Criminology and Criminal Justice

Advance your career with a Michigan graduate degree from University of Michigan-Dearborn in the rapidly growing criminal justice profession.

Faculty, who are experts in their field, developed the Master of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice to prepare students for research, management and policy positions or continuation into a J.D. or Ph.D. program.

This flexible degree program is 30-32 credits and provides a thesis and non-thesis option, while offering traditional, evening and online courses. The program can be completed entirely on campus, entirely online, or through a combination of on-campus and online courses.

Public safety professionals from partnering organizations may qualify for a scholarship valued at 20 percent of tuition and fees through our community service personnel scholarship program.

Students admitted to the Criminology and Criminal Justice graduate program may elect to declare the Criminal Justice Administration Concentration, which was created in collaboration with the Public Administration and Public Policy Program . This concentration is appropriate for individuals who intend to pursue careers primarily in administrative or managerial roles within the fields of courts, law enforcement, and corrections.

Admission Requirements

Admission to the Master’s program is at the discretion of the Graduate Program Director in consultation with Graduate Program faculty and the Office of Graduate Studies. Supplemental application materials required for applicants include: official academic transcripts, a personal statement describing academic and career goals, a resume, and two recommendation letters.

• Completion of a Bachelor's degree with at least a 3.0 undergraduate GPA
• Completion of the following courses or equivalent:
  • CRJ 200 Introduction to Criminal Justice
  • CRJ 468 Criminology
  • CRJ 488 Criminal Law & Procedure

  Applicants who meet the GPA requirement but lack one or more required courses may be admitted conditionally with the permission of the Program Director. These course deficiencies may be completed concurrently with graduate courses in the program upon Program Director approval.

  Community Service Personnel Scholarships

  The University of Michigan-Dearborn provides a scholarship valued at 20% of tuition and fees for public safety employees at partnering organizations. The scholarship is available for degree-seeking students and can be used for undergraduate and graduate programs.

  Accelerated Program: 4+1

  The 4+1 accelerated program option allows current UM-Dearborn undergraduates majoring in Criminology and Criminal Justice or Sociology to complete a Bachelor of Arts in their major field and the Master of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice in a format that offers substantial savings in both time and money. This is achieved by a double-counting allowance of up to 16 credits worth of graduate level (500-level or above) courses. One additional year of graduate work (15-16 credits) is needed to complete the Master's program, enabling students to earn two degrees in a total of five years.

  Participation in the 4+1 program is limited to students who have completed at least 60 credit hours with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. Admission to the 4+1 program is at the discretion of the Graduate Program Director and requires an admission interview. The "regular" online graduate application should be completed with a "Yes" response to the 4+1 accelerated program question. Supplemental application materials required for 4+1 applicants include:official academic transcripts, a personal statement describing academic and career goals, a resume, and one recommendation letter–preferably from a Program faculty member.

  Students in the 4+1 Program must adhere to UM-Dearborn’s Graduate Academic Policies, found here, with respect to all 500-level courses taken; this includes maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 (B) or better in their coursework in order to remain in good standing. Failure to do so may result in removal from the 4+1 program.

  Courses to choose from in the 4+1 Program are: CRJ 501, CRJ 509, CRJ 515, CRJ 517, CRJ 518, CRJ 519, CRJ 532, CRJ 535, CRJ 546, CRJ 547, CRJ 553, CRJ 560, CRJ 565, CRJ 566, CRJ 568, CRJ 569, CRJ 570, CRJ 572, CRJ 573, CRJ 576, CRJ 580, CRJ 582, CRJ 583, CRJ 584, CRJ 587, CRJ 588, CRJ 590, CRJ 598, CRJ 699, COMP 500, PAPP 502, PAPP 505, PAPP 540, PAPP 561, PAPP 580, PAPP 581, PAPP 582, PAPP 583, SOC 510

  Below are the 4+1 undergrad equivalencies/substitutions:

  CRJ 509 - CRJ 409
  CRJ 515 - CRJ 415
  CRJ 517 -CRJ 417
  CRJ 518 - CRJ 418
  CRJ 519 - CRJ 419
  CRJ 532 - CRJ 432
  CRJ 535 - CRJ 435
  CRJ 546 - CRJ 446
  CRJ 547 - CRJ 447
  CRJ 553 - CRJ 453
  CRJ 560 - CRJ 460
  CRJ 565 - CRJ 465
  CRJ 566 - CRJ 466
  CRJ 568 - CRJ 468
  CRJ 569 - CRJ 469
  CRJ 570 - CRJ 470
  CRJ 572 - CRJ 472
  CRJ 573 - CRJ 473
  CRJ 576 - CRJ 476
  CRJ 580 - CRJ 480
  CRJ 582 - CRJ 482
  CRJ 583 - CRJ 483
  CRJ 584 - CRJ 484
  CRJ 587 - CRJ 487
  CRJ 588 - CRJ 488
  CRJ 590 - CRJ 490
  PAPP 505 - PAPP 405
  PAPP 561 - PAPP 461
  PAPP 581 - PAPP 481
  PAPP 583 - PAPP 483
  SOC 510 - SOC 410

  Students that have completed the 400-level equivalent of the courses listed above cannot receive credit for the 500-level version toward the graduate program. Course substitutions should be discussed with the Criminology and Criminal Justice Director.

  For additional information about the Master’s in Criminology and Criminal Justice, please see the Criminology and Criminal Justice website.