General Information

• The majority of Criminology and Criminal Justice Master's students receive assistantship or fellowship funding.  These provide a tuition waiver, medical benefits, and a monthly stipend.  For assistantships there is an expectation of research and teaching assistance withing the department.
• The Master's in Criminology and Criminal Justice provides students with numerous opportunities to advance their education, professional experiences, and scholarly accomplishments.
• Graduate students work on a variety of research projects, including grants from federal and state agencies, and private foundations.  Students frequently present original and faculty-sponsored research at professional meetings and before community organizations.
• Faculty and students collaborate on journal publications, book chapters, and conference presentations.  Funds are available to assist students presenting research at regional and national conferences.
• Students have opportunities to gain experience as teaching assistants and select students are invited to serve as discussion leaders in our core curriculum course (Crime, Law and Social Diversity).
• Graduate internship opportunities are available.  One recent graduate interned with the Illinois Terrorism Task Force.  Her outstanding work led to a permanent position with that organization.
• Other recent graduates have accepted employment with a variety of international, federal, state, and local criminal justice and social service providers.
• Many graduates continue their education at the doctoral level. 

Mission

The Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, which enjoys a national and international reputation for quality research and education, offers the Master of Arts degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice. The mission of the M.A. program in Criminology and Criminal Justice is to provide high quality graduate education in criminal justice and criminology. The program focuses on analyzing criminal justice, social justice, and crime prevention problems and solutions. The program prepares its graduates with the analytic capabilities and problem-solving skills that enable them to succeed in professional careers in criminal justice and related agencies, in policy analysis and research, or in continued graduate or professional education. The focus of the curriculum is theoretically driven, empirically-based criminal justice and crime prevention that takes a problem-solving approach.

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