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School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice

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Master of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice

The UNO School of Criminology and Criminal Justice offers a Master of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice. The degree program emphasizes criminology and criminal justice research, theory, planning and administration.  For more information on this program, feel free to download the Masters Student Handbook for the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

HOW TO APPLY

The application process is online at the Graduate Studies College website (www.unomaha.edu/graduate).  All materials required (official transcripts, GRE scores, recommendation letters,and personal statement) should all be sent to the Graduate Studies College:  UNO, 203 Epply Administration Bldg., Omaha, NE  68182.

The Master of Arts degree is a 30 credit-hour program designed to emphasize research activity and independent inquiry, while simultaneously providing fundamental course work. This degree is especially recommended for those students seeking an interim degree prior to obtaining the Ph.D. To earn the Master of Arts degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice, the student must satisfactorily complete the following course requirements:

Required Core Courses (12 credit hours)

The following 4 courses must be completed within the first 18 hours of coursework:

8020 Administration of Justice
8030 Criminal Justice Research, Theory, and Methodology
8950 Statistical Applications in Criminal Justice
9020 Seminar on Theories of Crime

Elective Criminology and Criminal Justice Courses.  Master of Arts students are required to take (with advisor approval) four courses from the following list of electives, totaling 12 credit hours:

8040 Seminar in Police and Society
8050 Seminar in Corrections
8060 Seminar in the Criminal Court System
8070 Seminar in Criminal Law and Procedure
8080 Seminar in Juvenile Justice
8090 Seminar in Theoretical Criminology
8100 Criminal Justice Organization, Administration, and Management
8120 Independent Study in Criminal Justice and Criminology
8130 Seminar in Women and Crime
8180 Criminal Justice Internship
8190 Independent Study
8210 Program Evaluation and Policy Analysis
8800 Special Problems in Criminal Justice
9010 Seminar on Law and Social Control
9030 Seminar on Minorities and the Criminal Justice System
9040 Comparative Criminology and Criminal Justice System
9130 Advanced Research Topics in Policing
9150 Special Topics in Criminal Justice Research
9160 Seminar in Community Based Corrections
9170 Seminar in Institutional Corrections
9200 Seminar on Violent Crime and Criminal Behavior
9220 Advanced Criminological Theory and Theory Construction

Both 8000 and 9000 level electives are open to Master of Arts students.

Thesis (6 credit hours)

Master of Arts students with completed coursework will establish a Thesis Chair and committee, and must successfully complete and defend the thesis for 6 credit hours (CRCJ8990).

The MA student may take up to 7 credit hours of CRCJ 8190 Independent Study.

Total credit hours for the Master of Arts degree is 30.

Criteria for Admission

Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores on the verbal, quantitative, and analytical sections are required for admission. An admission decision will not be made without these scores.  For additional information on the GRE, please visit: http://www.gre.org. GRE scores are also required for any student wishing to be considered for a graduate student assistantship.

Unconditional Admission. Admissions and graduate requirements meet the guidelines set by the Graduate College. An applicant will be unconditionally admitted to the Criminology and Criminal Justice Graduate Program if the following conditions are met:

  • Possesses a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution.
  • Has earned a B average; or both a 3.00 overall grade point average for the last two years of undergraduate work and a 3.00 or B average in undergraduate major.
  • Presents at least 18 semester hours of Criminology and Criminal Justice courses or related courses that meet the requirements of the current department undergraduate curriculum.
  • Has completed a basic statistics course, a research methods course, and a minimum of 15 hours in the Social Science area.
  • Has a combined score on verbal and quantitative sections of GRE of at least 850.

Provisional Admission. An applicant will be provisionally admitted to the Criminology and Criminal Justice Graduate Program if the following conditions are met:

  • Possesses a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution (if the institution is nonaccredited, 12 UNO graduate credit hours must be successfully completed before the student is eligible for admission to candidacy).
  • Has not completed all of the undergraduate prerequisite course requirements for admission to graduate study.
  • Has not less than a 2.75 overall grade point average for the last two years of undergraduate work and not less than a 2.75 grade point average in undergraduate major.
  • Has a combined score on verbal and quantitative sections of GRE of at least 800.
  • Upon recommendation of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Graduate Admissions Committee.

For More Information

For more information about the application process and requirements visit the Graduate College website.

For answers to individual questions, please contact Dr. Lisa Sample, Masters Program Chair at (402) 554.2610 or via email at lsample@unomaha.edu.