Criminal Justice with a concentration in Justice Policy and Administration, MS

The program requires satisfactory completion of a minimum of 36 hours beyond the bachelor’s degree. The degree includes the core curriculum of 12 hours, which must be completed by all students.

Admission requirements

In order for an application to be considered for admission, the student’s application packet needs to be completed by August 1 (for fall admission) or December 1 (for spring admission). A completed application packet includes the following:

application,
transcripts,
two letters of recommendation (academic or professional), and
personal statement.

The personal statement is sent directly to the department program advisor and includes an explanation of the following: career goals, why the student is pursuing a master’s degree, prior experience in the criminal justice field, prior research experience in criminal justice, and anything in the student’s personal background relevant to the admission decision.

Personal statements are sent directly to:

Brooke Nodeland, PhD
Director of Graduate Programs
University of North Texas
Department of Criminal Justice
1155 Union Circle #305130
Denton, TX 76203-5017
or via e-mail to MSCJ-Advising@unt.edu

Required courses, 12 hours

Comprehensive examination

The degree requires each student pass a written comprehensive examination covering the core curriculum of criminal justice policy, criminological theory, research methods, and criminal justice administration.

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 does not participate in the MA or MS interdisciplinary studies degrees. Therefore, criminal justice cannot be an academic area within the MA or MS in interdisciplinary studies degrees.

For department approved enrollment, students must not be an MSCJ on-campus student and not be pursuing an academic certificate. In addition, students who are non-degree or in the GDES category are not allowed to take certain courses without department approval.