FSU College of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Admission

Criminology is a multidisciplinary field. We encourage students with various majors as diverse as biology, computer science, and economics to apply. There are no criminology coursework prerequisites.

For consideration for admission in the master's program, applicants must fulfill these requirements:

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university
• A 3.25 GPA or higher for the final two years of undergraduate study
• A minimum score of 1,000 on the combined verbal and quantitative portions of the GRE
• Three letters of recommendation, preferably from professors familiar with your academic qualifications
• A 300- to 500-word personal statement describing your background, career goals, and why you want to study criminology
• International students whose native language is not English must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and score at least 600 on the paper-based test, or at least 250 on the computer-based test, or at least 100 on the new Internet-based ibTOEFL test. Applicants may be asked to confirm their scores by retaking the exam when they arrive at FSU.

The College Academic Committee assesses all applicant files. No files will be considered unless they contain all required materials. Admission decisions are made on the following basis:

• Whether the candidate meets the minimum qualifications of the University and the College
• The level of the GPA and GRE scores
• Assessments of the quality of the file documents, especially letters of recommendation and personal statements
• The strength of the file when compared with others in the applicant pool

All masters applicants are screened as their files are complete, and admission offers are made to those selected by the Academic Committee.

Masters Application Materials

To apply for admission to the masters program, please submit the following materials on-line at admissions.fsu.edu. The Academic Committee will begin reviewing files on February 1. They will continue to accept applications until the graduate classes are full. No applications will be accepted after July1.

• Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended.
• Official GRE scores (FSU institution code is 5219). Check the GRE Web site, www.gre.org, for additional information.
• Three letters of recommendation (preferably academic references).
• Personal statement.
• Completed graduate application. This can be found on the FSU Web site, www.fsu.edu/prospective/admissions/online/
• Application fees can be paid on-line or sent to:
  
  FSU Admissions
  P.O. Box 5000
  Tallahassee, FL 32314-5000

* International students must submit a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score. Check the TOEFL Web site at www.toefl.org for additional information.

Apply on-line at admissions.fsu.edu

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E-mail a graduate student, crimgradstudent@fsu.edu

Degree Requirements

Learn from some of the nations premier scholars who inspire intellectual curiosity in their students and encourage them to achieve their personal aspirations. Earn a degree that carries the prestige of this top ranked program.

General requirements

The masters degree is granted to those students who accomplish the following:

• Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or greater in their masters coursework
• Earn a grade of “B” or better in all core classes
• Complete 30-33* hours of coursework with at least 24 hours in criminology and criminal justice, including 21 graded hours
• Complete an area paper or thesis unless declared as a terminal masters student following a coursework-only degree track
• Complete all requirements within seven years of initial enrollment (including transfer work)

Course requirements

• CCJ 5285 Survey of Criminal Justice Studies
• CCJ 5605 Theory in Criminology and Criminal Justice
• CCJ 5606 Survey of Criminological Theories
• CCJ 5705 Research Methods I
• CCJ 5706 Statistics I
• A total of at least 9 CCJ elective hours
• 6-9 hours of classes in CCJ or in other departments

The University does not allow more than six credits to be transferred in from another graduate institution.

Degree Tracks

The College offers both master of science (M.S.) and master of arts (M.A.) degrees. To receive a master of arts, students must meet the general requirements and also complete 6 semester hours in humanities courses (non-CCJ elective courses) and demonstrate a proficiency in a foreign language.**

There are three degree tracks within the M.A. or M.S. programs.

1. Coursework-only option
   This program requires the completion of 33 credits of coursework. Students electing this option are advised by the graduate coordinator and graduate director in regard to course schedules and academic progress in the program.
   
   This option does not prepare students for admission into the FSU Ph.D. program. Students choosing the coursework-only option who later decide to continue their studies may be admitted to the Ph.D. program on a provisional basis until they have completed a thesis or area paper.
   
   
2. Area paper option
   The area paper option requires the completion of 33 credits; 27 of these credits are comprised of coursework and 6 credits are earned for the completion of the area paper. A master's directive committee supervises the preparation of the area paper. Typically, the area paper involves a high quality literature review and critique that is focused on a subject that the student is particularly interested in investigating.
   
   
3. Thesis option
   The thesis option requires the successful completion of 30 hours: 24 semester hours of course work and 6 hours of thesis credits. A major professor and supervisory committee assist the student in completing the thesis. A thesis is a report of original research, less ambitious than dissertation research, and is typically based on secondary analysis of an existing dataset.