Admission Requirements

Applicants must have a bachelor's degree and a superior record of academic achievement from an accredited institution. Previous work in criminal justice is not required, and the interdisciplinary nature of the graduate curriculum is designed to complement applicants' prior training in areas including law, philosophy, economics, geography, history, psychology, social welfare, and sociology. Applications should include:

• The Temple University Graduate Application Form.
• Two copies of transcripts from all graduate and undergraduate study.
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. These will be sent to the Department by Educational Testing Services at the applicant's request. Test scores must be from within the last five years.
• International students must take the TOEFL examination and score no less than 250 on the computer-based version or 600 on the paper-based version.
• Letters of recommendation from three persons familiar with the applicant's abilities and scholarly potential.
• A biographical statement explaining the applicant's purpose for graduate study.
• At least one other sample of the applicant's writing skills.

Students with an M.A. degree in criminal justice or a closely related discipline can be admitted directly into the Ph.D. program. Other students will ordinarily be admitted into the M.A. program, and only in exceptional cases directly into the Ph.D. program.

Master of Arts

Degree Requirements

The Master of Arts degree requires the completion of 30 hours of coursework and writing a thesis or completion of 36 hours of coursework. The following core courses are required: CJ 401 (Decision Making in Criminal Justice), CJ 402 (Research Methods in Criminal Justice), CJ 404 (Law and Social Order), CJ 405 (Fundamental Statistical Issues in Analysis of Criminal Justice Data), and CJ 406 (Theories of Crime and Deviance). Those opting for the thesis must also register for six credits of CJ 600 (Thesis Research).

Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Requirements

Doctoral candidates must complete a minimum of 48 credits beyond the bachelor's degree. The core course requirements are the same as the master's degree with the addition of CJ 601 (Research Seminar in Criminal Justice), CJ 602 (Advanced Methodological Issues in Criminal Justice Research), and CJ 605 (Advanced Statistical Issues in Criminal Justice Data).

In order to be admitted to doctoral candidacy, students must pass a qualifying examination in each of four specialized fields of their own selection. Preparation for candidacy is achieved through a combination of required coursework designed to extend the foundations of criminal justice scholarship established in the students' master's level work, as well as through the students' individually tailored selection of directed research and reading seminars and advanced electives in the department and elsewhere in the University. Doctoral students must submit and defend a dissertation prospectus for approval by a faculty advisory committee. After the candidate has finished all work according to the approved proposal, requirements for the Ph.D. degree are completed upon successful oral defense of the dissertation.

Course Descriptions -Criminal Justice

401. Decision Making in Criminal Justice. (3 s.h.)

Core Course. Conceptualizes criminal justice as a series of interrelated decision stages. Examines organizational, legal and research issues related to each decision stage.

402. Research Methods in Criminal Justice. (3 s.h.)

Core course. Assumes prior familiarity with basic methodology and statistics. Prepares students to conduct criminal justice research and evaluation. Covers topics of causality, reliability, validity, and quasi-experimental methods.

404. Law and Social Order. (3 s.h.)

Core Course. Examines legal and constitutional foundations of criminal justice through legal analyses of crime, punishment and protections afforded individuals facing deprivation of liberty.

405. Fundamental Statistical Issues in Analysis of Criminal Justice Data. (3 s.h.)

Core Course. Introduces criminal justice graduate students to simple and multiple regression analyses in criminal justice research. Extended treatment of the detection of non-normal data through the use of graphical and statistical techniques, and the statistical implications of highly non-normal data that are encountered in many areas of criminal justice. Clarifies relations between statistical assumptions, results, and use of results for decision making purposes.

406. Theories of Crime and Deviance. (3 s.h.)

Core Course. The goal of the course is to provide an appraisal of the foundations for understanding criminal behavior. Topics cover motivational theories; dialectical perspectives; epistemological issues; psychoanalytic, biological, and ecological approaches; differential association and anticipation, stress, social learning, control, and labeling theories about crime.

475. Independent Study. (3 s.h.)

Permits individualized study of a specific topic in consultation with a faculty member (requires prior permission of instructor). Not intended as a substitute for any required course.

501. The American Criminal Justice Process. (3 s.h.)

Analysis of the criminal justice process, from the onset of police investigation through the decision of whether to revoke parole. Includes examination of the system's theoretical, political, and legal bases; the system's internal and external relationships, including its role vis-à-vis other forms of social control; accountability of the system to the public and other institutions; significant theoretical, policy, and administrative issues; related research.

510. Court Processes and Administration. (3 s.h.)

Reviews current court issues (e.g., delay case management, judicial selection, docketing, plea bargaining, sentencing). Emphasizes recent innovations in the U.S., their implications and effects.

520. Correctional Philosophy and Administration. (3 s.h.)

Reviews historical and philosophical bases of U.S. corrections and examines current issues (e.g., jail/prison crowding, alternatives to incarceration, privatization of corrections, electronic monitoring).

530. Issues in Law Enforcement. (3 s.h.)

Examines recent development in community relations, use of deadly force, patrol experiments, and court decisions that bear on police procedures.

540. Policy and Practice in Juvenile Justice. (3 s.h.)

Covers history of reform in juvenile justice, underlying ideologies and current debates concerning treatment (or punishment) decisions.

550. Aggression and Violence. (3 s.h.)

Covers definitions of violence and proposed responses to concerns ranging from violent street crime to international terrorism.

551. Socialization and Family Influences on Criminal Behavior. (3 s.h.)

Cover a variety of theories about development of antisocial behavior and consider such issues as effects of being reared in single-parent families, child abuse, parental alcoholism, and use of specific disciplinary techniques.

560. Critical Issues in Justice Reform. (3 s.h.)

Analyzes reforms in criminal justice processes proposed by courts, legislature, executive branch agencies or communities (e.g., sentencing, prison management).

570. Special Topics Seminar. (3 s.h.)

Analyzes current policy issues from a range of perspectives.

580. Seminar in Criminal Justice Policy. (3 s.h.)

Covers significant literature and research models pertaining to examination of criminal justice policy.

601. Research Seminar in Criminal Justice. (3 s.h.)

Fulfills part of the research requirements for the student working toward completion of the Ph.D. Involves advanced reading and research in areas agreed upon by the Ph.D. student and professor. Includes group and individual meetings. Aim is an advanced research paper by the student that may focus in an area related to the proposed doctoral research.

602. Advanced Methodological Issues in Criminal Justice Research. (3 s.h.)

Provides detailed coverage of longitudinal studies of criminal and delinquent development. Reviews major theoretical issues addressed by such longitudinal studies, and focuses on the implementation and results emerging from a couple of major longitudinal studies. The particular longitudinal studies may vary by year. Implications for research, policy, and management related to criminal justice information systems are also examined.

| NEXT | PREVIOUS | MAIN |