Graduate Study in Criminology and Criminal Justice

A Program Guide

Nicole Prior

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781317522485
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Éducation
• Subtopic: Éducation générale

This book provides information on graduate programs in the United States and Canada to students and professionals who are interested in attending post-baccalaureate education in criminology or criminal justice. The book contains information for each program and includes both brick-and-mortar and online programs. An introduction and a section on potential employment options provide context.

PART I

INTRODUCTION

Criminology is the scientific study of deviant and/or criminal behavior. The field of criminology views crime as a social phenomenon and seeks to understand the origins, prevention, and treatment of criminal and deviant behavior. The criminal justice system involves law enforcement agencies. the courts, and correctional systems, which all work together to apprehend, prosecute, defend, sentence, incarcerate, supervise, and treat criminal offenders. As an academic field, criminal justice examines topics such as criminal investigation procedures, evidence-gathering procedures, arrest procedures, criminal-charging selection, defense preparation, trial procedures, sentence selection, and offender treatment. While these two disciplines—criminology and criminaljustice—are different, they are interdependent. Education in either field prepares students for employment in a multitude of professions and occupations.

Many students who wish to work in the fields of law enforcement, the legal profession, or corrections pursue graduate degrees in either criminology or criminal justice. Numerous individuals who are already employed within these fields find it necessary to obtain a graduate degree in order to continue to move forward in their field. Additionally, many students simply find these disciplines intriguing and wish to understand the above phenomena more fully, while others wish eventually to teach the topic to future criminal justice professionals. Graduate programs will fulfill each of these objectives. With many types of graduate programs within criminology and criminal justice, selecting a graduate program that is best for the prospective student takes persistence, research, and careful deliberation. Some programs focus on preparing students for an academic research and teaching career in either discipline, while others may focus on providing students with the necessary information that is needed to work within a specific component or agency of the criminal justice system. Information about the student’s career aspirations and goals, coupled with his or her personal preferences, must be weighed against each program’s strengths, weaknesses, and specializations to find the program that is the best fit.

What Exactly is Graduate School? And What Does a Graduate Program Entail?

Graduate school is not simply an extension of undergraduate studies with more challenging assignments. The purpose and goals of a graduate education are distinctly different from those of an undergraduate education. While many undergraduate criminology and criminal justice programs seek simply to expose students to a diverse assortment of information and research within the field, doctorate and—to some degree—master’s programs strive to provide their students with a fluency in research techniques and an expertise of information within the discipline of criminology and/or criminal justice. The manner and structure of how each program reaches these objectives will vary.

Each program will be uniquely arranged. The required course-work will typically depend upon the specialization of the program and its faculty. A master’s degree may have anywhere from two to four semesters of coursework, whereas a doctoral program will involve additional coursework past the requirements of a master’s degree that is more specialized. Many master’s degrees will have two options: a thesis and a non-thesis alternative. If a student wishes to pursue a doctorate after completing his or her master’s degree, he or she should select the thesis option. Additionally, it would be optimal for the student to choose research for his or her master’s thesis that could be carried over to his or her doctoral dissertation, although this might not always be accomplishable. For the non-thesis option, students may be required to complete additional requirements beyond their coursework in lieu of writing a thesis, such as an exam. A majority of doctoral programs will also use examinations to assess the student’s completion of coursework. These exams are referred to by many names, including preliminary, comprehensive, qualifying, or candidacy exams. With both the master’s and doctoral programs, students have to pass these examinations in order to receive their degree or move on in the program respectively. Often, students are given two attempts to pass the exam; if they fail both, they are not allowed to continue in the program. The student will also be required to defend either his or her master’s thesis (if the thesis option is chosen) or the doctoral dissertation. Both defenses are viewed as a type of examination on the subject that was researched. As a rule, a thesis is viewed as a thorough evaluation of a particular area, while a dissertation is an original contribution to the literature of the field.

What Should a Student Consider When Selecting a Graduate School?

