M.A. in Criminal Justice
The master of arts in criminal justice is designed to develop or enhance the student's specialized knowledge in criminal justice, broadly defined. It is also intended to expand and develop a student's analytical, reading, and assessment skills, as well as oral and written communication abilities. The program is flexible and provides a superb basis for entry into graduate work at the doctoral level or applied work in criminal justice agencies. Approximately 70% of our M.A. graduates are employed in applied settings while the balance have pursued teaching and research careers.
Course Requirements
Hours: 32 hours are required for the master of arts degree.
Required Core Courses (15 credits)
- Crm J 530: Criminal Justice: Process and Institutions
- Crm J 555: Seminar in Criminology
- Crm J/Pol S 503: Research Methods
- Crm J/Pol S 504: Quantitative Methods
- Crm J 540/Pol S 541: Seminar in Evaluation Research
Required Area Courses (6 credits)
Select two courses in one of the following three areas:
- Policing (such as Crm J 570)
- Corrections (such as Crm J 541)
- Courts (such as Crm J 560)
Other Required Courses (11 credits)
- Select one Political Science course
- Select any 500-level Criminal Justice elective
- Crm J 702 (5 credits)
Master's Thesis/Essay
In addition to the course requirements, each master's degree student choosing the Thesis Option is required to prepare a thesis acceptable to his/her advisory committee and the Graduate School. The major purpose of this requirement is to give the student directed experience in conducting research in the field of criminal justice. If a student is considering applying to a Ph.D. program at any point in the future, the Thesis Option is strongly advised. The Non-Thesis Option may be selected if the student and all members of his/her committee consider it preferable. A non-thesis M.A. degree is normally understood to be a terminal degree.
Thesis Option
Under the Thesis Option, students are required to complete a master's thesis for the purpose of demonstrating advanced research skills in preparation for the pursuit of the doctoral degree. Students are asked to formulate and analyze an original research question. Completion of the Master's Thesis consists of writing and defending both the thesis prospectus and the final thesis.
Writing and Defending the Prospectus
In the final semester of a student's course work or after a student has successfully completed all required graded credit hours in the program, they must write and defend a Thesis Prospectus. This stage of the process is "chair-loaded," meaning most of your work will be done with your committee chair. This stage involves four major steps:
- Prospectus: The actual format of the prospectus should be developed in consultation with your committee chair. It should, however, include:
- A clearly defined, original research question.
- A brief review of the literature.
- A brief methodology section describing your sources of information and method of analysis.
- Completion of Human Subjects Review to Institutional Review Board (students will work with their chair on the IRB approval process).
- Institutional Review Board Training (students must receive certificate).
- References.
- Submission: Students must first submit their completed prospectus to the chair of their committee. Once the chair is comfortable with the quality of the prospectus, the student will submit it to the full committee for their review. At that time, the student, in consultation with the chair and other committee members, will set a date for the "prospectus defense." All committee members must have received the completed prospectus at least 15 working days (i.e., three weeks) prior to the defense.
- Defense: At the defense, the student will formally defend the prospectus for approval of the full committee. If the prospectus is satisfactory, the student will proceed to the next stage. If unsatisfactory, the student will have to repeat this process.
- Timeline: Students should defend their prospectus the semester before they plan to write and defend the thesis (excluding Summer session). The Prospectus Defense and the Thesis Defense cannot be completed in the same semester. Students should have the first draft of their prospectus completed and should have scheduled their prospectus defense by the end of the eighth week of the semester. Defenses are not allowed during the final week of the semester.
Writing and Defending the Thesis
As with the prospectus defense, this stage of the process is "chair-loaded." Students will work primarily with their committee chair during the early stages of writing the thesis. Thesis preparation and defense must take place during the first 13 weeks of fall or spring semester. Please check the schedule on the Graduate School Web site for the final date schedule for the semester in which you plan to defend (http://www.gradschool.wsu.edu/current-students/). The Master's Essay must be AT LEAST 40-50 pages in length and must meet the format requirements for a thesis as set forth by the Graduate School. This stage involves four major steps.
