Admission Standards and Procedures

To be considered for admission, the applicant should:

• Possess a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.
• Have earned a grade point average of at least 3.00 on a scale of 4.00.
• Achieved a score of 290 on the GRE. More information on the GRE can be found here. 
• Submit a statement of purpose for graduate study in Criminology and Criminal Justice (two pages, double-spaced).
  
• Submit a resume or CV.
• Submit two letters of recommendation.

The graduate coordinator will review the applicant and make a decision on whether the materials meet the above standard to accept. All application material should be received by July 1 (for Fall admission) and November 1 (for Spring admission) and should be uploaded electronically through the Graduate School website portal. Any student planning to pursue a Graduate Assistantship should apply by March 15 in the Fall semester and October 1 for the Spring semester to receive full consideration.

Program Requirements

1. A total of 30 semester hours of graduate work plus the completion and defense of a thesis, or 33 semester hours of graduate work without a thesis with courses taken in both Tool and Foundation Components and successful completion of the Capstone course and Capstone area comprehensive paper. NOTE: Students choosing the thesis option should familiarize themselves with the Thesis/Dissertation Preparation Guide before starting to write.

Other Requirements

1. Students not previously having successfully completed a statistics course must register for a statistics course from a list approved by the department prior to registering for CJUS 7129 - Advanced Stat In Cj .
2. A minimum of 24 hours of coursework at the 7000 level, including thesis hours.
3. Up to nine hours of coursework may be taken outside the department with prior approval of the graduate coordinator.
4. Students will be allowed no more than six hours of credit toward the degree in non-classroom courses such as internships, individual directed studies, and reading courses.
5. Satisfactory performance in CJUS 7xxx Graduate Capstone course for non-thesis students.
6. Satisfactory performance on the Graduate Capstone areas comprehensive paper covering the major areas of criminology and criminal justice for non-thesis students.

Retention Requirements

1. All students are required to maintain a GPA of at least 3.00. Should the student’s GPA fall below that mark, a period of one semester will be allowed to correct the deficiency. At the discretion of the chair, the coordinator of graduate studies, and the Assistant Vice Provost for Graduate Studies, this period may be extended one additional semester.
2. Any student receiving a grade of D or F in a required course in the core curriculum will be terminated from the program.