The analytical and evaluative skills stressed by this program enable students to identify and assess the often conflicting objectives of criminal justice and investigate basic issues and practical problems in criminology and the administration of criminal justice.

Objectives

1. Attainment of advanced education for persons who wish to enter careers in post-secondary education.
2. Development of skills in research and in program planning and evaluation in criminology and criminal justice.
3. Strengthening of the professional qualifications of persons employed in the fields of criminal justice.
4. Preparation for doctoral study in a behavioral or social science.

Admission Requirements:

Degree Admission Applicants must:

1. Meet the graduate school requirements;
2. Have at least a 3.0 undergraduate GPA, and have completed the following courses or equivalent:
   • *SOCL250 Social Statistics I
   • *SOCL304 Methods in Sociological Research
   • CRM300 Criminal Justice
   • CRM301 Criminology

Conditional Admission

Applicants who meet the GPA requirement but lack one or more required courses may be admitted conditionally with the permission of the program chair; course deficiencies should be completed prior to taking required graduate courses.

Degree Requirements

The M.A. in the criminology and criminal justice program requires either a thesis or two essays for the non-thesis option.

Option I:  Thesis students must complete a thesis on a subject determined in consultation with their adviser, in light of their interests. The completed thesis must be approved by the department. Four hours of thesis credit are earned.

Option II:  Non-thesis students must submit two essays dealing with methodological, substantive or theoretical issues in criminology and criminal justice. These may be based on papers completed in graduate courses, but must be of higher quality than usual term papers, meet departmental requirements, and be approved by the department. No credit hours are earned for these essays.

Course Requirements

The M.A. in criminology and criminal justice requires the completion of 31 hours of course work to be distributed among required courses, program area courses, elective courses and cognate courses as follows:

Required Courses (0-4 hours) Select from either Option I or Option II:

Option I: CRM690/691/692 Thesis (4 hrs)

Option II: Non-thesis option (0 hrs)

Program Area (21 hours)

CRM620 Controversies in Policing (3 hrs)
SOCL513/CRM513 Social Deviance (3 hrs)
CRM610 Theories of Criminal Behavior (3 hrs)
CRM611 Sociology of Crime and Its Correction (3 hrs)
CRM666 Global Criminology (3 hrs)
SOCL677 Advanced Methods in Sociological Research (3 hrs)
SOCL678 Methods in Social Program Evaluation OR SOCL630 Advanced Statistics (3 hrs)

Elective and/or Cognate Courses (6-10 hours) Selected in consultation with the graduate advisor.

PROGRAM TOTAL (31 hours)