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doctor of philosophy in criminology & criminal justice.

The PhD program in criminology & criminal justice is organized around four components:

• A core of required courses in theory, research methods, teaching, and statistical analysis
• Elective courses in criminology & criminal justice and related fields
• Comprehensive examination
• A dissertation

The PhD in criminology & criminal justice requires a minimum of 92 graduate hours beyond the baccalaureate degree. This includes up to 30 hours earned in a master's degree. Satisfactory completion of a teaching practicum is also required.

Admission Requirements - Doctor of Philosophy

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 department of Criminology & Criminal Justice will require the following:

• An earned Master of Arts or Master of Science degree in criminal justice 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.) and who lack substantial course work in criminal justice may be granted provisional admission. They will be granted unconditional admission upon successful completion of 18 hours of 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 of Arts degree prior to unconditional admission into the PhD 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.
• Applicants must present at least three 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 PhD degree to the achievement of these goals.
• International students seeking admission to the program must meet UNO Graduate College 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 an 8.0 is preferred, (OR)
  • "Internet TOEFL" - minimum score of 21 in each of the four areas and a minimum 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.

The Criminal Justice Doctoral Admission Committee will make recommendations for student admissions during the spring semester. Newly admitted students will begin taking courses in the fall semester of each year. If more students than the department can reasonably handle apply for admission in any given year, the Committee will admit those most qualified.

Course Work

Both 8000 and 9000 level elective courses are available to doctoral students and there are a series of 9000 level courses that are required for doctoral students.

A maximum of six hours of dual level courses (4---/8--6) can be included in the program of study. A maximum of seven hours of directed readings (CJUS 9980) can be included in the program of study. All course work must be completed within two years from the time a student's program of study is approved by the Dean for Graduate Studies. All students will be required to complete all courses listed in the core area. Students also will take elective courses in criminal justice or related fields.

The following section gives the details of course work for the PhD in criminal justice:

Required Courses (24 hours)

CJUS 9020 Seminar on the Theories of Crime
CJUS 9080 Advanced Statistical Analysis (Statistics 2)
CJUS 9090 Special Problems in Research Methods (either quantitative or qualitative)
CJUS 9100 Special Problems in Statistical Analysis (Statistics 3)
CJUS 9000 Academic Writing
CJUS 9000 CJ Program Evaluation & Policy Analysis
CJUS 9700 Teaching at the College Level
CJUS 9800 Advanced Research Design

Elective Courses (18 hours)

CJUS 8030 Research Methods in Criminal Justice
CJUS 8040 Seminar on Police and Society
CJUS 8050 Seminar on Corrections
CJUS 8060 Seminar on the Criminal Court System
CJUS 8070 Seminar on Law and Criminal Procedure
CJUS 8080 Seminar on the Juvenile Justice System
CJUS 8090 Seminar on Theoretical Criminology
CJUS 8100 Criminal Justice Organization and Management
CJUS 8110 Criminal Justice Planning and Change
CJUS 8130 Women and Criminal Justice
CJUS 8190 Independent Study
CJUS 8200 Special Problems in Criminal Justice
CJUS 8210 Criminal Justice Analysis and Program Evaluation
CJUS 9000 Theory 2 and Theory Construction
CJUS 9010 Seminar on Law and Social Control
CJUS 9030 Seminar on Minorities and the Criminal Justice System
CJUS 9040 Comparative Criminology and Criminal Justice Systems
CJUS 9090 Special Problems in Research Methods
CJUS 9110 Seminar on Police Organization and Management
CJUS 9120 Seminar on Police Effectiveness
CJUS 9130 Advanced Research Topics in Policing
CJUS 9150 Special Topics in Criminal Justice Research
CJUS 9160 Seminar on Community Based Corrections
CJUS 9170 Seminar on Institutional Corrections
CJUS 9180 Seminar on the Criminal Courts System
CJUS 9200 Seminar on Violent Crime and Criminal Behavior
CJUS 9980 Directed Readings
CJUS 9990 Dissertation

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 CJUS 9030, CJUS 8130, or masters level or higher courses from another department as approved by the Supervisory Chair and the Graduate Chair.

Students are expected to complete the coursework within two 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.

Comprehensive Examination and Admission to Candidacy

After completion of the 42 credit hours of coursework, doctoral students will be required to establish a comprehensive examination committee and successfully pass the comprehensive examination.

Dissertation [CJUS 9990] (20 hours)

Students may begin work on the dissertation after successful completion of the comprehensive examination. 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 three other members. One committee member must be from outside criminal justice. The dissertation topic, prospectus, and the dissertation all require the approval of the dissertation committee.