Given the current economic conditions, cost should be one of the principal elements considered when selecting a graduate program. Due to the fact that financial aid, whether it be federal aid or a fellowship, scholarship, or assistantship, is not always available or given to every student, the amount of both tuition and living costs must be taken into account. A common solution for many students is to attend school part-time while continuing to work full-time, but some schools may frown upon or outright ban students from working, especially if a student is receiving aid. In regard to tuition and associated fees, public schools typically have lower tuition costs than private schools, but the total will still be more than undergraduate tuition fees. Many public schools will waive out-of-state fees for nonresidents, while private schools rarely make a distinction between resident and nonresident students. Concerning living costs, the largest portion will be the student’s housing expenses. The fees associated with housing will vary greatly depending upon the location of the school. Students must factor in whether the program is in an urban or rural setting and the area of the country where it is located. Additionally, the student’s accustomed standard of living must also be taken into account when calculating housing costs.

The size and quality of the program must also be considered when making a decision about what program to attend. Although program size is an important factor, it must be interpreted with caution. While the size of the program may help to determine the faculty-student relations and class size, many programs with large enrollments can offer small classes and close student-faculty rapport. Another aspect to bear in mind is that larger institutions generally offer more extensive facilities and research opportunities, while smaller institutions may provide fewer but more focused specializations. In regard to assessing a program’s quality, there is no thoroughly reliable measure of quality in education, mostly due to the fact that no two students are uniformly benefitted by the same program. That being said, several criteria factor into a program’s caliber and merit that a student can consider: faculty resources, facilities, reputation, and placement success.

Faculty resources include the highest degree held by each faculty member, the institution from which each faculty member received his or her highest degree, and the number of publications and professional honors each faculty member has received. Additionally, students may wish to consider the availability of certain faculty members for mentorship and advising during their course of study, especially if they are interested in studying a specific topic. With respect to a program’s facilities, students may wish to inspect the number of courses open to graduate students, the scope of the information covered by the program’s required courses, and the level of outside funding that the department has been awarded. Furthermore, students may want to evaluate the size of relevant library holdings and their availability to students. Moreover, looking at how the university prioritizes its funds will provide an indication of the importance of the department to the university at large. A program’s perceived quality or prestige is typically reflected in its reputation, although this may not always hold true. Countless students believe that there is a correlation between the competitiveness of a program’s admission standards and the quality of the program, but one should be cautioned in interpreting difficulty of admission as indicative of a superior program. Smaller programs may have more permissive admissions policies in order to increase enrollment, while larger departments may curb admissions solely because of limited facilities and faculty. Lastly, the placement success of students and alumni may not directly associate with the program’s quality, but students would be wise to factor this element into their decision, especially when the program has had great success with placing previous students and alumni within the specialization or agency in which the student is interested.

One additional element that must be considered when selecting a graduate program is accreditation. Accrediting agencies are nongovernmental agencies that ensure colleges, universities, and individual academic and professional programs meet “acceptable levels of quality” (USDOE). Regional and national agencies grant accreditation to an institution or department based on whether the university or program has set forth and fulfilled an educational purpose and has adequate financial capital and other resources, and based on the quality and level of education offerings and services provided. If a student chooses to attend a graduate school that is not accredited, he or she may not receive federal or state financial aid, may not be able to transfer credits another program/ university, and may find it difficult to get a job. Employers are more likely to recognize degrees offered by accredited programs and universities. In general, universities and graduate programs are accredited by one of the following six agencies of accreditation: Middle State Association of Colleges and Schools, New England Association of Schools and Colleges, North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Students should ensure that the program they wish to attend is accredited before enrolling.

Students should always perform their own research to gauge a program’s fit. Speaking with some of the program’s alumni and inquiring as to how the program prepared them for work in the field and finding out their opinions about the program can prove beneficial. Also, talking with the department’s faculty members and graduate advisors can offer the student a chance to get a sense of the program. Additionally, students should familiarize themselves with the most up-to-date information attainable, as programs frequently change. Students should routinely inspect the websites of the graduate schools and departments that are in contention. Lastly, they should visit as many campuses as possible. Students should make an appointment to speak with the graduate advisor, talk to the current students, sit in on a class, check out the facilities, evaluate potential housing situations, and get an overall feel for the program, department, university, and local area. These actions can assist students in making the best decision possible about what program to attend.

