Dissertation

Once the core area exam has been successfully completed, students are expected to complete an original research project in the form of a doctoral dissertation. Students are required to complete 24 credits in dissertation research. Working under faculty direction, each candidate will pursue an original investigation of a problem within his or her area of concentration and present the results of this investigation in a dissertation. The first major step in the dissertation process is to form the committee. The committee consists of the dissertation chair and three more dissertation committee members, two from within the criminal justice faculty and one member from outside the criminal justice program. The outside member should be a member of the Rutgers graduate faculty or can be someone from outside Rutgers. The second major step at the dissertation stage is the development of a dissertation prospectus (research plan). The prospectus explains what the candidate intends to study, its importance to the field, proposed methods of investigation, and a review of the relevant literature. Once the prospectus is completed, the doctoral candidate presents and defends it at a scheduled meeting that is open to students and faculty. At the successful defense of the prospectus, the application for admission to candidacy must be submitted to the chair of the Ph.D. committee. The third major step of the dissertation process is the execution of the prospectus. This includes collecting data, analyzing it as described in the prospectus, and reporting the results and implications. Once this has been completed, students schedule the dissertation defense.