recency rules, especially for statistics or other prerequisites, and submit older syllabi if an equivalency needs review.
- .14 Evaluation and Review Process for Transfer of Courses and Credits. | Library of Maryland Regulations https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/13B.06.02.14
- Cost of Attendance (Budget) | 2025-2026 Federal Student Aid Handbook https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/fsa-handbook/2025-2026/vol3/ch2-cost-attendance-budget
- Bachelor of Arts in Psychology - Texas State's online programs https://online.txst.edu/degrees/undergraduate/ba-psychology/
- Graduation Requirements for the Bachelor's Degree | fullerton.edu https://catalog.fullerton.edu/content.php
- Requirements for the Bachelor's Degree | University at Albany https://www.albany.edu/undergraduate-bulletin/requirements-for-bachelors-degree.php
- Undergraduate | CSUF - Department of Psychology https://psychology.fullerton.edu/academics/undergraduate.html
- BA in Psychology - College of Liberal Arts https://cla.umn.edu/psychology/undergraduate/majors-minors/ba-psychology
- How Do Transfer Credits Work When You Go Back to School? | Whitworth Online https://online.whitworth.edu/news-articles/how-do-transfer-credits-work-when-you-go-back-to-school/
- Navigating the Transfer Credit Process | Smeal College of Business https://sites.psu.edu/bsbic/2025/10/11/navigating-the-transfer-credit-process/
- Academic Information and Policies - Online Program | Liberty University Course Catalog https://catalog.liberty.edu/undergraduate/academic-support/academic-information-policies-online-program/
