M.S. Criminal Justice
The program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive, broad-based liberal arts education. The program is specifically designed to provide a Master of Science degree for entry into various criminal justice professions, provide advanced professional educational opportunities for those already employed in the field of criminal justice, and produce a new generation of academics capable of pursuing doctoral studies and leading the profession of criminal justice in the 21st century.
Following the completion of the program, each student is expected to:
- Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the field of criminal justice.
- Demonstrate theoretical knowledge and skills needed to analyze crime and criminal behavior.
- Demonstrate ability to conduct scientific research in criminal justice.
- Demonstrate knowledge and skills in criminal justice administration and leadership.
- Demonstrate academic competence to pursue doctoral studies in criminal justice.
Program Overview
All students enrolled in the graduate program will have to complete a total of thirty-six (36) credit hours of graduate work. Of these thirty-six credit hours, 18 credit hours must be from general core courses, and 12 credit hours must be from the areas of concentration offered by the department. Six credit hours may be taken from criminal justice electives or from graduate courses offered by other departments.
The students enrolled in the Master of Science in Criminal Justice program will have two options available to complete their graduate work: 1) Thesis Option and 2) Non-Thesis Option. Both options require the completion of 36 credit hours in graduate work and the core requirements (18 credit hours) are the same. To learn more about the M.S. in Criminal Justice please see the graduate handbook below.
Graduate Handbook
Graduate Handbook (Revised 01/2017)
Other Forms
- Application for Advancement to Candidacy (PDF) - 2 sets
- Application for Comprehensive Examination (PDF) - 2 sets
- Dissertations and Theses - How to Access (PDF)
- Guide for the Preparations of Theses & Dissertations - Handbook (PDF)
- Non Thesis Curriculum (PDF)
- Student's Program and Data Card (PDF) - 3 sets
- Thesis Curriculum (PDF)
- Thesis Defense (PDF) - 2 sets
- Thesis Topic (PDF)