MASTER OF SCIENCE IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Handbook for MS‑CJ Students

The Handbook for MS‑CJ Students should answer many of the questions that prospective and current students have about the Georgia College & State University Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MS‑CJ) program. The GC&SU Graduate Catalog officially describes the MS‑CJ program and is the official reference for rules, regulations, and policies considered binding for students and faculty involved with any of the graduate programs at GC&SU. Every student should have a current copy of the Graduate Catalog and should read it. You can get one copy of the Graduate Catalog from the GC&SU Enrollment Services Office in Parks Hall or at the offices of the Macon Campus. The catalog is available on‑line at the GC&SU web site (www.gcsu.edu).

Admission Requirements and Procedures

There are four basic steps to the admissions process. The first step is to submit a completed graduate school application to the GC&SU Office of Enrollment Services. If you have attended GC&SU previously, there will not be an application charge; otherwise, a small fee is required for processing.

Second, you must get every higher education institution you have ever attended, both undergraduate and graduate, to submit your official transcripts to the Enrollment Services Office. Your official undergraduate and/or graduate transcript(s) must indicate the degree earned at each institution. There is no required undergraduate major for the MS‑CJ program. More of our students have social science undergraduate degrees than any other, but we have good students from a wide range of undergraduate (and many graduate) backgrounds.

Third, you must submit three letters of recommendation from those persons who can attest to your ability to complete graduate work. Letters of recommendation should come from former teachers or professors. These reference letters should be sent directly to:

Office of Graduate Admissions

Georgia College & State University

Campus Box 107

Milledgeville, GA 31061

Fourth, you must submit official scores from the general section of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Miller's Analogies Test (MAT). The test date for the GRE or MAT must be within the past ten years. You do not need to submit scores from a subject achievement test.

Once your application package is complete, the MS‑CJ program coordinator will then review your package to decide whether you should get Regular or Provisional status. To get regular status, you must have a score of at least 1200 on the MS‑CJ admissions formula using the GRE, or at least 670 on the formula using the MAT. The formulae are:

GRE verbal + GRE quantitative + (100 X undergraduate GPA)

MAT scaled score + (100 X undergraduate GPA)

For example, if you had 450 on the GRE verbal, 450 on the GRE quantitative, and a 3.00 undergraduate GPA, your score would be 450 + 450 + (100 X 3.00) = 1200, and you would be given regular status. An MAT score of 370 and a GPA of 3.00 would produce 370+ (100 X 3.00) = 670.

If you have a total score below 1200 on the GRE formula or 670 on the MAT formula, you will be considered for provisional status, which would allow you to take courses on a trial basis. If your score on the formula is less than 1000 on the GRE formula or 620 on the MAT formula, the coordinator may require you to re‑take the GRE or MAT or may deny you admission. The practice of the MS‑CJ program is to ascertain the degree to which the applicant in question is prepared to undertake graduate‑level work. Applicants with low scores will need to provide additional and sufficient evidence of their abilities in order to avoid outright denial of admission.

Provisional students must take in that status the equivalent of a semester's full load (9 to 12 hours) of MS‑CJ courses and earn no final course grades below B to qualify for regular status. If you take a lighter course load, you may need two or more semesters of satisfactory work (not to exceed 12 hours) to become eligible for regular status. Courses taken under provisional status with satisfactory grades will be counted as part of the regular degree program. A final course grade below "B" while in provisional status will cause you to be dismissed from the MS‑CJ program. No more than 12 hours can be taken in provisional status‑‑or in a combination of provisional, conditional, or any other non‑regular status.

Once you have been placed into regular status, you will receive a Program of Study form, which will outline the courses needed for the degree. Signing and returning the form will complete the process known as admission to candidacy. This means that you are now in fact a regular student in the MS‑CJ program and if you take the courses in the program of study and earn good graduate grades (a 3.00 graduate GPA) then you can expect to graduate upon completion of those courses with an MS‑CJ degree. It is imperative that students return the signed form to be able to continue their programs.

The MS‑CJ Curriculum

The program of study form outlines the MS‑CJ curriculum. There is also an MS‑CJ Check‑Sheet (a copy of which is attached to this handbook), which should be helpful in keeping track of degree progress.

Students categorized as in‑service will have a 36 credit hour program, composed of twelve regular courses and a capstone project. Students categorized as pre‑service (i.e., not having held a full‑time position in the public sector) will have a 36 credit hour program, composed of regular courses and an internship. Students in either category can choose, with the approval of the graduate coordinator, the thesis option. If you are contemplating doctoral level work, the thesis option would be very good preparation and is strongly recommended.

