Criminal Justice (M.S.)
Admission Requirements
- A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (4.0 scale) in the last 60 credit hours or a Master's degree from an accredited college or university.
- A written statement of intent that includes the applicant’s preparation for graduate study.
- If minimum requirements are not met, the graduate faculty may grant an applicant conditional admission to the program as a premajor if the applicant has a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 (4.0 scale) AND a minimum of five years of full-time work experience in the criminal justice field.
- Applications are reviewed on a continual basis for the fall and spring semesters.
In addition, all applicants should review the Admission to a Graduate Program section in this catalog.
Program Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Core Courses (18 credit hours) | ||
| CRJ 501 | THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON CRIME AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE | 3 |
| CRJ 504 | RESEARCH METHODS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE | 3 |
| CRJ 601 | CORRECTIONAL STRATEGIES | 3 |
| CRJ 604 | CRIMINAL COURTS | 3 |
| CRJ 606 | LAW ENFORCEMENT ISSUES | 3 |
| CRJ 609 | STATISTICS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE | 3 |
| Elective Courses (9-18 credit hours) | ||
| Select 9-18 credit hours from the following: | 9-18 | |
| HISTORY OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE | ||
| ADVANCED CRIME ANALYSIS | ||
| INDEPENDENT STUDY (1-3) | ||
| ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND THE MANAGEMENT PROCESS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE | ||
| ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE | ||
| DATA-DRIVEN POLICING | ||
| WHITE-COLLAR CRIME | ||
| JUVENILE JUSTICE | ||
| COMPUTER APPLICATION | ||
| RACE AND ETHNICITY IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE | ||
| GENDER ISSUES IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE | ||
| CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE | ||
| CRIMINAL JUSTICE ETHICS | ||
| RESEARCH PROJECT | ||
| Up to 9 credit hours of electives may be taken outside the department with prior written approval of the student's academic adviser. | ||
| Comprehensive Examination or Master's Project (0-3 credit hours) | ||
| Select one option: | 0-3 | |
| MASTER'S PROJECT | ||
Comprehensive Examination | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 36 | |
Students will be able to:
- Demonstrate a basic knowledge of methods of gathering evidence in criminal justice and an understanding of what constitutes acceptable and appropriate evidence.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the impacts and outcomes of various criminal justice policies and practices.
- Demonstrate the ability to articulate, apply and critically evaluate criminal justice theories.
- Demonstrate competence in writing discipline specific research-based papers incorporating supporting material.
- Demonstrate the ability to think critically.