2011-2012 University Catalog 
  
2011-2012 University Catalog

Criminology, Law and Society, MA


Banner Code: LA-MA-CLS

Web: cls.gmu.edu

The MA in criminology, law and society brings cutting edge social science methods to the disciplines of criminology and law and society. The program is designed for students who seek to make a difference in the development and evaluation of policy in these fields. The MA program provides students with enhanced skills in analysis and policy evaluation for their further career development or to help them prepare for competitive, sought-after positions.

The program draws on a multidisciplinary departmental faculty for required core courses and electives. Students can also take a wide range of other electives from different university programs, including those in computational social science, conflict analysis and resolution, economics, government, law, philosophy, psychology, public administration, sociology, and statistics.

The program takes advantage of the university’s proximity to many justice organizations at the federal, state, and local levels in the capital region. The curriculum is structured to give students the skills to do policy-relevant research and work with justice and security agencies in the region to exercise those skills and serve the needs of those agencies.

This program of study is offered by the Department of Criminology, Law and Society  .

For policies governing all graduate degrees, see the Academic Policies  chapter of the catalog.

Transfer Credits

Students may request to transfer a maximum of 12 credits for prior graduate course work (not applied to a previous degree) subject to approval by the graduate director and dean and in accordance with university policies.

Doctoral Degree

Students whose goal is the PhD should apply directly to the doctoral program. If they don’t have a master’s degree at admission, they will earn the MA in criminology, law and society along the way to the doctoral degree.

Satisfactory Progress

Each new student is assigned a faculty advisor who helps develop a program of study. The advisor and faculty assess the progress of all students annually. Students who fail to make satisfactory progress may be terminated from the program. Satisfactory progress in the MA in criminology, law and society is defined as maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.00 with the minimum grade of B- in all courses. As in all graduate programs, students who receive a grade below B- will receive an academic warning the first time and a letter of dismissal the second time.

Application Requirements


Applicants to all graduate programs at George Mason University must meet the admission standards and application requirements for graduate study as specified in the Admission chapter of this catalog. For information specific to the MA in criminology, law and society, see Application Requirements and Deadlines on the departmental web site.

Degree Requirements


Four core courses (12 credits) in three fields


Justice organizations, administration, and leadership


Crime and crime policy


Three courses (9 credits) of analytic methods


One to two elective courses (3 to 6 credits)


Students choose electives from courses in one or more of the substantive fields of study listed below.

Thesis (3 to 6 credits)


Students can apply a maximum of 6 credits of thesis to the degree. They need to submit a thesis proposal to the graduate director prior to registering for thesis credits. The master’s thesis must be defended orally before a committee of three faculty appointed by the graduate director. Students who do a 3-credit thesis will have 6 credits of electives.

Students should be aware of the policies governing theses. They must follow the thesis enrollment policy of the university and once enrolled in CRIM 799, maintain continuous enrollment. These policies are specified in the Academic Policies chapter of the catalog. 

Total: 30 credits


Substantive Fields of Study


Master’s students are required to take their one or two electives within the substantive fields of study below. They may take one non-CRIM elective course. Students may use other courses as elective credit for a substantive field with prior written approval of the student’s advisor, director of the graduate program, and the sponsoring program.

Justice and Law


Law-related electives:


  • Any selected LAW courses. Enrollment requires successful completion of CRIM 720 and 721 and approval from the department coordinator, law school instructor, and associate dean for student academic affairs of the Law School.

Justice Organizations, Administration, and Leadership