Portland-State-University 2016-2017 Bulletin

Criminology and Criminal Justice M.S.

The Criminology & Criminal Justice Graduate program seeks to create a meaningful learning experience and foster professional development for its students based on the following principles:

1. Community of Learners: Graduate students and faculty are involved in a community based on collegial and collaborative relationships evidenced by co-learning and critical dialogue in the classroom and student-faculty partnerships outside of the classroom on writing, research, and community engagement projects.

2. Initiative and Original Thinking: Graduate students are encouraged and given opportunities to participate in the management of their own education experiences and develop new understandings of knowledge and professional practice.

3. Synthesis and Evaluation: Students practice the integration of theory and empirical literature on given criminology and criminal justice topics in order to develop sound theoretical and practical evaluations and to present findings through oral and written reports.

4. Methodological and Analytical Experiences: Graduate students are afforded opportunities to practice the development and implementation of research methodologies and execution of basic statistical analyses of empirical data.

5. Self-Assessment:  Graduate students are expected to articulate their career goals and develop evidence of their professional growth related to theory, research, policy, communication, justice, diversity, and community engagement. 


Degree requirements

All candidates for a master’s degree must complete 50-54 graduate credits distributed as follows:

  1. 20 credit hours must be taken in the substantive core.
  2. A minimum of four classes totaling 12-16 credit hours in a specialization field.
  3. 12 credits of elective courses.
  4. 6 credit hours of thesis or project work.
  5. Successful submission and defense of a thesis or final project.

Substantive Core

Courses

CCJ 515Theories of Crime and Justice

4
CCJ 520Analysis of Crime and Justice Data

4
CCJ 525Criminal Justice Theory

4
CCJ 530Criminal Justice Research

4
CCJ 535Criminal Justice Policy

4

Specialization Field

In consultation with an adviser, students will be required to develop and complete a specialization field as a part of their degree requirements. A minimum of four classes, totaling 12-16 credits must be completed in the specialization field. Students are encouraged to complete this requirement by taking courses in other academic units such as public administration, computer science, political science, or sociology. Courses may be selected from several academic units so long as they comprise a coherent field of study that will contribute to the academic development of the student.

Thesis and Projects

Candidates must complete either a thesis or one of the project options, all of which require a final oral examination. A thesis is a scholarly work that demonstrates substantial capacity on the part of the student to engage in independent investigation. Students must submit a letter of interest and thesis prospective to the CCJ Graduate Committee for approval before proceeding with the thesis option. In order to satisfy thesis requirements, students must pose an original research question and apply appropriate methods of scholarship and methodology to that question in order to generate new knowledge. All CCJ Masters students will complete a project unless they opt for a thesis. The purposes of the project are to facilitate students' learning and intellectual development, document accomplishments, and assess students' specialized skills and professional knowledge. Project students will either: a) create an electronic portfolio (e-portfolio) to document, evaluate, integrate, and reflect upon their learning experiences, or b) complete a field placement that contributes to an organizational or agency project that demonstrates their ability to integrate specialized and advanced knowledge of criminology and criminal justice. The field placement must have a strong applied focus and address a specific professional or organizational need. Successful completion of either one of the project options or a thesis is a graduation requirement.

Elective Courses

Students must satisfactorily complete 12 credit hours of elective courses, half of which must be taken in the Division of Criminology and Criminal Justice.