Criminal Justice, M.A.

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Master of Arts Degree

The Master of Arts in Criminal Justice requires a minimum of thirty-three (33) hours of criminal justice course work with 24 hours at the 600 level or above plus six (6) hours of CJ 698 - Thesis , for a total of thirty-three (33) hours. CJ 600 , CJ 620 , CJ 625 , CJ 630 , CJ 640 , CJ 650 , CJ 660 and CJ 670 are required. A 3.0 GPA is required for graduation.

Plan of Study. Students must submit their signed, official Plan of Study Form to the Graduate School by the end of the second semester they are enrolled. The Plan of Study Forms are available at www.usm.edu/graduate-school/planofstudy.php - click on the “Plans of Study” link.

Research and Scholarly Integrity Education

All faculty holding Regular or Associate graduate faculty status, must complete CITI training modules required by the Graduate School and their departments. All graduate students must complete the CITI training modules required by the Graduate School and their departments the first semester they are enrolled in graduate school. The RSIE policy and training information are found on the Graduate School web page –www.usm.edu/graduate-school. Contact the Dean of the Graduate School if you have any questions regarding the policy of training information.

Continuous Enrollment Requirement: Students must meet the requirement specified in the front section of this Bulletin.

Admission Requirements to the Master’s Degrees/Programs

Admission decisions are based on a balancing of a variety of factors. These include official competitive scores on the verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing portions of the Graduate Record Examination’s General Test and undergraduate grade point average (both overall and in criminal justice) and evidence of related field training and work experience. In addition, applicants are to submit for consideration three letters of recommendation from members of their undergraduate faculty.
Applicants granted regular admission who have an undergraduate major in criminal justice, including nondegree graduate students, must have achieved a grade point average of 3.0 overall and in their criminal justice courses.
Applicants may be granted conditional admission in cases where other than grade point averages indicate. In these cases the school may, at its discretion, grant conditional admission to undergraduate criminal justice majors and nondegree graduate students in criminal justice with a GPA of less than 3.0 but more than 2.75 overall and in criminal justice courses and a 2.5 GPA in the last 60 hours.
Applicants who are not criminal justice undergraduate majors, who meet all other criteria, may be granted conditional admission if the school is satisfied that their grade point average overall and in their particular major indicates the potential to perform acceptably in the program and have at least a 2.5 GPA in the last 60 hours. Students should see the appropriate graduate advisor for requirements to achieve regular admission.
All prospective students with other than a criminal justice undergraduate major or strong professional training in criminal justice will be admitted conditionally until after completion of twelve (12) hours of undergraduate criminal justice courses with a B or better in each course. These course hours are CJ 325, CJ 330, CJ 352 and either CJ 341 or CJ 360. All such supplemental undergraduate work must be completed prior to beginning graduate coursework.
Students from all underrepresented groups are particularly encouraged to apply.

Required courses are listed below. Duplicated work is not permitted. A student may not take for graduate credit a similar course for which the student earlier received undergraduate credit of B or better. Because more qualified applicants are received than can be accepted, admission to the graduate programs is very selective.

Continuous Enrollment Requirement: Students must meet the requirements specified in the front section of this Bulletin.

M.A./M.S. in Criminal Justice: Juvenile Justice Emphasis

Selection of the juvenile justice specialty entails completion of sixty (60) hours of coursework in order to comply with state policy and federal court orders governing state employees of the Department of Youth Services (18 hours at the 600 level or higher). An included minor of eighteen (18) hours of coursework is required in psychology, counseling psychology, or social work. Courses may be selected from the following:

CJ 600 - Seminar in Theory of Criminal Justice 3 hrs.
CJ 620 - Applied Research Methods for Criminal Justice 3 hrs.
CJ 625 - Applied Statistical Methods for Criminal Justice 3 hrs.
CJ 630 - Seminar in Civil Liberties and Criminal Law 3 hrs.
CJ 640 - Seminar in Policing 3 hrs.
CJ 650 - Seminar in Corrections 3 hrs.
CJ 660 - Seminar in Juvenile Law 3 hrs.
CJ 670 - Seminar in Criminal Justice Policy 3 hrs.

Graduate Minor in Criminal Justice

The graduate minor in criminal justice consists of at least nine (9) hours of graduate coursework for the master’s and twelve (12) hours for the doctorate, at least six (6) hours of which must be taken at The University of Southern Mississippi for either master’s or doctorate. Approval of the minor and the courses is at the discretion of the major advisor.