General Requirements

The doctoral program in criminal justice requires students to complete a minimum of
60 credits towards the degree, including 42 hours of coursework and 18 hours of
dissertation research. All requirements for the doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree should be completed within five (5) years, and must be completed within seven (7) years of the
first matriculation in the criminal justice Ph.D. program.

As part of their doctoral education, students are expected to regularly participate in
professional development activities, including Professional Development Seminars,
SCJ Colloquia, Distinguished Speaker Series, meeting with job candidates and
attending their presentations, and attendance/presentation at professional conferences such as the American Society of Criminology Annual Meetings.

Specific Credit Requirements for the Ph.D. in Criminal Justice Include:

1. A minimum of 60 credits for the doctorate.
2. A minimum of 42 credits of coursework, including seven required 3-credit courses
(described below) and 21 credits of electives.
3. A minimum of 18 credits in dissertation research taken toward the degree.
4. Grades of a B or better in all required courses. A grade of less than a B in a
required course indicates an academic deficiency. Any required course in which
the student earns less than a B must be repeated until a B grade is earned.
5. No more than 3 credits with a grade of C+ or lower are allowed in meeting the
requirements for the degree; these cannot be in a required course. 
6. The overall GPA for coursework in the program must be a 3.2 or better.
7. No credits from undergraduate courses may be used for the doctoral degree.
8. Up to 12 graded credits may be transferred from other graduate degree-granting
institutions (see Transfer of Credit).
9.  A full-time, one-year residency (9 credits per semester for the first two semesters)
is required for the first year of the program. After the first year, students may
enroll part or full time for the remainder of the program.
10. Courses taken to satisfy the requirements for the master's degree in criminal
justice at Rutgers may, with approval, be counted toward the doctorate.