- First Draft: During the first several weeks of the semester, students must set a tentative date for their Thesis Defense and then begin writing the thesis. Initial drafts must be submitted to the committee chair for his/her feedback, and revisions should be made in accordance with the suggestions. It will be up to the chair of the committee to determine if a draft qualifies as a Preliminary Final Draft that is ready to be submitted to the full committee.
- Submission to Committee: Once the committee chair approves the Preliminary Final Draft, the student will submit the draft to the full committee. If all members of the committee agree that the draft is ready to be defended, the student, in consultation with the chair and other committee members, will set a date for the Thesis Defense. All committee members must have received the completed thesis at least 15 working days (i.e., three weeks) prior to the defense. If these guidelines are not respected by the student, the other members of the committee are under no obligation to attend the defense date. Also, students should check the university established deadlines on when to file the degree application, schedule the final (oral) exam, and hold the final exam.
- Oral defenses are not allowed during the final week of the semester. As faculty are on contract only during the academic year and are generally not available during the summer, all members of the committee must approve any proposed summer defenses prior to the commencement of the summer session.
- A Final Examination will not be scheduled until all members of a student's committee have deemed the essay ready to defend. Per the Graduate School:
The Final Examination Scheduling Form is to be completed by the Thesis Committee indicating that a dissertation/thesis, suitable in format for submission to the Library, has been given preliminary approval.
The Graduate School schedules the student's examination upon receipt of the completed "Final Examination Scheduling Form." The signed scheduling form must be submitted to the Graduate School at least 10 working days prior to the examination date. A copy of the dissertation/thesis must accompany the scheduling form for a preliminary check. This copy is immediately returned to the student. This check does not constitute final acceptance! If you have questions concerning acceptability of format for final acceptance, please contact the Dissertation/Thesis Acceptance Clerk.
- Thesis Defense: When the master's thesis has been accepted by the thesis committee, the student will present him- or herself for an oral examination. At the defense, the student will formally defend the prospectus for approval of the full committee. The oral examination must be scheduled in advance by the student in consultation with the committee. It will be conducted in accordance with the Policies and Procedures of the Graduate School and will center primarily on the thesis.
- Final Committee Recommendations after the Defense: Students who successfully pass the oral defense of the thesis have two weeks after the defense date to incorporate the committee's final recommendations. The student must then obtain the signature of each committee member indicating their final approval. If the changes are not made, the committee will invalidate the decision to pass the student. Students who fail the oral defense must start the process from the beginning. The student is required to provide the department with a hardbound copy of his/her thesis once the degree is completed.
Non-Thesis Option
The Non-Thesis Option is generally considered to be a terminal degree. Students should only elect to take this option if they have no future plans to pursue a Ph.D. Under the Non-Thesis Option, students are required to write a Master's Essay, which will be developed in cooperation with the student's program committee. The work for this essay should be roughly equivalent to the work for a 3-credit graduate seminar.
Guidelines for the M.A. Essay
The Master's Essay has four goals and will be judged by how well they are achieved:
- It shows an in-depth, detailed, and nuanced understanding of a specific issue, topic, or question in the field.
- It shows an awareness of the theoretical issues and arguments raised and discussed in the literature on the subject.
- The ideas, concepts, and arguments advanced in the paper are expressed with precision and rigor.
- The paper enlarges our understanding of the issue and topic.
The Master's Essay should strive to be equivalent in content, sophistication, and technical expertise to a publishable paper in a respected scholarly journal. It can be on any subject in criminal justice, and there are no limitations or preferences for a particular theoretical or methodological approach. The Master's Essay must be AT LEAST 40-50 pages in length and must meet the format requirements for a thesis as set forth by the Graduate School.
To achieve the goals specified above, at a minimum, the Master's Essay must have a(n):
- Introduction and Statement of the Problem: The Master's Essay must have a clearly and precisely stated question, thesis, and argument. The first few pages should make it clear what the paper is about and how the subject will be approached and analyzed.
