Master of Science in Criminal Justice and Criminology

University of Central Missouri

To be considered for admission into the program of study for the Criminal Justice M.S.degree, the applicant must have earned a 120 credit hour undergraduate degree in criminal justice or a related field prior to enrollment in program coursework at UCM. Those with fewer than 120 credit hours must complete up to 21 hours of additional coursework as identified by the graduate coordinator. Applicants who have earned a minimum grade point average of 3.00 on all undergraduate course work and 3.00 on all graduate coursework must submit a complete graduate application, two (2) letters of recommendation, and a personal statement. A student without a criminal justice degree may be required to complete up to 15 hours of background courses in criminal justice prior to taking graduate level courses. The requirement to take background courses may be waived by the Criminal Justice Coordinator based on previous courses taken and/or relevant professional experience. Students with a cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2.99 or below are considered for admission by the Criminal Justice Graduate Committee by completing the application materials described above, in addition to submitting a written statement documenting relevant work experience and/or explaining a GPA lower than 3.0.