Criminal Justice

Riane Bolin, Department Chair
Lori Elis, Graduate Program Coordinator
Graduate Faculty

Graduate Program

The graduate program in criminal justice allows students to prepare for leadership, advanced careers, and/or doctoral education in criminal justice and related fields. The program is designed both to enhance students’ existing capabilities and to develop unique competencies and skills for future academic/career goals. Students are required to complete a minimum of 36 semester hours for either the Master of Arts or the Master of Science degree in criminal justice. Further program information, including its mission, learning outcomes, and student handbook, is available online (http://crju-web.asp.radford.edu/crjugrad.htm).

Admission Requirements

Minimum 2.90 grade point average required for admission. Applicants interested in applying to the graduate programs in criminal justice should review information on the Department of Criminal Justice website here.

Required application materials include:

two letters of reference (only one of which may come from Radford University criminal justice professor),
resume,
original writing sample on any topic by the applicant consisting of five typed pages with peer-reviewed scholarly references,
a letter of interest/personal statement describing the applicant’s professional and/or research experience, outlining the person’s career goals, and reasons for pursuing graduate study.

Applicants who wish to be considered for funding for Fall semesters (when those opportunities begin) should submit applications by March 1st.

Applications will not be reviewed until all materials (including references, writing sample and transcripts) are complete. Please refer to here for application deadlines.

Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice

Exceptional undergraduate students at Radford University may complete requirements for baccalaureate and master’s degrees in five rather than six years. Successful applicants for the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in Criminal Justice must have a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.75.

For information on accelerated programs, see here . For more information, contact the Department of Criminal Justice, the Graduate Admissions Office or consult the web at: http://gradcollege.asp.radford.edu/index.html.