Criminal Justice, M.C.J.

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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 or MAT 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 less than a 2.8 GPA, but have 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 scheduling to take either the GRE or MAT during the first semester of graduate classes. Students conditionally accepted will have to achieve either a 275 on the GRE or 385 on the MAT 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 take CRMJ 6630.

CRMJ 6640 - Thesis (3) CIP:
CRMJ 6900 - Research in Criminal Justice (3) CIP:
CRMJ 6000 - Criminal Justice Administration (3)
CRMJ 6010 - Seminar in Law (3)
CRMJ 6020 - Judicial Seminar (3) CIP:
CRMJ 6030 - Contemporary Corrections (3) CIP:
Electives or Additional Criminal Justice Courses (18)

Note:

All courses are offered in the evenings, Monday through Thursday, meeting one night per week from 5 PM to 8 PM.

Additional Information

Course Offerings

Generally, all classes are offered in the evenings, Monday through Thursday, one night per week from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm. However, the faculty has the right to offer a class (es) during the day hours if the need is evident. 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 that are related to Criminal Justice. These classes may be taken from the Departments of Psychology, Social Work, Public Administration, or, on occasion, Education. Students may also take 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 or 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 form is accessible from the Graduate School site on the TSU website under the Forms and Publications tab.

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 nine semester hours of graduate study but no more than fifteen 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.