Requirements for Master's Degree

Requirements for Canidiacy for Master's Degree

Credits and Course Load - Master of Science

To satisfy the requirements for the Master of Science in Criminal Justice, students must successfully complete thirty-two (32) semester hours of coursework as well as pass the comprehensive examination. 

Required Core Courses - Master of Science

All students must take seventeen (17) semester hours of required course work as part of the core curriculum.  The required core courses are:

 

Required Courses:

Semester Credit-Hours Earned

HCJG200 Criminology

3shs

HCJG202 Criminal Justice Process

3shs

One Law Related Course

3shs

HCJG204 Research Methods and HCJG205 Lab

 

4shs

HCJG206 Statistical Analysis and HCJG207 Lab

 

4shs

Total Semester Credit Earned

17shs

Elective Courses

Students are expected to take elective courses beyond the seventeen required (17) semester hours of core courses.  A total of fifteen (15) semester hours of elective credit is needed to complete the degree.  Unless approved by the Graduate Director, no more than six of these hours may be combined in internships, directed studies, thesis option or courses taken outside the
Graduate School of Criminal Justice.  Elective courses generally meet once a week for two and one half (2.5) hours on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday in the afternoon or evening.  Elective courses are worth three semester hours of credit unless otherwise noted.

The student may also pursue specialized interests by electing courses in other Graduate Schools at Northeastern.  The student is permitted to take no more than six semester hours of credit or two courses, whichever is greater, from other programs at Northeastern.  As with all courses, both the Graduate Director and the Department offering the course prior to registration must approve these selections prior to registration.

Master's Thesis

The Master's Thesis is optional.  Under this option, students carry out an original research project from start to finish.  The thesis option is recommended for students who intend to pursue a degree beyond the Master's or who anticipate a career in research.  Should a student elect to write a thesis, he/she should form his/her thesis committee (a thesis advisor plus a second reader at a minimum) and prepare a brief proposal during the Spring semester of his/her first year in the program.  Students electing to complete a thesis must complete the Master's Thesis Committee Approval Form prior to official registration. The Thesis advisor must be a tenured or tenured track faculty member or a terminally prepared member of the research faculty (full-time research faculty holding a doctoral degree).

Internship

Master's students may wish to enrich their graduate studies with a practical experience through an agency placement.  The goal of the internship program has been for students to gain valuable on-site work experience at a variety of criminal justice agencies for academic credit.  Students are given the opportunity to apply theoretical concepts in a practical, applied fashion by observing and contributing to the daily activities of operating agencies and organizations. Intern locations have included government agencies, police departments, prisons, federal and state law enforcement, private security firms, judicial clerkships, legal offices and agencies involving administrative, research, teaching, and related activities. Some of our recent interns have been successfully placed in the following criminal justice agencies: Boston Police Department, Executive Office of Public Safety, The Federal Bureau of Investigation, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, The Drug Enforcement Administration, The United States Marshall Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Crime and Justice Institute, the Institute on Race and Justice and various local probation offices.

In order to be eligible for an internship, students must first identify a particular area within the field of criminal justice in which they would like to work and select agencies within that area that are accepting interns.  The student should then submit a cover letter and resume to the agency requesting an internship.  Ideally, the resume should list any background and/or experience that would qualify the candidate for an internship within the agency, and the cover letter should state the reasons for wanting to apply to a particular agency, what the applicant hopes to gain from the experience and how both the agency and the student will benefit from the internship.  The letter should also specify that the candidate will follow up with the agency either by phone or email within 10 days.  It is important to note that students applying for internships within federal agencies may have to wait five or six months for security clearance, so that should be taken into consideration when applying for an internship. Also, many criminal justice agencies require that applicants submit to a drug test in order to be eligible to work within that agency.  Furthermore, Internship approval forms may be obtained from the Graduate School Office or from the Graduate School website and must be signed by the Graduate Director prior to enrolling in the course.  Students electing an internship should consider such factors as transportation to and from their field placement, the workload requirements of their other courses and their ability to complete an independent internship project. 

 

All interns are required to work at least 8 to 10 hours a week for a full semester in order to be eligible for credit.  Also, interns must work on at least one project specific to their field placement, the results of which are submitted to the Graduate Director.  Some examples of past projects include: an analysis of Sex Offender Classification System in Maine, the development of a crime scene investigation protocol, and an analysis of burglary patterns in a local community.  Interns should identify the project within one week after they begin their internship and must submit a one page description of the project to the Graduate Director for approval by the end of the first week of the term.  Interns are also required to submit monthly electronic updates of their internships to the Graduate Director and must complete a final report at the end of their internship.  The report should describe the overall internship experience, detail all activities related to the project and any additional duties that fell outside of the project realm, list project results and/or conclusions, and offer suggestions or recommendations for applying what was learned to the future.   The paper should be 7 to 10 pages in length and must be submitted by the last day of classes.  The Director of the Graduate Program will grade the written report/project on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.  In addition, the intern must submit a written verification of the internship signed by the Intern's on-site supervisor.  If you are interested in a graduate internship, please contact Dean Jack McDevitt.

Internship Process

What? When?
  • Identify areas of interest
    		•  Prior to Internship
  • Submit Introduction Letter to agency
    		•  Prior to Internship
  • Follow-up Phone call to agency
    		•  Prior to Internship
  • Obtain acceptance from Agency
    		• Prior to Internship
  • Submit Internship Approval Form to Graduate School Office
    		•  Prior to Registration
  • Begin work at internship
    		•  1st Week of Classes
  • Progress reports to Graduate Director
    		•  Last day of Classes
  • Letter from Supervisor
    		•  Monthly
  • Final Report
    		•  Last day of Classes

    Master's Degree Comprehensive Examination  Policy

    All students enrolled in the Master's of Science in Criminal Justice program are required to pass a comprehensive exam as part of their degree requirements. The comprehensive exam serves as an assessment of the integration and mastery of core issues and is offered in both the Fall and Spring semesters.