We have divided the curriculum into basic, advanced, and elective courses. Students are strongly encouraged to take CRJU 6100 in their first term or no later than the second term in the MS‑CJ program. That course serves as the introduction to criminal justice and to this particular MS‑CJ program. While it is not required, some students have found it helpful to have their criminal justice courses completed prior to taking PUAD 6605: Quantitative Techniques.

I. Basic Curriculum (18 Hours)

PUAD 6538 Public Administration and the Public Service

An analysis of government organization, management, and administration with primary focus upon the American national administrative structure. Emphasis is placed upon institutional, behavioral, and political factors of contemporary public bureaucracies.

PUAD 6568 Administrative Law for Public Administrators

An examination of law in society and its influence upon public sector operations. Applications of substantive areas of the law such as regulatory processes, administrative adjudication, and due process are addressed.

PUAD 6578 Public Finance and Budgeting

A study of the public fiscal and budgetary decision‑making institutions and operations. Sources of revenue, methods of expenditure, allocations of resources and their impact on the economy are given special emphasis.

CRJU 6100 The Criminal Justice System

An examination of the criminal justice system, focusing on how the system functions in theory and practice as well as current and future trends.

CRJU 6200 Police in Society

The philosophy and role of American policing, politics of policing, managing the police organization, police operational and administrative practices, and emergent issues and problems in policing.

CRJU 6300 Seminar in Corrections

An in‑depth examination of the various issues and problems in corrections as they relate to administration and management of correctional programs and organizations.

II. Advanced Curriculum (9 hours)

CRJU 6400 Criminological Theory

An intensive overview and examination of each of the major criminological perspectives, theory construction, and theory integration.

PUAD 6605 Quantitative Techniques in Public Administration

Applied systematic analysis for public managers. Stresses analytical approaches to problem definition and the application of statistical techniques to hypothesis testing. Data analysis using computer software is integrated throughout the course.

CRJU 6500 Seminar in Criminal Law

An in‑depth analysis of the development and current application of criminal law and constitutional law. Primary focus is on criminal law and procedure.

III. Electives (9 hours)

Selected to fit the interest of the student. Consists of two graduate‑level Criminal Justice courses and one graduate‑level course in Public Administration, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology, or Management.

IV. Career Assessment Project; Thesis (6 hours); or Internship

Note: Students taking the thesis option would have 3 hours of electives and no Career Assessment Project or internship.

Thesis Option. Students contemplating further graduate work or wanting an in‑depth research experience should consider the thesis option. The thesis option contains three separate courses, corresponding to three sequential steps.

CRJU 6971 Thesis Research Design ‑‑The student will prepare a detailed prospectus of the research topic. The prospectus will include a bibliography, a description of methodology to be used, substantive goals to be achieved, a realistic schedule to be followed, and other details deemed necessary by the Thesis Supervisor. A student must receive a "satisfactory" (S) grade before being permitted to register for CRJU 6972.

CRJU 6972 Thesis Writing and Development ‑‑The student will submit chapters of the thesis to the Thesis Supervisor and Second Reader. Chapters will be read, evaluated, and revised until final approval as to form and content is given. An "S" grade must be earned before the student can move on to CRJU 6973.

CRJU 6973 Thesis Defense ‑‑The student will defend the thesis before a committee composed of the Supervisor, Second Reader, and a third faculty member (either from Government/Sociology or another appropriate department). A successful defense completes the degree. Part of this course is the submission of the final, approved thesis to the GC&SU Library binding office.

A student interested in the thesis option should apply to the MS‑CJ Coordinator, who will decide in consultation with other MS-CJ faculty if the option is appropriate for the student. The Coordinator will work with the student in choosing a Thesis Supervisor and Second Reader (the Thesis Committee) and in selecting a third faculty member to participate in the thesis defense. A student approved for the thesis option will register for the first course (CRJU 6971) in the thesis sequence at least two semesters before the expected date of completion. After earning a satisfactory grade ("S") in the first course, the student will then register for the second course, and so on. Students should not attempt more than 6 hours of additional non‑thesis courses each quarter while working on the thesis. A student may withdraw from the thesis option prior to taking CRJU 6972, the second thesis course. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association must be followed in the typing of the thesis. Students are encouraged to consult other style manuals, such as Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. The final defended version of the thesis will be hardbound and placed in the GC&SU Library.

Students should understand that a thesis is a finished piece of work that reports on a study of some significance to the overall discipline and practice of criminal justice. It is not just a long term paper. Students who are not prepared to spend a large portion of their lives for at least one academic year working on a specific project should not seriously contemplate the thesis option. On the other hand, the thesis is a worthwhile experience for those who are contemplating doctoral level work.