How to Apply to Graduate School

In order to qualify for graduate school, a student must possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution at the time of entrance into the program. Some programs will require the student’s undergraduate degree to be in the fields of either criminology, criminal justice, or a related discipline such as sociology, while others may only require a set number of coursework credit hours from a specified discipline. The student’s undergraduate GPA is evaluated by the graduate school and the departmental admissions committee. Many universities and programs will not take a student with an overall GPA below the equivalent of a B. The GPA requirement can be based on a student’s cumulative GPA for all undergraduate study or may only apply to a discipline-specific GPA. In addition to the university’s application for graduate school, many departments will have a supplemental application that must be submitted. A student will also be asked to furnish an official transcript from each institution that he or she attended while acquiring his or her undergraduate degree. The conferring undergraduate institution will have a procedure and fee in place for sending an official transcript.

Most programs will require between one and three letters of recommendation. Students should carefully choose the individuals whom they request to write their letters of recommendation, as they should not ask someone who they are not confident will give them a positive recommendation. Letters of recommendation ought to be written by a current or former professor who can substantiate the student’s intellectual ability and motivation for graduate study. The student should provide a stamped, preaddressed envelope if the program does not utilize an online system for letters of recommendation. Students will sometimes be asked to write a statement of purpose or a personal essay on topics such as the student’s projected plans for research or why he or she wishes to study criminology or criminal justice. Be advised that the admissions committee will evaluate not only the content of the essay but also how well the student expresses him or herself. Students should keep their essays brief while also including all of the pertinent information necessary to address the question fully.

Most graduate programs will require an entrance examination, typically the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), sponsored by the GRE Board and administered by Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey. This examination is offered year-round as a computer-based test. The paper version is administered three times per year and is only offered where computer-based testing is not available. According to the GRE website, a student “can take the GRE revised General Test once every 21 days, and up to five times within any continuous rolling 12-month period … may take the paper-based GRE Revised General Test as often as it is offered.” The General Test, which takes approximately two and one-half hours to take, comprises three sections that are scored separately: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing. Additionally, students will take one unidentified verbal or quantitative section that is being assessed for future testing that does not count toward their score. Despite the fact that computer-based General Test scores are typically reported within 10–15 days, the GRE should be taken well in advance of the application deadline to allow enough time for the delivery of the scores and processing by the institution.

Students must be well informed of each university and program’s application deadline. Students should begin their inquiries into the programs in which they are interested a minimum of one year in advance of the desired enrollment. Many programs will have application deadlines in mid-winter, but some will have deadlines as early as late fall. Most admissions committees will not make decisions until all of the information has been obtained; therefore, it is up to the student to ensure that all application materials are received prior to the application deadline. It should be noted that many times the same data are used to award fellowships and assistantships, but the deadlines may differ.

Financial Assistance

There are many types of financial assistance available through federal and state governmental agencies, private foundations, and civic organizations. Each will have its own application policies and procedures. Additionally, many graduate programs offer financial aid via fellowships, scholarships, grants, and assistantships. Some university/departmental aid packages may provide health benefits. These opportunities are commonly awarded on merit and are highly competitive. Their availability is frequently based upon the graduation of the current recipient. Fellowships (traditionally reserved for doctoral students) and scholarships typically include a tuition waiver, a large stipend, and carry no obligation other than academic performance. Grants are usually given based on either financial need or a specialized talent within the field, and can contain a tuition waiver, stipend, or combination of the two. Students should read the terms of the awards carefully, as some will restrict the recipients and not allow them to supplement their income via other methods. Assistantships are awarded based on need, on merit, or on both. Assistantships typically involve either research or teaching duties and are accompanied by a tuition waiver and/ or stipend. Assistantship positions should be recognized as both employment and financial opportunities and as an indispensable part of the student’s education. Teaching assistantships require the recipient to assist with the department’s undergraduate program by teaching classes, grading papers, or monitoring laboratories. Research assistantships are similar to teaching assistantships but have assignments pertaining to departmental research. Students should consider exploring assistantships and openings for financial help in other departments, residence halls, and administrative offices at the university if not granted departmental aid. Many of these positions will carry the same awards as departmental assistantships.

PART II

LIST OF GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND CRIMINOLOGY IN THE UNITED STATES, ALPHABETICAL BY SCHOOL NAME

(Information taken directly from school/department websites)

Albany State University

Address: 504 College Drive

Albany, GA 31705

Phone Number: [phone]

Website: https://www.asurams.edu/

Department: ...