Program Description | Admission | Degree Requirements | Courses
Program Description
The Master of Arts in Criminal Justice and Criminology degree is designed to prepare graduate students to conduct
research and actively participate in the development of knowledge in the areas
of criminological theory and criminal justice issues. Students who are planning careers in law enforcement, corrections or
rehabilitation, or who wish a deeper understanding of crime and the criminal
justice system should confer with the Graduate Program Advisor to develop a
combination of elective courses which will support their particular career
interests. Students seeking this degree are frequently candidates to pursue the PhD in Criminal Justice.
Admission
Admission to the Master of Arts program is based on the Admissions Committee's assessment of the applicant's scores on the Graduate Record Examination, the undergraduate academic record, and letters of recommendation from undergraduate professors. In some instances a personal interview will also be requested. Admission considerations include the following: (1) that the applicant has, or will soon have, an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution in an allied field; (2) official transcripts of all academic work previously undertaken; (3) test scores from the Graduate Record Examination; (4) at least three letters of recommendation from undergraduate professors; (5) a personal essay of the applicant’s career goals and aspirations; and (6) international students are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). A minimum score of 550 (paper-based), 213 (computer-based), or 79 (internet-based) is required.
A holistic review of each student's application will be completed on a competitive basis.
The deadline for submitting applications to the Master of Arts program is February 1 for the fall semester and September 1 for the spring semester.
Degree Requirements
The Master of Arts degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology is a 36-hour degree which includes a thesis. No minor is required.
Degree Plan - MA in Criminal Justice and Criminology
(Thesis)
|
Item
|
Requirement |
Options |
Hours Required |
| 1 | Required Courses |
Choose all from: CJ 530 <CRIJ 5330> Critical Analysis of Justice Administration CJ 532 <CRIJ 5332> Perspectives in Criminology CJ 593 <CRIJ 5393> Legal Aspects of the Criminal Justice System CJ 592 <CRIJ 5392> Survey of Research Methods CJ 685 <CRIJ 6385> Statistics for Criminal Justice Research |
15 |
| 2 | Electives | Choose five from: 5000/6000 level graduate courses in CRIJ1 |
15 |
| 3 | Thesis | Choose all from: CJ 698 <CRIJ 6398> Thesis Practicum CJ 699 <CRIJ 6099> Thesis2 |
6 |
TOTAL |
36 |
||
| Notes: |
| 1 | No more than three hours of CJ 693 <CRIJ 6393> Special Readings in Criminal Justice may be used as elective course work. |
| 2 | Once enrolled in CJ 699 <CRIJ 6099> Thesis, students must enroll in this course in every semester until graduation.* |
*Effective Summer 2012, graduate students will take dissertation/thesis classes for 3 credit hours until they have completed the degree requirements (12 hours for dissertation; 6 hours for thesis). Students may then sign up for 1 credit hour for continuous enrollment. Students do not have to sign up for thesis/dissertation classes during the summer if they are not working on their thesis/dissertation or if they are not graduating or working on their portfolio. If students do not stay continuously enrolled, they will be back enrolled in 1 semester hour and will be charged for the course.