North Dakota State University

Program Description

The Department of Criminal Justice offers graduate study leading to both a MS and a Ph.D. degree in Criminal Justice. The MS degree has two tracks; Applied Criminal Justice and Criminology. The program in Criminal Justice is designed to enhance student's skills in understanding, gathering, processing, and analyzing research in the areas of criminology and criminal justice. The topical curriculum is geared to understanding, critiquing, and analyzing the criminal justice system with an orientation toward urban issues as they impact crime and criminal justice. The curriculum consists of foundation courses in theory, policy, and research methods, plus three substantive areas: 1) criminology, 2) policing, and 3) corrections. Students have their choice of specializing in one of the three. Elective course work can include classes such as Violence, Gender and Justice, and crime commodities. Students also will be afforded course work in learning how to teach a college course.

Graduates will find an expanding and terrific academic job market available as well as professional employment in the criminal justice policy and research sector. There are currently less than 40 Criminal Justice Ph.D. programs operating on a national level, so students graduating with a Criminal Justice Ph.D. will be competitive for the 350 positions available annually in academic units.

Ph.D. in Criminal Justice

Admission Requirements

Students should enter the program with either a baccalaureate degree or with an approved master's degree. Students will be required to have had one course in research methods; and one course in statistics. Plus, students should have adequate background preparation or demonstrated potential in the field of Criminology or Criminal Justice.

Students will be required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and submit their undergraduate and/or graduate transcripts. For admission to full standing, students are required to attain a combined minimum score on the GRE of 1,000 (verbal and quantitative) and achieve a minimum grade point average of 3.0 over their last 60 credit hours. Students not meeting these standards will be evaluated and possibly admitted on conditional status.

A student entering the program with a master's degree would take a minimum of 60 credit hours. Students entering the program with a master's degree should submit their research thesis to the graduate committee for review. This committee would be charged with determining whether the research project is sufficient in scope and depth to warrant further supervised research.

Degree Requirements

The curricular structure of the program is listed below for students entering the program with a master's degree that is not related to criminal justice/criminology:

Students admitted to the doctoral program who have earned a master’s degree in criminal justice/criminology will be given credit for their master’s degree (up to 30 credits). The amount of credit for the master’s degree will be determined by the graduate coordinator. The curricular structure of the program is listed below for students entering the program with a master's degree in criminal justice/criminology:

MS Degree in Criminal Justice

Admission Requirements

Students will need to enter the program with a baccalaureate degree. Students will be required to have had one course in research methods, one course in statistics, and should document adequate background preparation or demonstrated potential in the field of Criminology or Criminal Justice. For admission to full-standing, students are required to achieve a minimum grade point average of 3.0 over their last 60 credit hours.

Degree Requirements

Students will need to declare their choice of a Track by the end of their first semester in the program. Both Tracks require the completion of the following 5 Foundation Courses (15 Credits total)

• Advanced Criminology
• Criminal Justice Policy
• Program Evaluation
• Applied Statistics
• Advanced Criminal Justice Methods

Click here for course descriptions.

Graduate Student Handbook
Department Home Page
How to Apply
Online Application

Carol Archbold, Ph.D.
University of Nebraska-Omaha, 2002
Research Interests: Police Studies, Race and the Criminal Justice System, Alternative Dispute Resolution and the Criminal Justice System, Qualitative Research Methods 

Sarah E. Browning, Ph.D.
University of Toronto, 2007
Research Interests: Substance Use and Abuse, Violence, Quantitative Methods, Criminological Theory 

Thomas D. McDonald, Ph.D.
Southern Illinois University, 1972
Research Interests: Criminal Justice, Deviant Behavior, Social Disorganization, Evaluation Research 

Amy J. Stichman, Ph.D.
University of Cincinnati, 2003
Research Interests: Corrections, Institutional Life, Inmate and Correctional Officer Attitude, Treatment Program Evaluation 

Kevin M. Thompson, Ph.D.
University of Arizona, 1986
Research Interests: Delinquency, Quantitative Methods, Alcohol and Drugs, Juvenile Drug Courts 

Political Science Faculty

Nicholas Bauroth, Ph.D.
Loyola University, 2003
Research Interests: State and Local Politics, Politics of Crime 

Affiliated Faculty

Wendy Troop-Gordon, Ph.D.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2002
Research Interests: Violence and Aggression, Adolescent Development, Victimization, Quantitative Methods 

Joel Hektner, Ph.D.
University of Chicago, 1996
Research Interests: Aggression, Research Methods, Peer Influence on Delinquency