Ph.D. in Criminal Justice
A student aspiring to the Ph.D. should expect to spend three to four years, depending on the individual, in study and research beyond the M.A. degree, of which at least two years must be enrolled at Washington State University, and at least two consecutive semesters must be spent in residence as a graduate student in criminal justice. This degree program is designed for the student entering the graduate program with an M.A. Students currently enrolled in the M.A. program at WSU must submit a regular application to the Ph.D. program.
Required Core Courses (9 credits)
- Crm J 530: Criminal Justice: Process and Institutions
- Crm J 555: Seminar in Criminological Theory
- Pol S 514/Pol S 540: Seminar in Public Policy or Public Administration
Required Research/Methods Courses (12 credits)
- Pol S 503 and Crm J 504 or their equivalent are prerequisites for the Ph.D. program and do not count as required Ph.D. research/methods courses.
- Crm J 540/Pol S 541: Seminar in Evaluation Research
- Research and Writing for Graduate Students
- Two courses in Advanced Methodology selected from courses already offered through various departments at WSU. Possible courses include Psych 511, 512, 514, 515, 516; Pol S 537; Soc 522, 523; Stat 510.
Criminal Justice Electives (24 credits)
- Crm J 505: Comparative Criminal Justice Systems
- Crm J 541: Seminar in Corrections
- Crm J 560: Prosecution and Adjudication
- Crm J 570: The Police and Society
- Crm J 572: Seminar in Comparative Policing
- Crm J 580: Gender and Justice
- Crm J 591: Seminar in the Administration of Criminal Justice (may be taken twice)
- Crm J 592: Pro-seminar in Administration, Justice, and Applied Policy Studies (may be taken twice)
- Additional electives may be selected from other departments with the approval of the student's program committee.
Students must complete 48 graded credits and 20 credits of 800-level to complete the Ph.D.
17 credits may be transferred in from another master's degree program.
27 credits may transfer in from our own CJ master's degree program.
Preliminary Examination Requirements
The Ph.D. aspirant becomes eligible to attempt qualifying ("preliminary") examinations when he or she is in the process of completing the final courses included in his or her Ph.D. program. Only after a student has successfully passed "prelims" does he or she become formally a "candidate for the Ph.D." (or ABD, "All But Dissertation").
Structure and Administration
The exam structure reflects a mutually agreed philosophy that the purpose of preliminary exams is to demonstrate breadth of knowledge (in contrast to the dissertation, which demonstrates specialized knowledge).
Students are required to take three preliminary exams:
- Exam 1: Criminal Justice Core Exam
All students will be required to take the Criminal Justice Core Exam, which covers the criminal justice field as a whole. This exam will be designed to cover all material presented in the core courses for the Ph.D. program. There will be three sections to the exam: Criminological Theory, Processes and Institutions, and Methods/Statistics. Within each section, students will choose one question from two or three options. - Exam 2: Area Exam
This exam represents an institutional or theoretical subfield of criminal justice. Students will pick from one of four areas—Criminological Theory, Policing, Courts, or Corrections—and will be required to answer one or more questions in that area. - Exam 3: Applied Policy and Methods Exam
Given that we have a general applied research and policy focus in the Ph.D. program, the final exam will address this component. Students will be given a number of questions from which they will choose to answer one or more (as specified on the exam). The questions may focus on one of the four broad areas described above or may cross over one or more areas (as well as including more specialized issues, such as race, gender, comparative, etc.). The goal of this exam is for students to integrate substantive and applied research knowledge.
Preliminary exams will be administered twice per year on or about the fourth week of classes. Students will be asked to "register" for prelims by the first week of the semester in which they plan to take the exam. Exams will be taken over the course of three days (M/W/F of one week), and students will have up to eight hours each day to complete the examinations. Exam 1 will be given on the first testing day, Exam 2 will be given on the second testing day, and Exam 3 will be given on the final testing day. One room with computers will be reserved for all students taking the preliminary exams each semester. Computers will be disconnected from the network, and all preliminary exams will be closed book, closed notes. No outside materials (e.g., flash drives, etc.) are allowed during the administration of the exam.
One faculty member will be selected to proctor the exams each semester, and responsibility for proctoring will rotate among the faculty each semester. All faculty members will submit potential exam questions to the faculty member selected to proctor the exam. That individual will select the final questions to appear on the exam for that semester. Grading of exams will be anonymous. All students taking the exams will be assigned an exam number, and exams will only be identified by number during grading.
