Criminal Justice, M.S.

Admission Requirements:

Submission of a formal application through the Graduate School office. Applicants must

1. Submit an undergraduate social science paper.
2. Schedule an appointment to write a substantial, original essay on their criminal justice practice and research understanding, interests, and plans. Appointments may be scheduled by contacting the Department of Criminal Justice at 773/995-2108.

Possession of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a grade point average of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale (the department may, under special circumstances, conditionally admit a student with a grade point average of 2.75 on a 4.00 scale).

General Requirements

• Prerequisites for all graduate level criminal justice courses include CJ 1200, 2309 and 2316 (or equivalents); ENG 1360, 2100, and either 2280 or2790 (or consent of the department); and CMAT 2030(or consent of the department). A grade of C or better is required in these courses.
• Completion of thirty-three graduate criminal justice hours (of which at least 18 hours must be at the 5000-level) and which must include the 21-credit-hours core (see below).
• Completion of a comprehensive examination (see below).
• At least 18 credit hours of criminal justice courses must be taken at the Chicago State University main campus.
• A 3.0 grade point average must be attained for core and elective courses required by the program. A grade of C or better is also required in these courses.
• No more than nine credit hours of graduate criminal justice courses taken at other institutions can be accepted as transfer credit toward the criminal justice master’s degree. No grades below B will be accepted for transfer credit.
• No more than nine credit hours of graduate criminal justice courses taken as a graduate student-at-large at this university can be accepted as credit hours toward the criminal justice master’s degree.

Specific Requirements

• Six credit hours of criminal justice electives selected from departmental offerings at the graduate level. At least three credit hours must be at the 5800-level.
• All candidates for the master’s degree are required to complete a graduate comprehensive examination as part of the requirements for graduation. The comprehensive examination will cover the content areas of criminal justice public policy issues, criminology theory, research design, and research analysis and application.

• CJ 5350 - Research Design in Criminal Justice Credit Hours: 3
• CJ 5380 - Quantitative Research Methods Credit Hours: 3
• CJ 5381 - Qualitative Research Methods in Criminal Justice Credit Hours: 3
• CJ 5801 - Research Foundations Credit Hours: 3
• CJ 5879 - Seminar: Public Policy Issues in Criminal Justice Credit Hours: 3
• CJ 5880 - Seminar in Advanced Topics in Criminology Credit Hours: 3

•  

• CJ 5881 - Advanced Research Analysis: Analysis and Application Credit Hours: 3 and
• CJ 5899 - Advanced Practicum / Internship in Criminal Justice Credit Hours: 3 to 6

• or

• CJ 5855 - Thesis Research in Criminal Justice Credit Hours: 3 to 6

Culminating Project Options

• CJ 5855 - Thesis Research in Criminal Justice Credit Hours: 3 to 6

• or

• CJ 5899 - Advanced Practicum / Internship in Criminal Justice Credit Hours: 3 to 6

• or

• CJ 5898 - Advocacy / Policy Practicum Credit Hours: 3