MASTER OF ARTS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE
at California State University, Stanislaus

• News
• Admission to the Program
• Prerequistes for Continuation in the Program
• Program Requirements
• More Information

The admission portfolio requires the following materials and are minimum prerequisites for admission to the Master of Arts in Criminal Justice degree program.
 

• An application for graduate admission by published submission dates.
• Official transcripts of all undergraduate work demonstrating completion of a bachelor’s degree at an accredited college or university, with 15 units in criminal justice, criminology, or other comparable discipline as judged by the faculty.  Prerequisites for graduate criminal justice courses include a course in Introduction to Criminal Justice, Criminology, and an upper-division research methods course.
• An undergraduate major GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.  In exceptional circumstances, applicants who do not meet this requirement may be considered if additional evidence of academic promise is presented.
• A grade of B or better in an upper-division research methodology course.  However, applicant’s who do not meet this requirement may be granted conditional admission and must satisfy this requirement during their first semester in the graduate program.
• Three letters of professional references with specific comments regarding the applicants academic work, professional experience, and ability to complete successfully a rigorous graduate program.
• A sample of the applicant’s written work (ideally a library research or empirical research paper from the undergraduate major).
• A letter of intent specifying the applicant’s interest in the program, academic and professional background in preparation for graduate study, motivation to advance the field of criminal justice through their graduate study, and intent for part time or full time study.
• International students who have not received their undergraduate degrees from institutions in which English is the principal language of instruction must receive scores of 550 total and part scores of 54 on the written Test of English as a Second Language (TOEFL) or 213 total and part scores of 21 on the computer TOEFL.
•  Approval by the Criminal Justice Faculty Graduate Committee and the Dean of Graduate Studies.

Applications to the Criminal Justice Program received by April 1 will receive priority consideration for admission the following fall semester. Admission to the program is competitive.

Complete the university requirements for the Master of Arts degree, which consists of 27 required units and 9 elective units.

1. Required Courses (27 units)
CJ 5000 Historical and Contemporary Criminological Thought, 3 units
CJ 5001 Historical Analysis of the American Criminal Justice System, 3 units
CJ 5101 Criminal Justice Planning and Innovation, 3 units or
CJ 5150 Contemporary Criminal Justice Issues Seminar, 3 units
CJ 5200 Intermediate Statistics in Criminal Justice, 3 units
CJ 5201 Quantitative Methods in Criminal Justice, 3 units
CJ 5202 Policy Research and Program Evaluation in Criminal Justice, 3 units
CJ 5600 Teaching and Staff Development in Criminal Justice , 3 units
CJ 5990 Master’s Thesis and Defense,  6 units

2. Complete 9 units of electives from the following categories of study.  CJ 5940, Graduate Internship in Criminal Justice, is required for students who do not have substantial work related experience in the field of criminal justice.

A. Administration and Management
CJ 5210 Management of Correctional Organizations, 3 units
CJ 5280 Criminal Justice Information Technology Systems, 3 units
CJ 5290 Management of Law Enforcement Organizations, 3 units

B. Law and Legal
CJ 5320 Critical Examination of Criminal Law, 3 units
CJ 5340 Constitutional Law in Criminal Justice Seminar, 3 units
CJ 5370 Law and Society Seminar, 3 units

C. Youth and Family
CJ 5225 Child Abuse, Neglect, and Endangerment, 3 units
CJ 5325 Advanced Seminar in Domestic Violence and Intimate Abuse, 3 units

D. Personalized Study in Criminal Justice
CJ 5940 Graduate Internship in Criminal Justice, 3 units
CJ 5980 Independent Study, 3 units
CJ 5950 Special Topics, 1-5 units

 Other Curricular Offerings

4000-level courses
Students may substitute a maximum of 6 elective units of 4000-level criminal justice course work (in the areas of Administration and Management, Law and Legal, Youth and Family, and Personalized Study in Criminal Justice) with the approval of the graduate coordinator.  These units may not have been used to fulfill requirements for a baccalaureate degree. Graduate students enrolled in 4000-level courses will complete supplemental assignments and will be assessed by differential grading standards commensurate with graduate level work.

Courses from related disciplines
With the approval of the graduate coordinator, students may substitute in their program a maximum of 6 graduate elective units from other disciplines such as psychology, sociology, public administration, or social work.

Continuing Enrollment
If, following the completion of the required coursework, students have not yet finished the master's thesis, they are required to register for one unit of MDIS 7000 through University Extended Education in any semester in which they are working under direct faculty supervision or using university facilities to complete the thesis, or submitting the thesis for University approval.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Peter Nelligan,  Criminal Justice Graduate Director
PNelligan@stan.csustan.edu
(209)667-3030

CSU, Stanislaus Office of Graduate Studies
(209)667-3129

Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice
(209)667-3408

California State University, Stanislaus main web page. Includes information about the campus and area.