College of Arts and Sciences

Departmental E-mail: crimjust@indiana.edu

Departmental URL: https://criminaljustice.indiana.edu/

(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin.)

Curriculum

Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

Degrees Offered

Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy

Master of Science (Online)

The department participates in a 100% online Master of Science in Criminal Justice and Public Safety program. For more information, go to https://online.iu.edu/program/indiana-university-online-criminal-justice-and-public-safety-master-1556037918711

Program Information 

The department offers in-residence multidisciplinary graduate degrees in criminal justice that are designed for students coming from a variety of academic backgrounds. Students who complete our programs are prepared for academic positions and research, administrative, and policy careers in the criminal justice system, the civil justice system, and related private sector organizations.

Special Departmental Requirements 

See also the University Graduate School requirements listed in this Bulletin. 

Admission Requirements 

Admission to the Master’s or Ph.D. program is based on a review of the entirety of the applicant’s submitted information. In addition to looking for a record that evidences capabilities to engage in graduate study in Criminal Justice at the respective level, admissions are influenced by past academic performance, academic and professional experiences, letters of recommendation, the statement of purpose for pursuing graduate study, and scores on the Graduate Record Examination (verbal, quantitative, and analytic sections). 

M.A. Course Requirements

The Master of Arts degree requires a total of 36 credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree. Twelve of these hours must include P501 and P502 (Proseminars in Criminal Justice), P594 (Introduction to Research Methods) or an equivalent course approved by the department’s Committee on Graduate Studies, and an introduction to statistical methods’ course approved by the department’s Committee on Graduate Studies. A minimum of 9 additional credit hours of courses from Group A must be taken in the Department of Criminal Justice. Six additional credit hours must consist of P794 (M.A. Thesis) or P599 (Research Practicum), which are paired with the writing of a thesis or a substantial paper respectively. All remaining credit hours can be completed either inside or outside the department. Students already enrolled in the Ph.D. Program who choose to pursue a Master’s degree can petition their Qualifying Examination Committee to use their Qualifying Examination written paper as the Thesis or Substantial Paper when paired with P794 (M.A. Thesis) or P599 (Research Practicum) respectively. It is up to the Qualifying Examination Committee to decide whether the written work is of sufficient quality for either purpose. 

Ph.D. Course Requirements 

The Doctor of Philosophy degree requires a total of 90 credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree. These 90 hours are organized into 5 groups of course requirements. Courses used in one group cannot be used to satisfy the requirements of any other group.

Group 1: 18 hours are required that include P501 and P502 (Proseminars in Criminal Justice), P594 (Introduction to Research Methods) or an equivalent course approved by the department’s Committee on Graduate Studies, an introduction to statistical methods’ course approved by the department’s Committee on Graduate Studies, an advanced statistical methods course or a qualitative methods course approved by the department’s Committee on Graduate Studies, and a 3 credit hour course approved by the student's Graduate Advisory Committee that serves as an additional research tool for the student’s chosen focus in the program

Group 2: 30 hours of courses are required to be from within the department. At least 9 credit hours of the 30 hours must come from the "Courses-Group A" listing or an equivalent course within the department’s "Courses-Group B" listing that is approved by the department’s Committee on Graduate Studies. Finally, up to 21 of the 30 credit hours can be from another department or transferred in from another graduate program with the approval of the student’s Graduate Advisory Committee.

Group 3: students must have a Minor area from outside the department that meets the requirements of the Minor program. A minor typically requires an additional 12 hours of courses in the Minor area.

Group 4: a minimum of 18 dissertation credit hours are required.

Group 5: Up to 12 hours of other electives courses from inside or outside the department are permitted to satisfy the minimum of 90 hours of course work needed, subject to the approval of the student’s Graduate Advisory Committee.

Qualifying Examination

All doctoral students are expected to demonstrate basic proficiency by passing a qualifying examination following completion of required courses. This written examination may take a variety of forms and must demonstrate the student's ability to successfully engage in dissertation research. An oral defense is required. The written exam and the oral defense are evaluated as a combined effort.

Dissertation Proposal

Dissertation proposals can be submitted only after the successful completion of the Qualifying Examination. An oral defense of the dissertation proposal is required.

Final Ph.D. Examination

Oral defense of the dissertation is required.

Ph.D. Minor in Criminal Justice

Students from other departments or schools who want to minor in Criminal Justice should consult with the Director of Graduate Studies on the selection of a faculty advisor or advisors. At least 12 credit hours of department courses are required.