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.
- 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. - 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. - 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.
* The coursework-only and area paper options require 33 hours total. The thesis option requires 30 hours total.
** Students can demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language in the following ways:
- Four years of a single language in high school
- 12 semester hours of a single foreign language in a college or university with an earned average of 3.0 in those courses
- Satisfactory performance on the Graduate School Foreign Language Test
- Certification of proficiency by the appropriate language department
Degree Requirements
General requirements
The master's 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 “C” 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 5109 Theory in Criminology and Criminal Justice
- CCJ 5285 Survey of Criminal Justice Studies
- 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.
University Time Limits for Degree Completion
Florida State University requires that work toward the master's degree be completed within seven years of one's initial enrollment. Any work transferred from another school is included in the seven-year rule.
