College: College of Liberal Arts & Communication

DESCRIPTION

The M.A. in Criminology and Criminal Justice is designed to serve two purposes. First, the program will assist in developing additional analytical skills for in-service practitioners with B.A./B.S. in the field or in a closely related field. Second, the program will provide a good foundation for students who wish to pursue doctoral studies.

In order to fulfill the requirements of the program, students are required to select a graduate committee comprised of at least three faculty members from the graduate faculty, two of whom must be from the Department of Sociology & Criminology. The selection of the committee should take place no later than the end of a student’s second semester in the program. Additionally, students are required to submit a graduate plan to the committee for consideration, which shall indicate the courses that a student plans to take to fulfill the degree requirements. At least two members of the committee must approve of the plan.

CURRICULUM

Curriculum and degree requirements can be found in the most current Graduate Bulletin. 

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ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Students seeking admission into the Master of Arts degree program in Criminology and Criminal Justice must meet the admission requirements of Graduate Programs. The specific program requirements are as follows. The student must have:

• BA or BS in Criminal Justice, Criminology, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, or other closely related field.
• A minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or a minimum of 3.0 for the last 60 hours of undergraduate course work completed.
• A minimum grade of B in the following undergraduate courses, or their recognized equivalents:

CRIM 3263, Criminology

SOC 3383, Social Statistics

SOC 4293, Methods of Social Research

REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS AND DOCUMENTS

• CV/Resume
• Transcripts from all degree-awarding colleges and universities (Unofficial transcripts may be submitted initially; Official transcripts will be required upon admission and enrollment)
• Statement of purpose that describes the applicant’s career and academic goals.
• 2 Letters of recommendation from instructors or employers who are acquainted with the applicant’s qualifications
• No GRE required

For an introduction to the A-State Graduate school and other useful information, please visit the Graduate School Admissions. For students outside the US, please refer to the information on our International Admissions (Academic criteria and English Proficiency Requirements, etc.)

Admissions are competitive.

Application deadlines: Priority deadlines for admission and for consideration for graduate as­sistantship are April 1 (for Fall admission); October 1 (for Spring admission).

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE

A minimum of eighteen (18) hours for the degree must be in courses numbered at the 6000 level. Up to six hours (6) may be taken outside of the department. All students must complete a thesis or non-thesis option for the degree. Students electing to complete a thesis may take six (6) hours of CRIM 670V, Thesis, with the consent of the overseeing faculty member, in lieu of a corresponding number of hours of elective courses. (Note: Receipt of credit for thesis hours is contingent upon suc­cessful completion and defense of the thesis.) Students electing to take the non-thesis option will take comprehensive exams after earning a minimum of eighteen (18) hours in the program, including CRIM 6523, Seminar in Criminal Behavior and CRIM 6343, Methods of Social Research.