Master's Program Requirements

General Requirements

The master of arts (M.A.) program in criminal justice requires students to complete a minimum of 30 credits toward the degree. All requirements for the M.A. degree should be completed within three years of the first semester of matriculation into the program.

Coursework

Students must complete four required courses (12 credits) and six elective courses (18 credits). The required courses are: 27:202:522 Research and Evaluation (3); 27:202:523 Data Analysis and Management (3); 27:202:525 Justice, Law, and Policy (3); 27:202:553 Master's Project Seminar (3).

Electives may be used to build a single substantive concentration on themes such as crime prevention, social justice, or research methodology, among others. Concentrations are declared by students at the end of their first semester and/or upon successful completion of any three required courses. All concentrations need to be clearly linked to a coursework plan for elective courses to be developed with the guidance of the staff within the Office of Academic Programs and Student Services. Concentrations are reviewed by the M.A. program director during the spring enrollment period (October/November). Further revisions or adjustments to the course plan or concentration area may be proposed by students and/or the M.A. program director during course enrollment periods. Concentrations are optional and not required.

For current and future course listings, schedules, and instructors, visit http://sis.rutgers.edu/soc.

Students may identify electives to create concentrations such as: Research: 640 Research Methods, 542 Introductory Statistics, 641 Advanced Statistics, 511 Foundations of Criminological Theory, and any School of Criminal Justice (SCJ) elective/fieldwork course. Crime Prevention: 605 Crime Mapping and GIS for Public Safety, 517 Violent Crime, 614 Communities and Crime, 533 Policing, and any SCJ elective/fieldwork course. Social Justice: 613 Victimization; 537 Race, Crime, and Justice; 535 Juvenile Justice; 531 Probation, Parole, and Intermediate Sanctions; and any SCJ elective/fieldwork course. To form a concentration, students will need to identify five substantively related electives--the sixth elective may be any other graduate-level course or fieldwork. Students are free to combine electives to create a self-declared concentration; their intended concentration with proposed course offerings should be accompanied by a written justification to be submitted to the M.A. program director for review during spring registration (October/November).

Students interested in creating cross-disciplinary concentrations may register for up to 6 credits of Rutgers University graduate elective courses outside of SCJ. However, any of these course selections must be preapproved by the M.A. program director. Students seeking preapproval to take classes outside of SCJ should provide a written letter of intent and include a copy of the course syllabus. Criteria for the final review and approval of course credits will follow the guidelines specified below under transfer credits.