Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice Criminal Justice Studies Major in Criminal Justice Studies (Major Code: 5133) Option I: Master of Arts (M.A.) General Requirements Students must have a minimum of 24 hours of criminal justice or equivalent courses. Any leveling classes will be individually arranged. 36-Hour Thesis Program Required Criminal Justice Courses (12 semester credit hours) - CRIJ 6340, 6348, 6387, 6388
Elective Courses (18 semester credit hours) The student may select not less than six semester credit hours or more than 12 semester credit hours from political science, psychology, sociology or a related field. - Choose from CRIJ 6096, 6098, 6312, 6320, 6322, 6335, 6337, 6342, 6346, 6362, 6364, 6366, 6372, 6374, 6392
- Approved related fields (six to 12 semester credit hours)
Thesis (six semester credit hours) 36-Hour Non-Thesis Program Required Criminal Justice Courses (12 semester credit hours) - CRIJ 6340, 6348, 6387, 6388
Elective Courses (24 semester credit hours) The student may select not less than six semester credit hours or more than 12 semester credit hours from political science, psychology, sociology or a related field. - Choose from CRIJ 6096, 6098, 6312, 6320, 6322, 6335, 6337, 6342, 6346, 6362, 6364, 6366, 6372, 6374, 6392
- Approved related fields (six to 12 semester credit hours)
Option II: Accelerated Criminal Justice Studies Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or Science (B.S.) and Master of Arts (M.A.) The 144-hour Bachelor’s to Master’s degree in criminal justice provides students the opportunity to earn degrees at an accelerated pace. In this program undergraduates with 90 or more credit hours may be allowed to enroll in graduate classes and count up to 12 graduate credit hours toward their bachelor’s degree. The same 12 graduate credit hours may also count towards a master’s degree. Students must apply to be accepted into the program after having successfully completed a minimum of 75 and a maximum of 108 credit hours, including credits earned from advanced placement and approved transfer hours. Transfer students must have completed a minimum of 24 hours as a full-time student at WTAMU. Although an overall GPA of 3.0 or better is preferred, students may be admitted on a probationary basis based on the student’s GPA on the last 60 hours. Although GPA is an important factor, it is not the only factor that will be considered in admissions. No GRE or other standardized test score is required for admission. No more than 12 hours of graduate work may be counted toward the requirements of both degrees and at least 24 of the required 36 graduate hours must be taken at the 6000 level. A student who becomes ineligible to participate in or withdraws from the accelerated bachelor’s to master’s program cannot double count any courses for both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. However, courses successfully completed with a 3.0 or better may count toward the bachelor’s degree as appropriate substitutions. Graduate courses utilized for a bachelor’s degree cannot be utilized for a graduate degree outside of the accelerated bachelor’s to master’s degree program. It is highly recommended that a student interested in this program meet with a criminal justice faculty member before taking upper division courses in the criminal justice major. Requirements for the Bachelor’s to Master’s Program in Criminal Justice 36-Hour Non-Thesis Option · Fulfill requirements for a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice (twelve credit hours can be taken at the graduate level and counted toward bachelor’s degree) · Twelve hours of approved graduate courses that count toward both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees · Twelve hours of required graduate criminal justice courses CRIJ 6340, 6348, 6387, 6388 · Twelve hours of graduate level courses 36-Hour Thesis Option · Fulfill requirements for a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice · Twelve hours of approved graduate courses that count toward both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees · Twelve hours of required graduate criminal justice courses CRIJ 6340, 6348, 6387, 6388 · Six hours of approved graduate level courses · Six hours of thesis CRIJ 6301 and 6302 Criminal Justice Scholarships To view information about scholarships for criminal justice students, click on the link above. Criminal Justice Graduate Advisor - Ms. Susan Coleman is the program director for both graduate and undergraduate students.
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