Degree Requirements

Graduate Degree Requirements

The program requires satisfactory completion of a minimum of 36 hours beyond the bachelor’s degree. The degree includes a core curriculum of 12 hours, which must be completed by all students.Students will be required to complete the core curriculum of 12 hours and 24 hours of electives. The degree requires each student to select a thesis or non-thesis option.

Thesis Option

Core Curriculum – Part I (9 hours)
            CJUS 5000 – Criminal Justice Policy   (3 hours)
            CJUS 5600 – Advanced Criminological Theory  (3 hours)
            CJUS 5700 – Evaluation and Research Methodologies (3 hours)

 

Core Curriculum – Part II (3 hours)

CJUS 5500 – Seminar in Criminal Justice Administration (3 hours) or CJUS 5200 -- Legal Aspects of the Criminal Justice System (3 hours)

Statistics (3 hours) As part of the departmental consent process to enroll in thesis, all students who are planning on writing a thesis must satisfactorily complete CJUS 5750 – Criminal Justice Statistics before enrolling in thesis.

CJUS 5750 – Criminal Justice Statistics (3 hours)                                      

Electives (15 hours)                                                                                                  

Thesis (6 hours)

            CJUS 5950 – Thesis (6 hours)                                                                      

Total Program Hours:   36 hours

Non-Thesis Option

 Core Curriculum – Part I (9 hours)
            CJUS 5000 – Criminal Justice Policy (3 hours)                                           
            CJUS 5600 – Advanced Criminological Theory (3 hours)  

            CJUS 5700 -- Evaluation and Research Methodologies (3 hours)                                      

Core Curriculum – Part II (3 hours)
            CJUS 5200 – Legal Aspects of the Criminal Justice System (3 hours)
            or CJUS 5500 – Seminar in Criminal Justice Administration (3 hours)

 Electives (24 hours)                                                                                                     

 Total Program Hours: 36 hours

Electives

CJUS 5050 – Criminals and Drugs
CJUS 5100 – Information Warfare, Security and Risk Analysis
CJUS 5120 – Cybercrime and Digital Forensics
CJUS 5130 – Information Policy, Law and Justice
CJUS 5250 – Administrative Law and Justice
CJUS 5270 – Criminal Evidence 
CJUS 5350 – Seminar in Contemporary Policing 
CJUS 5450 – Punishment, Discipline and Social Policy 
CJUS 5460 – Correctional Programs 
CJUS 5470 – Seminar in Juvenile Delinquency 
CJUS 5620 – Seminar in Victimology

CJUS 5750 - Criminal Justice Statistics
CJUS 5800 – Topics in Criminal Justice*
                            
* Content varies as course covers specific issues of current interest and concern in criminal justice and criminology.  May be repeated as topic changes.

        Topics Include:
        Advanced Crime Scene Reconstruction

        Crises in Criminal Justice       

           Domestic and International Terrorism 
        Legal Aspects of Policing 
        Seminar in American Gangs

        Seminar in Community Policing
        Seminar in Forensic Science 
        Seminar in Homicide/Serial Homicide 
        Women and Crime

Sequence of Courses

Courses comprising the core curriculum are scheduled in the Fall and Spring semesters.  The schedule for required course offerings is as follows:

Fall of each academic year:
CJUS 5000 – Criminal Justice Policy
CJUS 5700 – Evaluation and Research Methodologies

Spring of each academic year:
CJUS 5200 – Legal Aspects of the Criminal Justice System 
or CJUS 5500 – Seminar in Criminal Justice Administration

CJUS 5600 - Advanced Criminology Theory

CJUS 5750 - Criminal Justice Statistics (depending on need)