Graduate Courses at the Roanoke Higher Education Center

Introduction

In January of 2009, the Department of Criminal Justice plans to begin offering evening graduate courses at the Roanoke Higher Education Center (RHEC), for students and working professionals interested in pursuing a master’s degree in criminal justice.  In order for the program to be offered at the RHEC, at least ten students must be enrolled by December of 2008.  Program details follow; you may also contact Dr. Lori Elis, the Criminal Justice Graduate Director, if you have any questions or if you would like additional information (540-831-6775; lelis@radford.edu). 

Graduate Program Mission, Goals, and Learning Outcomes

The mission statement, goals, and learning outcomes of the Radford University graduate programs in Criminal Justice are available by clicking here.

Admission to the Program

To be admitted to the Criminal Justice Graduate Program, applicants must complete a Radford University Application for Graduate Admission and submit a $40 application fee.  In addition, students must meet the following requirements:

• Have a minimum undergraduate grade point average of 2.9 (Note: In exceptional cases, based on professional accomplishments, this requirement may be waived);

• Two letters of reference are required, from persons able to evaluate the applicant’s academic ability/potential; at least one letter must come from a person outside the Radford University Criminal Justice faculty (forms for references are available online);

• With the application, applicants must submit an original writing sample, consisting of five typed (double-spaced) pages with appropriate references, on “the most important current problem in criminal justice”; and

• No more than six graduate credits (approved by the Criminal Justice Department and College of Graduate and Professional Studies) may be transferred into the program.

Applications will not be reviewed until all materials (including references, writing sample, and transcripts) are complete.

Applicants are strong encouraged to carefully review the admission policies stated in the Graduate Catalog (pages 14-17 of the 2007-2008 edition).

Program Requirements

The Criminal Justice Graduate Program requires 36 credit hours of courses, distributed as follows:

Required Courses.  All students must complete the following courses (18 credit hours, total):

CRJU-600, Survey of Criminal Justice (3 credit hours)
CRJU-655, Constitutional Law and the Criminal Justice System (3 credit hours)
CRJU-670, Criminal Justice Research Methods (3 credit hours)
CRJU-671, Quantitative Methods in Criminal Justice Research (3 credit hours)
CRJU-675, Studies in Criminological Theory (3 credit hours)
CRJU-691, Public Policy and Criminal Justice (3 credit hours)

Criminal Justice Electives.  Students must complete 12 hours in criminal justice electives (these are any courses with a CRJU prefix, other than the required courses listed above; students are limited to only two CRJU-590 courses, and no more than six hours of CRJU-698 directed studies for Master of Science students or no more than four hours of CRJU-698 directed studies for Master of Arts students).

Master of Arts/Master of Science Requirements.  Students will earn either a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice or a Master of Science in Criminal Justice; the requirements for each are below.

Master of Arts in Criminal Justice.  Students completing a Master of Arts degree are required to write a thesis; students receive six hours of credit for completion of the thesis.  In addition, students must prepare an oral defense of the thesis.

Master of Science in Criminal Justice.  Students completing a Master of Science degree must complete six additional hours (two courses) of electives.  In addition, in the last semester prior to graduation, students must complete a written and oral comprehensive examination. 

Good Standing.  To remain in good standing in the program, students must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0.

Course Delivery

One graduate criminal justice course will be offered each semester (Fall, Spring, and Summer III) at the Roanoke Higher Education Center, from January 2009 through December 2012.  The courses will meet from 6:30-9:30pm on a weeknight. 

Timeline to Degree Completion

Students who begin the program in January 2009 and take one class per semester will graduate in December 2012.  If you wish to complete the program prior to December 2012, you may accelerate degree progress by one of two means.  First, you may complete up to six hours through directed studies (four hours if you are pursuing the Master of Arts degree).  Second, you may elect to travel to Radford University to take classes there; any classes you take on the Radford University campus will count towards your degree (all on-campus graduate courses meet in the evening, beginning at 5:00pm or later). 

Faculty

The Criminal Justice Department is staffed by eleven full-time faculty members who are accomplished in both their academic and professional communities.  Radford University Criminal Justice faculty publish books and articles, make presentations at national conferences, provide expert testimony, and work with the local criminal justice community.  You can learn more about the Criminal Justice faculty by clicking here.

Cost

As of the 2007-2008 academic year, tuition and fees are as follows:

In-State Students:  $279/credit hour = $837/three-credit-hour course
Out-of-State Students:  $519/credit hour = $1,557/three-credit-hour course

Please note that tuition and fees are subject to change for the 2008-2009 academic year.

Want to Start Early or Sample the Program?

In the Fall Semester of 2008, the Criminal Justice Department will be offering one graduate class at the Roanoke Higher Education Center, taught in a weekend format:  CRJU-690, Seminar: The Impact of Personal Privacy and Identity Theft Issues on the Criminal Justice System.  This class will meet on four weekends during the Fall Semester of 2008 (dates include: September 12-13, September 26-27, October 10-11, and October 24-25), from 6:00-9:00pm on Fridays and 9:00am-3:00pm on Saturdays.

If you would like to register for this course, you may, and it will count toward your degree program (doing this would enable you to graduate in Summer 2012, assuming you take one course per semester).

Deadlines

If you would like to join the program for the Fall Semester 2008 (September-December) weekend course, you should submit your application materials by July 1, 2008.    

If you would like to join the program for the Spring Semester 2009 (January-May) evening course, you should submit your application materials by November 1, 2008.

Course Rotation

The following is a tentative schedule of courses to be offered at the Roanoke Higher Education Center:

For Additional Information

Additional information is available from the following sources:

Criminal Justice Department Graduate Webpage
Radford University Graduate Catalog
College of Graduate and Professional Studies
Criminal Justice Graduate Coordinator: Dr. Lori Elis (lelis@radford.edu)

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