New Zealand's first Bachelor of Criminal Justice graduate crossed the stage at Canterbury University's December graduation ceremony.

Annabel Frost (right) with
Associate Professor Lyndon Fraser

Annabel Frost, who moved to New Zealand from England with her family when she was a child, has completed two degrees in four years – a BA and a BCJ – by studying at the university's Summer School and taking extra papers.

"I started off doing a BA in Sociology and Human Services because I've always been interested in learning about people and the world around me," Ms Frost says. "But it was [Professor of Sociology] Greg Newbold's 200-level crime and justice paper that sparked my interest in criminal justice, so when the degree was introduced it seemed like exactly what I wanted to do."

Although she's still to choose her career path, Ms Frost says she is interested in the criminal justice sector.

Director of the Bachelor of Criminal Justice Programme Associate Professor Lyndon Fraser says that BCJ enrolments have grown from a handful when it began to 180 enrolled in 100-level this year. Around 100 students are expected to graduate with a BCJ in 2016.