Criminal Justice, MS

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.

Required courses, 9 hours

The following 9 hours must be completed by all students:

Plus 3 hours

In addition, students must complete one of the following two courses in the core curriculum:

Thesis or non-thesis option

The degree requires each student to select a thesis or non-thesis option.

Students selecting the thesis option will be required to complete the core curriculum of 12 hours, 18 hours of electives, and 6 hours of thesis. Students selecting the thesis option must have departmental consent to enroll in thesis; the satisfactory completion of CJUS 5750 - Criminal Justice Statistics , is required prior to enrolling in thesis. Students choosing the thesis option must also pass an oral examination in conjunction with a master’s thesis defense.

Students selecting the non-thesis option will be required to complete the core curriculum of 12 hours and 24 hours of electives. Students choosing the non-thesis option must also pass a written comprehensive exam covering the core curriculum. All course work applied toward the Master of Science with a major in criminal justice must be at the 5000 level.

Additional information

The Department of Criminal Justice also participates in a program leading to the master’s degree with a major in interdisciplinary studies, which is administered by the Toulouse Graduate School. For further information about the interdisciplinary studies program, consult the Toulouse Graduate School section of this catalog or contact the Department of Criminal Justice graduate advisor.