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The University of Texas at Dallas
Graduate Admissions

Master of Science in Criminology

http://epps.utdallas.edu/crim/

Faculty

Professors: Bruce Jacobs, James Marquart, Alex Piquero, Nicole Leeper Piquero, John L. Worrall
Associate Professors:
Denise Boots, Tomislav Kovandzic, Lynne Vieraitis
Assistant Professors: J.C. Barnes, Robert Morris, Nadine Connell
Clinical Professors: Elmer Polk
Clinical Assistant Professors: Timothy Bray, Sarah Maxwell

Mission

The Mission of the Master of Science in Criminology program at the University of Texas at Dallas is threefold, to:

1. Deliver high-quality education to a diverse body of students regarding the etiology, control, and variation of law-breaking across space and time.

2. Serve local, regional, and national communities through professional development programs, public policy analyses and evaluation research, program and policy design, and as a forum for new ideas and approaches to the study of crime.

3. Advance the understanding of criminology through a multidisciplinary mix of theoretical and applied research, as well as to provide a forum for new ideas and approaches to the study of crime.

Objectives

The Master of Science in Criminology provides students with a coherent yet intellectually challenging degree that prepares them to conduct interdisciplinary research among the many aspects of criminology and criminal justice, varying with individual interests and areas of specialty.  Graduates of the M.S. program will be competent to teach at the community college and at the University level as adjunct lecturers. Graduates will also be ready to enter into analytic and administrative posts within a vast array of research and policy institutions, criminal justice organizations, and in the private sector.

Facilities

Students have access to the computing facilities in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences and the University’s Computing Center. The School has two computing laboratories which have over 50 computers that are network linked and equipped with major social science software packages, including E-Views, R, Rats, SPSS and STATA. A computerized geographic information system, the Lexis Nexis Database, and WestLaw are also available for student use. The University’s Computing Center provides personal computers and UNIX Workstations. Many important data and reference materials are also available online via the library’s and School’s memberships in numerous organizations.

Prerequisites

For the Master of Science in Criminology, students with an undergraduate degree in Criminology or a related field will have the necessary academic foundation to begin their graduate coursework (See the Graduate Program Handbook which is posted on the EPPS Website for more information on Prerequisites and Transfer Policies at http://epps.utdallas.edu/crim).

Program of Studies Policy

Each student admitted to a graduate program will have a specific program of studies agreed upon in consultation with the Graduate Studies Committee or graduate advisor for Criminology per the degree plan for the program. A complete Program of Studies Form will be filled in and approved prior to the student’s registration for his/her 19th semester credit hour to be counted toward a master’s degree.

Analytical Paper Writing Requirement (MS in Criminology)

All Doctoral track students must complete a writing requirement while enrolled in the MS Program. Student must take a minimum of six enrollment hours of CRIM 6V98,complete an analytical research paper and present their findings in a colloquium setting to be eligible for graduation with the MS.

Non-Writing Requirement for the MS in Criminology

MS students on a terminal track who do not wish to be considered for admission into a doctoral program have the option of taking 6 hours of any graduate classes as electives in lieu of the writing requirement.

Coursework and Credit Hours

15 Hours of required Criminology core classes:

CRIM 6300 Proseminar in Criminology
CRIM 6303 Etiology of Crime and Criminality
CRIM 6311 Crime and Justice Policy

EPPS 6310 Research Design I
EPPS 6313 Introduction to Quantitative Methods

PLUS 15 hours Electives:

9 hours in Elective Criminology graduate courses,
AND 6 hours in any program or school outside Criminology

AND:

6 hours of CRIM 6V96 Analytical Writing Research (for Ph.D. track students), OR
6 hours of graduate-level course electives (for students wishing to terminate at MS)

Total Hours: 36

 

Last Updated: August 2, 2012