Criminal Justice - Master of Criminal Justice

All candidates, regardless of chosen degree option, must complete a final examination. Examination requirements vary by degree option. Please contact the director of the MCJ program or consult the Department of Criminal Justice website for details.

Thesis Option (33 Credits)

Thesis students must submit a thesis proposal to their faculty committee for approval and subsequently complete the approved thesis project. An approved thesis proposal is one wherein the thesis committee determines the student demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of the nexus of theory, method, and policy as it applies to the proposed thesis project. At the discretion of the thesis committee the proposal may be considered inadequate and the student is required to revise and resubmit the thesis proposal until the committee determines the proposal is satisfactory. The final examination minimally includes a defense of the completed thesis, but may also include a general examination based upon the candidate’s program of study. The minimum coursework requirements are displayed below.

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Students may not count CJUS 593 Internship or CJUS 592 Independent Research credit toward their elective requirement. No more than three total credits of CJUS 591 Directed Readings in Criminal Justice coursework may be used as electives; a minimum of 3 of the 12 credit general elective requirement must come from the Department of Criminal Justice.

A minor is optional (contact the director of the MCJ program or consult the Department of Criminal Justice web site, https://crimjust.nmsu.edu/, for details) and may result in more than 33 total credits for the degree.

Focused Coursework Option (36 Credits)

Focused coursework students must pass a written comprehensive examination following completion of the required courses. Students not passing the examination will be required to wait until the following semester to retake the examination. The minimum course requirements are displayed below.

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No more than three total credits of CJUS 593 Internship or CJUS 591 Directed Readings in Criminal Justice courses may be used as Criminal Justice electives. CJUS 592 Independent Research may not be used as Criminal Justice Electives for this option.

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No more than three credits of C J 593 Internship or C J 591 Directed Readings may be used to fulfill the general elective requirement. C J 592 Independent Research may not be used as Criminal Justice Elective for this option.

A minor is optional (contact the director of the MCJ program or consult the Department of Criminal Justice web site, https://crimjust.nmsu.edu/, for details) and may result in more than 36 total credits for the degree.

Minimum Grade Requirement

Students must earn a minimum B- grade in all required core courses, excluding elective credits. This applies to both options: Thesis and Focused Coursework as well as to both programs: On-Campus (traditional) and Online.

New Mexico State University master’s accelerated program provides the opportunity for academically qualified undergraduate students to begin working on a master’s degree during their junior and senior years while completing a bachelor’s degree. Typically, a bachelor’s degree requires four years to complete, and a master’s degree requires an additional two years. The master’s accelerated programs allow students the opportunity to complete a graduate program in an accelerated manner. Students can take up to 12 credits of CJUS graduate courses and get dual course credit that can be applied to both an undergraduate and master's degree.  You can also check the NMSU catalog for additional information.

MAP Requirements

• The Graduate School allows qualified junior or senior students to substitute its graduate courses for required or elective courses in an undergraduate degree program and then subsequently count those same course as fulfilling graduate requirements in a related graduate program.
• Undergraduate students may apply for acceptance to the accelerated master’s program after completing 60 semester hours of undergraduate coursework of which a minimum of 25 semester credit hours must be completed at NMSU.
• The grade point average must be at a minimum of 3.00.
• Students must receive a grade of B or higher in this coursework to be counted for graduate credit. If a grade of B- or lower is earned, it will not count toward the graduate degree.

MAP Roadmap

Consult with the CJUS Department Academic Advisor to choose classes that work for you and the MAP program.