Criminal Justice Director
Dr. Sid Brown 974-5271

Graduate Program

Program Summary

The Master of Arts in Criminal Justice Management and Administration program is designed to meet Oklahoma’s needs for graduate education in the area of criminal justice management and administration. The curriculum has been developed to provide opportunities to individuals interested in acquiring specialized skills and knowledge within the criminal justice field. The Master of Arts in Criminal Justice Management and Administration curriculum further encourages the development of the students critical, analytical, and creative abilities related to the subject area. This is further accomplished by the enhancement of research skills, class work and field studies.

The Criminal Justice Management and Administration program has a non thesis and thesis option. Students who opt for the non thesis must complete 32 hours of academic work. The credit hour requirements are reduced to 30 hours for those students who elect the thesis option. For students that were accepted into the program summer of 2004 and thereafter will be required to complete 36 hours regardless of the thesis or non thesis option. If you plan on pursuing a doctorate degree, it is strongly recommended that you complete a Master’s thesis.

Eligibility

An individual who has completed a bachelor degree is eligible to seek entrance into the criminal justice master’s program, given that all prerequisites have been completed. Specific courses that are essential for completion before admission are ; Juvenile Delinquency, Administration of Criminal Justice, Administration of Correctional Institutions, Police Administration and Organization, Ethics and Criminal Justice, Criminology, Research and Methods in Criminal Justice, or equivalent course. Please note that similar courses may substitute prerequisite courses.

Admission Requirements

Apply for admissions through the University of Central Oklahoma Graduate College. Meet the GPA requirement of 2.75 overall, or 3.00 within the last 60 hours.

Two Letters of Recommendation

The recommendation letters should come from previous professors to whom you had for classes, or assisted them in their research. Recommendation Letters may also come from a professional reference.

Statement of Purpose

All applicants must complete a statement of purpose paper. This paper should be two pages in length, and should entail why the applicant is interested in pursuing a master’s degree within the field of Criminal Justice. It is strongly suggested that the applicant use past experiences, whether it be professional or researched based.

GRE Exam

All applicants must take the GRE and receive an index score of 5.00 or greater. The index score is determined by the following method. The GRE score is divided by 400 and added to the GPA. For example, A GRE score 900/400 =2.25, and then is added to a GPA of 2.75=5.00.

Additional Degree Requirements

Meet with the Graduate Director, who will complete a “Recommendation for Admissions to the College of Graduate Studies and Research” form for qualified students. Complete a formal plan of study with the Graduate director during the first semester of study. Complete all prerequisite, if any, as determined by the graduate director. Students will only be allowed to enroll in core classes if they have completed all prerequisites. If not, students will only be permitted to enroll in elective courses.

Application Deadlines: Fall- March 15, Spring -Oct. 1, Summer-March 15

For more information concerning the Criminal Justice Master’s Program either refer to the Graduate Catalog Handbook, or contact: Sid Brown, J.D. Coordinator of the Criminal Justice Program Liberal Arts address sibrown@uco.edu.

 

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