All faculty members will read all questions for all students and will vote on pass/fail on each exam (i.e., day 1, day 2, and day 3). Students must receive 70% passing votes to pass the written exam. [Example: if 10 faculty members are grading and there are three days, a student can score a maximum of 30 points and must score at least 21 points to pass the written exam.] Students who pass the written exam will not be required to orally defend; instead, they will meet with their dissertation committee and plan the dissertation proposal process. Students who do not pass the written exam will be notified in writing by the CJ program director and will be required to take an oral defense within two weeks of the written exam. Students who fail the written exam will receive feedback only on which exam(s) they failed. No other comments will be provided by either the program director or by other faculty. At the time of voting, a three-person committee will be selected for each student failing the written exam. This committee will conduct the oral exam and should consist of faculty members who failed the individual on particular questions and area experts. Students who fail the oral exam will be allowed to retake the full preliminary exam (all three days) one additional time, subject to the same rules stated above. Students who fail the exam a second time will be dismissed from the program.
Preparing for Preliminary Exams
The purpose of preliminary exams is to demonstrate breadth of knowledge, and it is not designed to reward mere memorization of facts. The student should bear in mind that when a student "sits" for prelims he or she is seeking to be recognized as a peer of the examiners.
There is no "set" or "magic" way to prepare for prelims. A solid course background is, of course, an indispensable asset. The successful student will also have read substantially beyond course requirements, will have consulted faculty teaching in these fields regarding appropriate reading lists and preparation strategies, and will be thoroughly informed regarding relevant methodology. Reading lists for each of the four major areas are available on the Criminal Justice Program Web site.
The maximum period of time in which to complete both written and oral examinations is 30 days (Graduate School regulation). Under existing university policy, students cannot take any such examinations (prelim or final) unless they are registered for credit and have paid the fees entailed by such registration for the school term in which the examination is scheduled.
Dissertation Requirements
The next requirement for the Ph.D. candidate beyond the prelims is preparation, under the guidance of a dissertation committee, of a dissertation presenting the results of a thorough and systematic investigation of a significant problem related to one of the specialty areas of the candidate. The dissertation committee will normally be composed of the chairperson and two other members of the graduate faculty. The subject matter of the dissertation will, of course, have an important bearing on the committee's composition.
Dissertation Prospectus Defense
Students must present, and orally defend, a dissertation prospectus, usually in the semester following successful passage of the preliminary exams. This defense does not need to be scheduled with the Graduate School. The objectives of the proposal are to identify the research topic and to demonstrate that a feasible and appropriate research strategy has been developed. Although the specific content of the prospectus defense is left to the discretion of the student's committee, this generally involves the first three chapters of the dissertation (introduction, literature review, and methods). A dissertation prospectus should be a clear statement and presentation of the research problem to be examined after prelims. The prospectus presents the student's preliminary work on the problem, not just a statement of that problem, as well as a discussion of the feasibility and significance of the project.
Normally, the student works with the chair of her/his committee to produce a final draft. 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 work days prior to the defense date. All committee members must sign off on the defense date. If these guidelines are not respected by the student, the other members of the committee are not obliged to attend the defense. The prospectus must be submitted to the student's committee, revised in accordance with committee criticisms, and acceptable to the committee before the final oral exam is scheduled. Further revisions may be required after the successful completion of the oral exam.
Final Oral Examination of Dissertation
The last requirement is the final oral examination, which under existing Graduate School policies cannot be scheduled until the dissertation is ready for presentation to the Graduate School and for deposit in the university library. The final oral examination usually centers on the dissertation, but, as Graduate School regulations indicate, the student must be prepared to meet questions relating to any of the work he or she has done for the degree.
Under existing university policy, students cannot take any such examinations (preliminary or final) unless they are registered for credit and have paid the fees entailed by such registration for the school term in which the examination is scheduled. Normally such examinations can be scheduled only for times when the University is in session. "A minimum of four months must elapse between the successful completion of a preliminary examination and the scheduling of a final examination." (Graduate School Policies and Procedures Manual).
Current Graduate School regulations stipulate that "In all cases, the requirements for the degree should be completed within three years of the date of the satisfactory completion of the preliminary examination." Upon completion of the dissertation, a final bound copy must be submitted to the Graduate School and the Criminal Justice Program conforming to Graduate School requirements as follows:
Following a passed oral examination, the 100% rag bond manuscript and one copy of the thesis or dissertation must be signed in black ink by all committee members and the manuscript returned to the Graduate School within 5 working days for final acceptance. Specific steps for final acceptance are given to graduate students at the time they receive the Thesis Acceptance/Final Examination scheduling form. (Graduate School Policies and Procedures Manual)
Students should be in regular contact with their committee chair regarding their completion schedule for the dissertation. Students cannot expect committees to suddenly schedule a defense if they produce the entire manuscript unexpectedly. The student should have an agreed upon completion schedule with the chair and should be submitting chapters regularly. The other committee members must be given ample time (at least 15 working days) to read over the final version, only after the chair has approved the dissertation. Please remember that this process takes time. Be aware that all committee members must sign off on a defense date.
Teaching and/or Research Requirement
In addition to the course requirements, each student in the Ph.D. program is required to have formal teaching and/or research experience in an institution of higher learning before receiving the Ph.D. degree. Serving as a teaching assistant in the Criminal Justice Program satisfies this teaching requirement. Collecting original data also fulfills this requirement.
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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