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

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Master of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice

The UNO School of Criminology and Criminal Justice offers a Master of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice. The degree program emphasizes crime and criminal justice research, theory, planning and administration.  For more detailed information on the 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 required materials (transcripts, personal statement, and recommendation letters) should be sent to the Graduate Studies College.

The Master of Science degree is a 36 credit-hour non-thesis program. This degree program offers the student a choice of either the standard Master of Science curriculum or a Master of Science with an option in Public Administration or a Master of Science with an option in Counseling. The Public Administration Option is especially recommended for administrators or future administrators within the criminal justice system. The Counseling Option is designed for those who wish to work with juvenile and adult offenders in the criminal justice system.

To earn the Master of Science degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice, the student must satisfactorily complete the following course requirements:

General Degree Requirements

Required Core Courses. Master of Science students are required to take the following four courses totaling 12 credit hours:

8010 Nature of Crime
8020 Seminar in Administration of Justice
8030 Criminal Justice Research, Theory, and Methodology
8950 Statistical Applications in Criminal Justice (Statistics I)
* All courses carry three hours credit.

Elective Criminology and Criminal Justice Courses.  Master of Science 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 Science students.

Elective Cognate Courses (9 credit hours). In consultation with an advisor, the student should select three (3) courses totaling 9 credit hours in a related field. Suggested fields include, but are not limited to: Public Administration, Business Administration, Psychology, Political Science, and Sociology.

Comprehensive Exam or Capstone Project (3 credit hours). MS students are required to successfully complete CRCJ8970 Capstone in Criminology and Criminal Justice for 3 credit hours, which is offered only in the spring semester. Alternatively, students may take a comprehensive examination either the fall or spring semester.

Criteria for Admission

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 Masters 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 28 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.

Provisional Admission. An applicant will be provisionally admitted to the Criminology and Criminal Justice Masters 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.
  • 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 hair, at (402) 554.2610.

Public Administration Option

To earn the Master of Science degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Public Administration Option, the student must satisfactorily complete the following course requirements:

Required core courses in Criminology and Criminal Justice (12 credit hours)

Electives in Criminology and Criminal Justice (12 credit hours)

Required public administration courses (6 credit hours)

PA 8050 Public Administration & Democracy
PA 8400 Public Budgeting or PA 8480 Public Finance Administration

Electives in public administration courses (3 credit hours, choose one)

8410 Public Personnel Management
8090 Organization Theory & Behavior
8300 Policy Design & Implementation
8440 Organization Development

Capstone project (3 hours)

Counseling Option

To earn the Master of Science degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Counseling Option, the student must satisfactorily complete the following course requirements:

Required core courses in Criminology and Criminal Justice (12 credit hours)

Electives in Criminology and Criminal Justice courses (12 credit hours)

Required counseling courses (6 credit hours)

8030 Practices (3 credit hours)
8110 Human Development and Psychosocial Interventions (3 credit hours)
8020 Introduction to Counseling (1 credit hour)

Elective counseling courses (3 credit hours)

8016 Child Abuse and Neglect (3 credit hours)
8200 Theories (3 credit hours)
8226 Career Development (3 credit hours)
8250 Counseling Multicultural and Diverse Populations (3 credit hours)
8270 Group Techniques in Guidance (1 credit hour)
8370 Group Counseling Theory and Practice (2 credit hours)

Capstone Project (3 credit hours)

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.