Degree Requirements

Criminal Justice Graduate Program

Degree Requirements

All degree candidates are required to complete the required core courses with a grade of B - or better. Students must complete elective courses with a with a grade of C or better. All core courses should be completed in the first two semesters of study. Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA. If a student falls below a 3.0 GPA, they will be placed on academic probation by the Graduate School and may be ineligible for financial aid.

Students may follow either a thesis or a non-thesis (coursework only) option. Both program options require a minimum of 36 credits. Students selecting the thesis option may count up to 6 hours of thesis credit toward the required 36-credit total and must pass an oral defense of the thesis. The thesis option is recommended for students who plan to continue on for a Ph.D. or a career involving research.

REQUIRED CORE COURSES (12 CREDITS)

CJ 802 - Quantitative Methods for Public Sector Professionals 
CJ 893 - Seminar in Application of Criminological Theory
CJ 894 - Proseminar in Criminal Justice 
CJ 897 - Advanced Research Methods (or an approved graduate-level methods course)

ELECTIVE COURSE OPTIONS (24 CREDITS – 500-level or above)

CJ 501 - Integrity in Public Service
CJ 510 - Crime & Transportation
CJ 513 - Violent Crime
CJ 515 - Sex Crimes
CJ 516 - Profiling
CJ 517 - Homicide Investigation
CJ 518 - CJ & Crime in Film
CJ 521 - Forensic Social Work
CJ 530 - Private Security 
CJ 581 - Advanced Special Topics in CJ*
CJ 593 - Crime Causation & CJ Policy
CJ 598 - Contemporary Issues in CJ
CJ 600 - Forensic Anthropology
CJ 601 - Digital Investigations
CJ 610 - Correctional Counseling
CJ 641 - Forensic Psychiatry
CJ 652 - Juvenile Justice & Social Policy
CJ 692 - Community Policing
CJ 781 - Cooperative Education/Internship (maximum 6 hours)
CJ 796 - Criminal Typologies
CJ 817 - Crime in Popular Culture 
CJ 820 - Terrorism & Modern Societies
CJ 853 - Crime Prevention through Environmental Design
CJ 855 - Seminar in Juvenile Justice 
CJ 861 - Police Administration
CJ 873 - Advanced Criminal Law
CJ 874 - Qualitative Methods
CJ 882 - Individual Directed Study
CJ 891 - Seminar in Judicial Process
CJ 895 - Seminar in Policing
CJ 896 - Seminar in Corrections
CJ 898 - Applied Research Paper
CJ 900 - Thesis

*Some of Advanced Special Topics: See course schedule here. 

Additional electives may be approved by your advisor and/or Graduate Coordinator.

A full list with descriptions of all courses is available here: http://catalog.wichita.edu/graduate/courses/cj/

Full-time status for Fall/Spring is 9 credits. For summer, 6 credits is full-time.

Plan of Study

All students must complete a Plan of Study form upon completing 12 credits and a final version during their last semester. The Plan of Study must be approved and signed by the student’s advisor and Graduate Coordinator. The Plan of Study helps students to stay on track and complete courses in a timely fashion with guidance from faculty.The Plan of Study is available here

All students must complete a Professional and Scholarly Integrity Training as part of CJ 897 - Advanced Research Methods.

For information about Graduation Requirements, please visit: https://www.wichita.edu/academics/gradschool/DegreeCompletion/Deadlines.php