Criminal Justice, M.C.J.

The requirements for the Masters of Criminal Justice include the successful completion of thirty-six (36) hours of graduate coursework. The thesis or non-thesis (comprehensive examination) will be supervised by faculty designated at the time of admission to candidacy.

Admission Requirements

Admission into the M.C.J. program requires the student to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university and an undergraduate grade point of 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Unconditional admission will be granted to students with a 2.8 GPA and no GRE score is required. Unconditionally admitted students also must have 18 hours of undergraduate Criminal Justice course hours, or courses that directly relate to Criminal Justice. Students with a 2.5 GPA up to 2.79, can also be unconditionally accepted into the program with a GRE score of at least 275 with the verbal and math sections combined, or a MAT score of 385. GPAs of less than 2.5 will not be accepted. Students can be conditionally accepted who have at least a 2.5 GPA, but less than a 2.8 GPA, but schedule to take the GRE during the first semester of graduate classes. Students conditionally accepted will have to achieve a 275 on the GRE to continue with graduate classes. .

To remain in the program, students must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA for each semester throughout the program.

Required Courses (18 Hours)

Eighteen hours of core courses (required). Students writing a thesis are required to enrolled in CRMJ 6640 . Those pursuing the non thesis option are required to enrolled in CRMJ 6630 .

CRMJ 6000 - Criminal Justice Administration (3) CIP:
CRMJ 6010 - Seminar in Law Enforcement 3 CIP:
CRMJ 6020 - Judicial Seminar (3) CIP:
CRMJ 6030 - Contemporary Corrections (3) CIP:
CRMJ 6900 - Research in Criminal Justice (3) CIP:
CRMJ 6640 - Thesis (3) CIP:
OR
CRMJ 6630 - Non-Thesis Option (3) CIP:

Note:

All courses are offered in the evenings, Monday through Thursday, meeting one night per week and generally from 5:30 PM to 8:20 PM. for Zoom or on-ground classes.. Note that online classes do not meet in the classroom.

Additional Information

Course Offerings

Generally, all classes are offered in the evenings, Monday through Thursday, one night per week generally from 5:30 PM to 8:20 PM. However, the faculty has the right to offer a class(es) during the day hours if the need is evident. As a special note, international students are not permitted to take fully online classes if they reside in the Nashville area. This means that international students living in the Nashville area must take on-ground classes only. International students living in their home countries are permitted to take online classes.

Electives (18-credit hours)

Students are expected to take classes within the Criminal Justice course offerings to satisfy the additional 18-credit hours. It may become necessary for a student to take a class outside of the Department of Criminal Justice if they have taken all the required courses and a CRMJ elective is not being offered that has not been taken. Students may take a total of two courses (six hours) from other graduate programs at TSU. These classes must be approved by either the Chair of the Department or Coordinator of the MCJ Program. Students are expected to take classes from other graduate programs that relate to Criminal Justice. These classes may be taken from the Departments of Psychology, Social Work, Public Administration, or, on occasion, Education. Among the 18 credit hours of elective courses, students may also select a maximum of two 5000 level courses as electives, as they are considered as graduate courses.

Program of Study

The degree candidate must file a Program of Study after completing at least twelve (12) semester hours of graduate study, but no more than fifteen (15) semester hours. The Program of Study lists the courses which will be used to satisfy degree requirements, as well as detailing how other requirements will be met. The student may later change the Program of Study with the approval of the Department and Graduate School. Students must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA to be eligible for admission to candidacy. The Program of Study and Advancement to Candidacy form is accessible from the Graduate School site on the TSU website under Forms and Publications.

Admission to Candidacy

The individual must file for admission to candidacy at the same time he or she submits the program of study. The candidate must have a grade point average of 3.0 or above to be eligible for admission to candidacy. The degree candidate must file a program of study after completing at least twelve (12) semester hours of graduate study but no more than fifteen (15) hours. The program of study lists the courses which will be used to satisfy degree requirements, as well as detailing how other requirements will be met. The student may later change the program of study with the written approval of the Department and the Graduate School.