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Criminology Master of Arts Program

School of Criminology | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Calendar 2012 Fall

¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Requirements

Students holding a baccalaureate or equivalent from a recognized institution must meet the admission requirements for graduate studies. See graduate general regulation 1.3.2 and also see graduate general regulation 1.3.8.

Normally, an applicant should have completed at least one course in social science research methods and one undergraduate introductory course in statistics.

Official transcripts and a short statement of interest, which includes a description of previous employment and research or other relevant work, is required. Letters of recommendation from those who are familiar with their work are required.

Application fees are set by the dean of graduate studies office, and are subject to change each year.

The deadline for receipt of the online application and supporting documents, for entrance commencing in the fall term, is February 1. Applicants are informed of the outcome as soon as possible thereafter.

Degree Requirements

The school offers master of arts (MA) degrees through two research options: a thesis option, and a course work, practicum and project option. Students elect which option to pursue in consultation with their senior supervisor.

Thesis Option

This option requires

  • completion of a minimum of 18 units of course work as specified below, and
  • satisfactory completion and oral defence of an original MA thesis

The course work requirement includes one of

  • CRIM 800-3 Theories of Crime
  • CRIM 801-3 Theories of Crime II

and one of

  • CRIM 860-3 Research Methods I
  • CRIM 861-3 Research Methods II

and one of

  • CRIM 861-3 Research Methods II (unless competed above)
  • CRIM 862-3 Research Methods III
  • CRIM 863-3 Research Methods IV

and at least nine units selected from additional graduate curriculum course offerings.

Some incoming students may have CRIM 800 or 860 waived if, in the judgment of the graduate committee, they have very strong backgrounds in theory and/or methods at the point of intake; these students will still be required to complete 18 units of course work.

The thesis will not normally be more than 100 pages in length, including bibliography and footnotes, but exclusive of appendices.

Course, Practicum and Project Option

This option requires

  • completion of a minimum of 21 units of course work as specified below, and
  • satisfactory completion of a supervised field practicum (CRIM 880), and
  • satisfactory completion of a practicum related research project.

The course work requirement includes one of

  • CRIM 800-3 Theories of Crime
  • CRIM 801-3 Theories of Crime II

and both of

  • CRIM 860-3 Research Methods I
  • CRIM 869-3 Professionalism and Criminal Justice

and at least 12 units selected from additional graduate curriculum course offerings.

The practicum requirement is met by satisfactory completion of a supervised one-term field placement in a criminal justice related agency. The practicum requires a paper that is related to the field placement, and this report is not normally more than 50 pages in length, including bibliography and footnotes, but exclusive of appendices. The paper is to be presented in the School of Criminology in a publicly advertised forum. The practicum paper does not require the completion of original research.

Satisfactory Performance

The candidate’s progress is assessed once per year by the school (spring). A student who performs unsatisfactorily is not permitted to continue in the program, subject to the review procedure described in graduate general regulation 1.8.2.

Academic Requirements within the Graduate General Regulations

All graduate students must satisfy the academic requirements that are specified in the Graduate General Regulations (residence, course work, academic progress, supervision, research competence requirement, completion time, and degree completion), as well as the specific requirements for the program in which they are enrolled, as shown above.

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