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Criminology, Law, and Justice

Admission Requirements Degree Requirements

Mailing Address:
Department of Criminology, Law, and Justice (MC 141)
1007 West Harrison Street
Chicago, IL 60607-7140

Campus Location: 4022 BSB
Program Codes: 20FS5130MA (MA); 20FS5130PHD (PhD)
Telephone: (312) 996-2383
E-mail: casillas@uic.edu
Web Site: http://criminology.las.uic.edu/
Head of the Department: Lisa Frohmann
Director of Graduate Studies: Paul Schewe

The Department of Criminology, Law, and Justice offers work leading to the Master of Arts and the Doctor of Philosophy in Criminology, Law, and Justice. The Master of Arts is organized into four curricular areas that include: the nature and development of rules, rule-breaking behavior, rule application, and research methodology. It is designed for careers in research, evaluation, and criminal justice administration. The Interdepartmental Concentration in Gender and Women’s Studies is available to students in this program. Building on the above general curricular areas, the Doctor of Philosophy degree offers additional course work in theory, substantive specialties, and research methods. Concentrations are offered in Law and Society, Criminology, and Organizations and Administration.

The Department of Criminology, Law, and Justice also cosponsors, with the College of Pharmacy, a program leading to the Master of Science in Forensic Science; consult Forensic Science in the College of Pharmacy section of the catalog for more information.

The department cosponsors the Interdepartmental Graduate Concentration in Violence Studies with the Jane Addams College of Social Work. This concentration is available to students in the department's graduate programs. See Violence Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences section or the Jane Addams College of Social Work section.

Admission Requirements

Applicants are considered on an individual basis. Complete transcripts of all undergraduate and any graduate work must be submitted. In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, applicants must also meet the following program requirements:

Master of Arts

a In exceptional situations, students with GPAs less than 3.00 but higher than 2.75, or without strong backgrounds in the social sciences, may be admitted on limited status and will be required to remedy academic deficiencies before being admitted to regular status.

Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Requirements

In addition to the minimum requirements of the Graduate College, students must meet the following program requirements:

Master of Arts

Doctor of Philosophy

Students who have received a master’s degree or its equivalent prior to being admitted to the doctoral program may receive up to 32 semester hours of credit toward the 96-hour requirement. Credit for other graduate work in a related field, whether taken at UIC or another institution, may be given on an individual basis. Students may earn up to 20 hours of credit for dissertation research in CLJ 599. Students admitted with a BA degree must complete both the MA and PhD requirements which include the MA comprehensive examination. Students with an MA from other institutions must satisfy UIC Criminology, Law, and Justice MA requirements. The graduate director will evaluate students’ prior preparation and determine remedial work if necessary.

Interdepartmental Concentration in Gender and Women’s Studies

Students earning a graduate degree in this department may complement their courses by enrolling in a concentration in Gender and Women’s Studies after consulting with their graduate advisor. See Gender and Women’s Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences section for more information.

Interdepartmental Graduate Concentration in Violence Studies

Students earning a graduate degree in this department may complement their courses by enrolling in a concentration in Violence Studies after consulting with their graduate advisor. See Violence Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences section or the Jane Addams College of Social Work section for more information.