General Information | Public Administration-MPA | Criminal Justice-MCJ | PhD | Certificates

Master of Criminal Justice

The Master of Criminal Justice (M.C.J.) program is designed for students interested in comprehensive professional graduate education in the field of criminal justice. It is intended to develop in the student a fundamental understanding of the basic fields within criminal justice and of background material from supporting disciplines which would enable the student to adapt to many operational specializations. As an academic and professional field of study, this program is dedicated to preparing men and women not only to administer the system as it presently exists but also to evaluate, to analyze and to change ó to become pioneers in accelerating the shaping of a rational and responsive criminal justice system.

To deal with this system effectively, research design capability must be developed along with the skills required for the ordering and analysis of empirical data. This course of study will also prepare the student to be an innovator in crime control and prevention through coursework dealing with strategies and skills for promoting individual, organizational, and social change.

Minimum Requirements for the M.C.J. Degree

1. The program leading to the M.C.J. degree requires a minimum of 36 semester credit hours of appropriate graduate study. A grade point average of B (3.0 on a 4-point scale) or better is required for degree candidacy, and students must earn grades of B- or better in all required courses. Credit will not be counted for any course in which a student earns a grade of C- or lower. No more than six credit hours of independent study can be applied toward the degree.

2. Completion of the following core courses is required: CJ 5000 Law and Social Control; CJ 5100 Administration of Criminal Justice; CJ 5120 Nature and Causes of Crime; CJ 5321 Research Methods in Criminal Justice.

3. Completion of 21 semester hours of electives. Elective courses include a mixture of specialized courses, workshops, and other formats. Students may choose to use these elective hours to build an area of concentration designed to meet individual needs. Where appropriate, students may include specialized courses offered by other departments and schools of the University, with prior written approval of the faculty advisor.

4. Students must complete a minimum of 27 semester credit hours of coursework in criminal justice. The remaining courses for the degree may be under the criminal justice heading or under another discipline, with prior written approval of the faculty advisor.

5. Field study in criminal justice. Students who have not had experience in a criminal justice organization are required to complete CJ 6910 Field Study in Criminal Justice. A minimum of 240 hours of supervised work is required to earn three hours of credit. All required core courses must be completed before enrolling in CJ 6910.

6. Completion of the Advanced Seminar/Professional Practicum. This course presents students with the opportunity to apply knowledge gained in coursework to a question of interest drawn from their current or future careers in criminal justice. The Advanced Seminar/Professional Practicum is taken in the final semester of the student's program. It allows the student to apply the knowledge and skills gained in his or her coursework through in-class discussions and individual or group projects. All core courses must be completed before a student enrolls in the advanced seminar.

Admission Requirements

1. Applicants must have completed a bachelor's degree from a college or university of accredited standing, with grades sufficiently high to indicate ability to pursue graduate work. The applicant may have majored in any field for the undergraduate degree. Two sets of official transcripts are required from all higher education institutions.

2. Applicants for admission must submit three recommendations by qualified references that establish the applicants' personal qualifications for graduate work. Recommendations may be from professors, employers, and/or others who are acquainted with the prospective student's professional and/or academic work.

3. Applicants are required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT), or the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) unless they meet the requirements for waiver as stated below. Standard graduate admission test scores are normally waived when the candidate already has a master's degree in another field. M.P.A. applicants may have test scores waived if: 1) they have an undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 or better and 2) can demonstrate significant professional accomplishment.

4. Applicants should submit all admissions materials by July 1 for the fall semester, December 1 for the spring semester, and May 1 for the summer term.

5. Students who have missed the deadline for the upcoming semester may register as nondegree students. Up to twelve credit hours of public administration or criminal justice coursework taken as a nondegree student may be applied to the M.P.A. or M.C.J. degree program. Nondegree student application forms are available in the Office of Admissions.