    Information provided to students:

    Students will be provided with a reading list (see Appendix A) to assist them in preparing for the comprehensive exam. The reading list will be provided during their first academic year. Students will also be provided with one sample question.  The sample serves only as an example of the general format of the exam and the level of mastery expected.

    Eligibility:

    Students must meet the following criteria to be considered eligible to take the comprehensive exam:

    1. Successfully completed the research methods, criminology, criminal justice process and statistics courses with a passing grade, AND:
    2. Successfully completed a total of 20 semester hours of credit hours in the program, AND;
    3. Be a student in good standing (Students on Academic Probation will not be permitted to take the comprehensive exam).

    *Students who previously failed the initial exam will also be eligible to reserve a subsequent exam date as long as it falls within the appropriate timeframe (see "Exam Failure' below) and they continue to meet the requirements identified above.

    Preparatory Session:

    The Director of the Graduate Program will coordinate a preparatory session to be held at the beginning of each fall semester. This session will be facilitated by the Director of the Graduate Program along with 2-3 other faculty members. Although preparation for the exam should be underway by this point, the purpose of the session is to address questions about preparation for or administration of the exam. This is intended to be an informal working session.

    Enrolling for Comprehensive Exam:

    Students intending to take the exam must notify the Assistant to the Dean of the Graduate Program at least 30 days prior to the examination date. The Assistant to the Dean will verify eligibility and confirm registration.

    Use of Blackboard Technologies:

    Blackboard technologies will be used to manage the administration of the comprehensive exam (http://blackboard.neu.edu). Students who have signed up for the exam will be enrolled in the class on blackboard.

    Dissemination of Exam to Students:

    The exam will be ready for dissemination by 9 a.m. on the exam date (specified in advance for each semester).  A copy of the exam will be posted on Blackboard by the first scheduled date of the exam. All students mustsign and submit an "Ethics Agreement' that stipulates there was no collaboration in any manner during the administration of the exam. By signing this agreement students acknowledge they have read the University's Policy on Academic Integrity. This agreement does not cover study sessions held during the preparatory process (see section titled "Academic Integrity Agreement Form' for additional information). Students who download the exam from Blackboard must sign the "Academic Integrity Agreement Form' before the start date of the exam. Exams will not be accepted from enrolled students without a signed "Academic Integrity Agreement Form'. 

    Submission of Completed Exam:

    All exams must be submitted electronically via blackboard also by 5:00 on the due date of the examination.  This time will serve as the official time and will be strictly enforced. Students submitting are responsible and liable for any delays due to technical problems. Any late submission will receive a failing grade. Other submission requirements:

    1.   Students must submit four (4) printed copies of the exam by 5 pm. on the Monday following the exam date to the Graduate School Office;

    2.   All copies must be bound with 1 staple in the upper left-hand corner. Please DO NOT provide any additional binding including plastic covers, spiral bindings, etc;

    3.   Each copy of the exam should include a coversheet with the students name and NU ID number. NONE of the remaining pages should include any identifying information including name or student number. Each exam will be graded anonymously;

    4.   Each student must upload one copy of the finished exam to Blackboard's digital drop box by the 5:00 p.m. deadline. Any exams uploaded after the deadline will receive a failing grade. The date/time associated with the file in Blackboard will be considered the "official" time of submission. When uploading the file, students should use their last name as the name of the document.

    Emergency Circumstances:

    In the case of an emergency during the exam that may result in a delayed submission, students should leave details of the problem on the Director of the Graduate Program's voice mail (617-373-3482). The Director will be checking his voicemail regularly over the exam period. Such situations will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the full Graduate Committee.

    Standards on Academic Integrity:

    Students should be familiar with Northeastern University's policy on academic integrity (http://www.judicialaffairs.neu.edu/academicintegrity.htm). Students who are in violation of this policy will receive a failing grade on the exam and will be referred to the Director of Judicial Affairs for further investigation.

    Below are guidelines:

    Formatting and Citations:

    All exams must be in APA (5th) format and this will be strictly enforced. However, please do not use headers of any kind. It is also expected that all comprehensive exams will be properly cited. This includes proper format for parenthetical citations, direct quotes, and footnotes/endnotes (if applicable). All documents should also include a "Works Cited" page that is properly formatted to APA guidelines. Serious deviations from APA standards or serious problems with grammar and/or spelling may be grounds for receiving a failing grade.

    Suggested Page Length:

    Exams are expected to be in the 15-20 page range, double spaced, 12 point font.

    Address all Sections of a Question:

    Students are expected to address all sections of a question. Failure to adequately address any part of a question may result in failure.

    Grading of Exams:

    All exams will be graded anonymously.  Grades will be High Pass, Pass, or Fail.

    Exam Failure:

    Repeated Failure of Comprehensive Exam:

    Successful completion of the comprehensive exam is a necessary criterion for graduation. Students who fail to complete the comprehensive exam successfully will not be awarded a degree, regardless of their level of performance in other requirements for the degree.

    Appeal of Failing Grades:

    Students who are judged to have failed the comprehensive exam may appeal the grade to the full Graduate Committee.