Ph.D. in Criminal Justice – Program Requirements
Guide to the Doctoral Program in Criminal Justice
A student entering the program with a Bachelor’s degree must take a minimum of 90 credit hours. Those students who attain sufficient credits for a master’s degree but who lack the requisite skills to pursue further coursework toward the Ph.D. will be encouraged to write a thesis leading to a master’s of science degree in Social Science. The curricular structure of the program for doctoral students is:
Foundation Courses |
9 cr. |
Research Skills |
12 cr. |
Substantive Area |
18 cr. |
Electives |
18 cr. |
Individual Study/Dissertation |
33 cr. |
Total |
90 cr. |
Students entering the program with a master’s degree are required to complete a minimum of 60 credit hours, and at least three (3) of the research skills courses must be completed at NDSU. Within the first year of enrolling in the program, students should identify an advisor and meet with that advisor to discuss their plan of study.
All students are required to achieve a grade of “B” or better in all courses. Nine credits are considered a full-time graduate load. Graduate assistants are expected to take a full-time course load. Any graduate assistant wishing to register for more than 10 credits in a regular semester must secure the approval of their academic dean and the Dean of the Graduate School.
All requirements for the Ph.D. degree must be completed within a period of 10 consecutive years. Graduate credit for any course work, not including the master’s degree, that is more than 10 calendar years old at the time of the final oral examination may not be used to satisfy degree requirements.
COURSEWORK
Foundation Courses
Students are required to complete 9 credits in foundation courses.
1. Advanced Criminology – CJ703
2. Criminal Justice Policy – CJ709
3. Introduction to College Teaching – HUM702
Methodological Skills
Students are required to complete 12 credits in methodological skills courses. Nine (9) of these credits must be completed at NDSU.
1. Quantitative Methods – COMM710
2. Applied Statistics – STAT725
3. Applied Regression Models – STAT726
4. Program Evaluation – CJ702
Substantive Areas
Students are required to complete a total of 18 credits in the substantive areas. Students must complete four courses in a substantive area of choice (12 credits). Additionally, students must complete one course in each of their non-substantive areas (6 credits).
Criminology
1. Crime & Delinquency – CJ606
2. Violence – CJ750
3. Criminogenic Commodities – CJ752
4. Individual Theories of Crime – CJ721
5. Structural Theories of Crime – CJ722
Corrections
1. Corrections – CJ661
2. Community Corrections – CJ762
3. Crime Prevention – CJ765
4. Correctional Treatment – CJ763
5. Juvenile Corrections – CJ707
Policing
1. Criminalization – CJ660
2. Administrative Policing – CJ755
3. Community Policing – CJ757
4. Police and Race Issues – CJ760
5. Police Effectiveness – CJ761
Electives
Students are also required to complete 18 credits of elective courses. Students should consult with their advisor as to appropriate electives.
EXAMINATIONS
The Ph.D. comprehensive examinations are an integral part of the Ph.D. degree in Criminal Justice. They represent the part of the program that requires students to demonstrate their understanding of the central issues facing the discipline. It also requires students to have formed their own positions on these issues and to demonstrate that they have the ability to articulate and defend these positions. As such, they place an emphasis not only on what people know but also on how they can use what they know.
For full-time students, two written preliminary examinations should be taken no later than the end of the third year in the program for students entering with a baccalaureate degree. For students entering with a master’s degree, preliminary examinations should be completed by the end of their second year in the program. It is strongly recommended that students complete at least 80% of the course work in a particular area before taking that exam. However, students must remember that completion of these courses will not fully prepare them for the comprehensive exams.
Students are required to complete two comprehensive examinations; one in Criminological Theory/Methods and one from the two program areas of Criminal Justice (either Corrections or Policing).
The Theory/Methods examination includes the history of criminological theory, meanings of and trends in theory development, contemporary theories of crime and criminal behavior, research testing these theories, and applications of these theories to types of crime (e.g., drugs, violence, etc.) and groups of special interest (e.g., women, minorities, juveniles, etc.). In addition, this exam will require students to relate their knowledge of the methods commonly employed in criminological research, including both quantitative and qualitative methods and analytical techniques.
The Corrections examination generally covers topics including the administration of the correctional system, as well as the theory of and research on corrections, including prevention and treatment of criminal offenders, prediction of criminal behavior, and other responses by the criminal justice system to the problems posed by known or likely juvenile and/or adult offenders.
The Policing examination covers similar areas related to the administration, operation, theory, and research related to law enforcement activities.
DISSERTATION
A written dissertation must be completed and orally presented to the student’s committee for defense. The dissertation must show originality and demonstrate the student’s capacity for independent research. It must embody results of original research focusing on a significant problem or issue in criminal justice which constitutes a definitive contribution to knowledge