Independent Study. An independent research course (CRJU 6940) provides the student the opportunity to explore in detail a subject that is not normally covered in regular course offerings. Usually, the subject to be studied is one that was touched on in a regular course, and the student wants to spend more time and effort investigating the subject.

Students who want to take an independent research course should first discuss their ideas with a full‑time MS‑CJ faculty member (i.e., anyone who is a regular faculty member of the Department of Government and Sociology). The student should be prepared to explain what he or she wants to study, why he or she wants to study it, and of what significance the subject is. As a general rule, only students who are well into the MS‑CJ program (i.e., having earned at least 12 graduate CRJU hours), who have performed satisfactorily in graduate courses, and who have reached agreement with a full‑time MS‑CJ faculty member on the subject to be studied will be allowed to register for an independent study. Failure to follow the procedure may cause the registration to be invalidated and will cause the course not to be counted for credit in the MS‑CJ degree program. Although the MS‑CJ Coordinator's name will be in the schedule book as the instructor for independent studies, any regular MS‑CJ faculty member can supervise an independent study. Students should, however, secure the MS‑CJ Coordinator's approval before registering for the independent study to make sure the course will fit into the approved program.

By the end of the second week of the term, the student should submit a prospectus, generally at least one full page, which summarizes the subject to be researched, the significance of the subject, the methodology to be used in the research, and a brief list of works consulted. The supervising faculty member must approve the prospectus before the student proceeds with the research. If there are problems with the prospectus, it is the student's obligation to correct those problems to the instructor's satisfaction. Otherwise, the student will be forced to drop the course. Depending on the timing of the drop, the student may receive only a portion (perhaps none) of his fees back for the course.

The supervising faculty member may require the student to report on the progress of the research at regular intervals. Usually, a detailed reference list will be required at or around mid‑term. The final paper is due the last week of the term, typically on the first day of final exams. The paper should be typed in accordance with standard typing rules (i.e., double‑spaced, one inch margins, fully annotated, exhibits such as tables and diagrams on separate pages, title page, sub‑headings, separate reference list, etc.). Consult a standard criminal justice journal for annotation details (e.g., the style used in the journal, Criminology, would be acceptable). The final paper submitted for a grade should be a finished product. There is no set length for the paper, but most good independent study papers will range from 25 to 40 pages of text. Students should understand that requirements for the independent study course are stringent and grading is rigorous. Students should spend at least as much time on independent research courses as on regular courses.

Internship. Students who have not had full‑time work experiences in the public sector will be classified as pre‑service and will need to complete an internship for the MS‑CJ degree. The internship is usually taken close to the end of a student's program, often in the very last semester. Students needing the internship should begin planning for it one or two semester before actually registering for it. The Coordinator and the GC&SU Career Services Office must be consulted as the first step. The Internship Director in the Career Services Office will be very helpful in exploring placement possibilities. Customarily, students in good standing have had great success in securing appropriate internship experiences with a variety of state and local and some national public agencies, as well as non‑profit agencies.

The internship is a full‑time work experience. The intern typically will be assigned duties by the employer that is equivalent to those of entry‑level professional personnel. There will be a written agreement between the University and the employer as to what those duties and expected learning objectives are. The intern's primary task is to perform his job duties well and fully, but there also will be some reports to be turned in to the Coordinator in order to earn the academic credit. Students will be required to keep a journal with regular entries and will be assigned a paper topic drawn from the internship experience. After submission of the journal and paper, there will be a conference between the student and an MS-CJ faculty member to discuss the internship experience. Grading is done on a pass‑fail basis. Ordinarily, the student will not be taking any other courses while doing the internship.

Career Assessment Project. Students classified as in‑service who are not choosing the thesis option will take the Career Assessment Project (CAP), CRJU 6689, as their final course. A separate handout is available with details for the CAP. The final product of the CAP is a paper, usually 12‑20 pages in length, which evaluates the student's career goals and experiences in light of the student's graduate program. A session with the Coordinator and/or other MS‑CJ faculty discussing the paper is also part of the CAP. The CAP is graded on a pass/fail basis. Many students find it useful as preparation for the CAP to keep a log or a journal that records their impressions about courses and the program in general.

Academic Standing

It is very important for graduate students to be aware of the need and requirements for good academic standing. Grades of "C" are not satisfactory graduate level grades. A grade of "C" earned in a course when the student has conditional or provisional status will cause that student to be dismissed from the MS‑CJ program. Students with regular status must have a grade point average of 3.00 to graduate. Earning a "C" drops one below the 3.00 GPA, unless there is an "A" to compensate for the unsatisfactory grade. Two uncompensated "C's" (or a "D" without two compensating "A's") will cause one to be dismissed. Failing a course will also cause one to be dismissed. The Graduate Catalog should be consulted for more detailed information about the academic grade point average and the academic renewal policy.

