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Doctorate in Criminology and Criminal Justice

The doctoral program in Criminology and Criminal Justice is organized around four components:

A core of courses in theory, research methods, teaching and statistical analysis;
Elective courses in criminology, criminal justice, and related fields;
Comprehensive examination; and
Dissertation.

The Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice requires a minimum of 92 graduate credit hours beyond the baccalaureate degree. This includes up to 30 hours earned in a master's degree. Satisfactory completion of a teaching practicum also is required. For more complete information about the doctoral program please read the Doctorate in Philosophy Criminology and Criminal Justice Student Handbook (in PDF format).

Admission Requirements

Admission to the program will be governed generally by the requirements specified by the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Graduate College. In addition to the basic requirements established by the Graduate College, the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice will require the following:

An earned Master of Arts or Master of Science degree in criminology and criminal justice (or a related program) from an accredited institution will be required for unconditional admission into the program.

Applicants with a Master's Degree in an allied field (sociology, political science, public administration, etc.) who lack substantial course work in criminology and criminal justice may be granted provisional admission. They will be granted unconditional admission upon successful completion of 18 hours of criminology and criminal justice courses from the core curriculum.

Outstanding applicants who have completed a baccalaureate and wish to be considered for the doctoral program may be provisionally admitted, but must first complete the requirements for the master's prior to unconditional admission into the Ph.D. program.

A combined score of at least 1,000 on the verbal and quantitative portions of the Graduate Record Examination is required. Students demonstrating exceptional academic potential may be considered with a GRE score of less than 1,000. For additional information on the GRE, please visit their website at http://www.gre.org.

Applicants must present at least two letters of reference from academics.

Applicants must present a statement of intent, not exceeding five typewritten, double-spaced pages, describing the applicant's prior education, relevant professional experience, career goals, and the specific relationship of the Ph.D. degree to the achievement of these goals.

International students seeking admission to the program must meet UNO Graduate Faculty requirements governing the admission of international students. In addition to these requirements, all ESL students are required to submit scores from the "ILETS" or the "Internet TOEFL" (the paper TOEFL will not be accepted). Minimum required scores are as follows:

     "ILETS" -- minimum score of 7.5 is required and we prefer an 8.0, (OR)
     "Internet TOEFL" -- minimum score of 21 in each of the four areas and a minimum of a score of 95 overall.

All ESL students will be required to take a proficiency assessment examination upon admission. That assessment will be used to determine if further assistance is required.

Curriculum

All students will be required to complete all eight courses listed as required. Students also will take elective courses in criminology and criminal justice or a related field.

8 core courses = 24 credit hours
Specialty Area/Electives = 18 credit hours
Dissertation = 20 credit hours
Minimum Total Hours Beyond Master's Degree = 62 credit hours
Minimum Total Hours Beyond Bachelor's Degree = 92 credit hours

Degree Requirements

The following section gives the details of course work for the Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice:

Required Courses (24 credits)

All doctoral students are required to take the following 8 courses totalling 24 hours:

9020 Seminar on the Theories of Crime
9080 Advanced Statistical Applications (Statistics II)
9090 Special Problems in Research Methods (either quantitative or qualitative)
9100 Special Problems in Statistical Analysis (Statistics III)
9000 Academic Writing
9000 CJ Program Evaluation and Policy Analysis
9700 Teaching at the College Level
9800 Advanced Research Design

Elective Courses (18 credits)

All doctoral students will select 6 courses from the electives list for a total of 18 hours. One of these elective courses must be a required 3 credit hour diversity course, which can be fulfilled by CJUS9030, CJUS8130 or masters level or higher courses from another department as approved by the Supervisory Committee Chair and the Graduate Program Chair. Students are expected to complete the coursework with 2 years, except in extraordinary circumstances. This will require that they either take 12 hours in two of the semesters or work in 6 credit hours during summer semesters.

8040 Seminar on Police and Society
8050 Seminar on Corrections
8060 Seminar on the Criminal Court System
8070 Seminar on Law and Criminal Procedure
8080 Seminar on the Juvenile Justice System
8090 Seminar on Theoretical Criminology
8100 Criminal Justice Organization and Management
8120 Independent Study in Criminal Justice and Criminology
8130 Seminar on Women and Crime
8190 Independent Study
8200 Special Problems in Criminal Justice and Criminology
9000 Theory II and Theory Construction
9010 Seminar on Law and Social Control
9030 Seminar on Minorities and the Criminal Justice System
9040 Comparative Criminology and Criminal Justice Systems
9090 Special Problems in Research Methods
9130 Advanced Research Topics in Policing
9150 Special Topics in Criminal Justice Research
9160 Seminar on Community Based Corrections
9170 Seminar on Institutional Corrections
9200 Seminar on Violent Crime and Criminal Behavior
9980 Directed Readings in Criminal Justice
9990 Dissertation Hours

Both 8000 and 9000 level electives will count toward the doctoral degree.

Public Administration Courses

8090 Organizational Theory and Behavior
8300 Seminar on Policy Design and Implementation
8320 Seminar on Public Policy Evaluation 
9000 Foundations of Public Administration
9050 Seminar on Ethics in Public Affairs 
9300 Knowledge Development and Use in Public Service Professions (also listed as PA 9300)
9320 Seminar on Policy Analysis
9350 Computer Applications in Criminal Justice and Public Affairs
9400 Environment of Public Administration
9420 Organizational Dynamics
9600 Seminar in Advanced Management Theory
9700 Public Budgeting and Financial Theory

Comprehensive Examination

After completion of the 42 credit hours of course work, doctoral students will be required to establish a Comprehensive Examination Committee and successfully pass the Comprehensive Examination.

Dissertation (20 credit hours)

A 20-credit-hour dissertation will be required of all students. The dissertation must reflect original scholarship and contribute to the body of knowledge on criminology and criminal justice. The dissertation topic must be approved by the student's supervisory committee, which consists of a chair and four other members. One committee member must be from outside the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. The dissertation prospectus and the dissertation itself must be approved by the supervisory committee. An oral defense of the prospectus will be scheduled after students have passed their written comprehensive examinations. An oral defense of the completed dissertation also is required.

Forms

Recommendation for Graduate Admission

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. Robbin Ogle, Graduate Program Chair, at (402) 554-2610.