Criminal Justice, M.A.

Program Chair: Wayne Davis, Ph.D

The Master of Arts in Criminal Justice program requires thirty semester hours of graduate courses including six semester hours for completion of a two-course capstone project. 

Policy on Writing and Research Standards

Columbia College takes seriously its commitments to academic integrity and to academic excellence. The Graduate School expects its students to demonstrate high standards of scholarship and to possess accurate, articulate communication skills. To this end, the Master of Arts in Criminal Justice program will maintain the following policy on research and writing standards:

1. A significant writing component shall be present in every course for which graduate credit is earned.
2. A research component shall be present in every course.
3. Instructors will inform the faculty advisor of any serious deficiencies they note in a student’s performance of the writing and research components.
4. Faculty advisors will assist students to develop a plan for addressing any such serious deficiencies. Such a plan might include remedial writing or undergraduate research courses in their home communities for which students would not be given graduate credit.
5. If a student is unable to address serious deficiencies, the advisor may recommend that she/he withdraw from the program. If serious deficiencies persist, and the student refuses to withdraw, the program director may recommend to the Provost that the student be dismissed. The student may choose to challenge such a decision to the Graduate Council.