- Literature Review: The Master's Essay must have an extensive literature review of the subject.
- The literature review shows that you have immersed yourself in the subject, have read extensively about it, and have drawn your ideas, concepts, and arguments from a variety of sources.
- The length of the literature review will vary by subject. If you do a theoretical Master's Essay or one based on secondary sources, the review will have to be quite extensive since your argument refashions existing thoughts and theorizing. If you are doing an empirical project, the literature review should incorporate the important relevant thinking and studies which influence the design of your research, your hypothesizing and theory development, and the likely analysis of your data.
- The main purpose of the literature review is to show the reader that you know the subject and that you can place your thinking into ongoing theorizing and research in the subject area.
- Discussion: This section states and justifies the body of your description, analysis, and argument in a precise, readable, and rigorous manner.
- Conclusion: The conclusion summarizes your argument and shows how your work enhances our theoretical understanding of the subject.
One way to judge how well you are doing is to think ahead to the oral defense of your Master's Essay. Ask yourself, suppose someone were to challenge this statement of mine, or objected to my argument, how would and how could I respond? One of the jobs of the committee is to point out strengths and weaknesses of the Master's Essay before you get to the oral defense stage, so that you are prepared.
Defending the Master's Essay
Work on the M.A. essay should be roughly equivalent to the work for a 3-credit graduate seminar. Normally, the student works with the chair of her/his committee to produce a Preliminary Final Draft. Students should formally meet with their chair to discuss the plan for the essay and to receive formal approval. This meeting must occur in the semester prior to the final defense and planned completion. Only after the chair has approved the working draft may the student submit the essay to the other members of the committee, remembering that the other members must have the essay at least 15 working days prior to the defense date. The oral examination will feature a defense of the Master's Essay and can also cover the entirety of the candidate's program.
- If all members of the committee agree that the draft is ready to be defended, the student, in consultation with the chair and other committee members, will set a date for the Final Oral Defense. All committee members must sign off on the defense date and must have received the completed essay at least 15 working days (i.e., three weeks) prior to the defense. If these guidelines are not respected by the student, the other members of the committee are under no obligation to attend the defense date. Also, students should check the university established deadlines on when to file the degree application, schedule the final (oral) exam, and hold the final exam.
- Oral defenses are NOT allowed during the final week of the semester. As faculty are on contract only during the academic year and are generally not available during the summer, all members of the committee must approve any proposed summer defenses prior to the commencement of the summer session.
- A Final Examination will not be scheduled until all members of a student's committee have deemed the essay ready to defend. Per the Graduate School:
The Final Examination Scheduling Form is to be completed by the Thesis Committee indicating that a dissertation/thesis, suitable in format for submission to the Library, has been given preliminary approval.
The Graduate School schedules the student's examination upon receipt of the completed "Final Examination Scheduling Form." The signed scheduling form must be submitted to the Graduate School at least 10 working days prior to the examination date. A copy of the dissertation/thesis must accompany the scheduling form for a preliminary check. This copy is immediately returned to the student. This check does not constitute final acceptance! If you have questions concerning acceptability of format for final acceptance, please contact the Dissertation/Thesis Acceptance Clerk. - When the master's essay has been accepted by the student's committee, the student will present him- or herself for an oral examination. At the defense, the student will formally defend the prospectus for approval of the full committee. Students who successfully pass the oral defense have two weeks after the defense date to incorporate the committee's final recommendations. The student must then obtain the signature of each committee member indicating their final approval. If the changes are not made, the committee will invalidate the decision to pass the student. Students who fail the oral defense must start the process from the beginning. The student is required to provide the department with a copy of his/her essay once the degree is completed.
Contact Us
Criminal Justice Program
Washington State University
Johnson Tower 801
P.O. Box 644880
Pullman, WA 99164-4880
Ph: 509-335-2545
Fax: 509-335-7990
Graduate and Student Records Coordinator:
Sisouvanh Keopanapay
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