The Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice is designed to provide students with competency in research, policy planning, evaluation, agency management, and preparation for continued graduate study in criminal justice and criminology. The program assists students to develop and apply research expertise toward the resolution of contemporary practice and policy issues.
To qualify for unconditional admission, applicants must:
Students who do not meet these criteria may be admitted conditionally or on probation as degree-seeking depending on the nature of the deficiency. Admission as a special student may be considered by the Graduate Program Committee upon request of the applicant.
Applicants must submit the following:
GRE scores are optional; applicants can strengthen their application for admission by submitting their GRE test scores.
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The minimum number of semester credit hours required for the degree, exclusive of other study to remove deficiencies, is 36. Degree candidates must complete the following three requirements:
A. Core Courses Required for All Students (15 SCH)
Students are expected to complete the majority of core courses prior to enrolling in elective courses. Normally, students should enroll in CRJ 5073, CRJ 5103 and CRJ 6373 in their first semester and CRJ 5083 and CRJ 5123 in their second semester.
B. Electives (15 SCH)
At least 9 semester credit hours of prescribed electives from the list below; and up to 6 semester credit hours of free electives may be taken outside of the discipline in related UTSA graduate programs with approval of the Graduate Advisor of Record (GAR).
C. 6 SCH from the following options:
1) Nonthesis Option: Students who select the nonthesis option are required to take the written comprehensive examination and complete two additional electives (6 hours). It is required that one of these additional electives be CRJ 6383 Capstone Course. It is graded as Credit/Non-Credit. This course provides a review of the five core courses from which all exam questions will be drawn. CRJ 6383 Capstone Course will operate as a stand-alone course. A student must complete this course to satisfy the requirements of the degree, but can also receive credit for this course without successfully completing the comprehensive exam. In the event that a student does not pass all five sections, the student must re-take the comprehensive exam in a subsequent semester. Students may only re-take the comprehensive exam twice after the initial attempt; students have one calendar year (two semesters) from their initial attempt to pass the comprehensive exam. Students do not need to re-enroll in CRJ 6383 to re-take the comprehensive exam. Students not enrolled in any other courses would be required to enroll in 1 credit hour of CRJ 6961 Comprehensive Examination in the subsequent long semester in which the student wishes to re-take the comprehensive exam.
2) Thesis Option: This option is available only with permission from an instructor and the Graduate Advisor of Record. Students electing the thesis option are required to enroll in CRJ 6993 or CRJ 6996 Master’s Thesis for a total of 6 credit hours, which includes completion of an oral comprehensive exam (i.e., successful proposal defense). Students failing to complete all requirements of the thesis option within the 6 credit hours would be required to enroll for 1 credit hour of CRJ 6991 Master’s Thesis if no other courses are being taken that term. The Master’s thesis requires compliance with UTSA thesis requirements and a successful final thesis defense.
For more information, contact:
Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice
Durango Bldg. (Downtown Campus) DB 4.112
Megan Augustyn, PhD
Ph: 210-458-2976
megan.augustyn@utsa.edu