Advisement and Registration

One of the purposes of the MS‑CJ Handbook, the Graduate Catalog, the Program of Study form, and the MS‑CJ Check‑Sheet is to simplify advisement and schedule planning. The University publishes an annual schedule of classes that can be of some value in helping students to see the long‑run plan of MS‑CJ courses at the different locations. The Coordinator will also distribute course-scheduling up‑dates each semester. The up‑dates are very important because the annual schedule can never be fully accurate, especially as the academic year proceeds. With all of the information available, graduate students should be able to handle for themselves most of the schedule planning process each semester. Do not hesitate, however, to contact the Coordinator if you have questions about what you need to take each quarter

Graduation

With the MS‑CJ Check‑Sheet students should be able to track their progress toward degree completion. The Graduate Catalog states that one should apply for graduation two semesters before completing all course work. For example, to graduate by the end of the Spring term, one should apply by the end of the previous summer term. The graduation application can be obtained from the GC&SU Enrollment Services Office or from the offices in Macon. If you have questions about the courses needed to complete the application, please check with the MS‑CJ Coordinator. You must register for the CAP or internship in your last term in order to be eligible for graduation.

Georgia College & State University Locations

The MS‑CJ program is offered at two different locations: in Milledgeville and on the campus of Macon State College. The Basic and Advanced Curricula courses are offered at both locations. Some of the courses are more readily available at the Milledgeville rather than Macon campus. Students may take all of their course work at any of the two locations or may choose to travel among the locations. Students willing to travel will have more course selection options. The MS‑CJ program has the same faculty at all of its locations, and MS‑CJ courses are substantively the same at all locations.

MS‑CJ Graduate Faculty

Below is a list of faculty members, along with their specialization area(s), that frequently teach basic, advanced, and specialization curriculum courses in the MS-CJ Program at GC&SU.

Eugene Bouley, Jr., Ph.D., MS‑CJ Program Coordinator, Criminological Theory, Policing, Public Policy

Gerald Fisher, D.P.A., Policing, Administration

Charles Ubah, Ph.D., Correctional Systems, Juvenile Justice, Social Control

Jennifer Hammack, M.S., J.D., Criminal Law and Procedure, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law

Michael F. Digby, Ph.D., Department Chair, Public Finance/Budgeting, Planning, International Relations

Henry Edmondson, Ph.D., Ethics, Public Management, Public Law/Regulation

Larry Elowitz, Ph.D., International & Comparative Administration, Public Policy

Jerry Herbel, Ph.D., Ethics, Public Management

Jan E. Mabie, Ph.D., Research Methods/Analysis, Human Resources Management/Personnel, Public Finance/Budgeting

Nancy Elizabeth Rushing, Ph.D., Assistant Dean of Arts and Sciences, Research Methods, Social Policy

Wilkinson, Clifton, MPA, Public Policy, State and Local Government

Veronica Womack, Ph.D., MPA Coordinator, Personnel, Intergovernmental Relations, Civil Rights

IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE:

If you have questions about your progress in the MS‑CJ Program at Georgia College & State University, don't hesitate to contact the MS‑CJ Program Coordinator.

Telephone: 478‑445‑0942

Fax: 478‑445‑5273

E‑mail: eugene.bouley@mail.gcsu.edu

The mailing address is:

MS‑CJ Coordinator

Department of Government & Sociology

CBX 018

Georgia College & State University

Milledgeville, GA 31061‑0490

GEORGIA COLLEGE & STATE UNIVERSITY

MS‑CJ Program – Check-Sheet

I. Basic Curriculum (18 semester hours)

__________ PUAD 6538 Public Administration and the Public Service

__________ PUAD 6568 Administrative Law for the Public Manager

__________ PUAD 6578 Public Finance and Budgeting

__________ CRJU 6100 The Criminal Justice System

__________ CRJU 6200 Police in Society

__________ CRJU 6300 Seminar in Corrections

II. Advanced Curriculum (9 semester hours)

__________ CRJU 6400 Criminological Theory

__________ PUAD 6605 Quantitative Techniques

__________ CRJU 6500 Seminar in Criminal Law

III. Electives (9 semester hours)

Any two graduate‑level Criminal Justice courses

__________ ________________

Any one graduate‑level course in Public Administration, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology, or Management

__________ ________________

IV. Career Assessment Project or Internship

__________ CRJU 6689 Career Assessment Project (in‑service students) or

__________ CRJU 6960 Internship (pre‑service students)