Academic Programs Catalog

In addition to meeting the requirements of the university and of the College of Social Science, students must meet the requirements specified below.

Admission

While a criminal justice undergraduate major comparable to that offered by this school is not required for admission to the Master of Arts degree program, the applicant must have a background of education and occupational experience appropriate to the successful pursuit of graduate work. Occupational experience is highly desirable before undertaking graduate study in some fields of criminal justice.

All applicants must have at least 12 credits of undergraduate course work in political science, economics, sociology, psychology, anthropology, history, social work, or any combination thereof. At least 6 of these credits must be in sociology, psychology, social work, or any combination of such courses.

Regular Status 

To be considered for admission to the Master of Arts degree in Criminal Justice, an applicant must:

1. submit a personal statement regarding their academic and professional goals.
2. submit scores from a GRE general exam taken within the last five years. The GRE exam is waived for candidates with a cumulative undergraduate grade-point average of 3.2 or higher from an accredited and recognized institution, and for applicants with a completed graduate degree.

Applicants insufficiently prepared for graduate study in criminal justice may have to complete collateral course work or pursue individualized study to satisfy deficiencies. Collateral course work does not count towards degree requirements.

Requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice

The program is available under Plan B (without thesis) and online only. The student must complete a total of 30 credits distributed as follows:

1.	All of the following courses (18 credits):
	CJ	801	Crime Causation, Prevention and Control						3
	CJ	810	Proseminar in Criminal Justice						3
	CJ	812	Criminal Justice Management Seminar						3
	CJ	857	Criminal Justice Behavior and Ethics						3
	CJ	889	Fundamentals of Basic and Translational Research						3
	CJ	896	Policy Analysis under Conditions of Change						3
2.	Complete 6 credits of 800-level criminal justice electives.
3.	Complete 6 credits of electives approved by the student’s academic advisor.
4.	Completion of a final examination or evaluation.