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2011-2012 University Catalog
Criminology, Law and Society, PhD
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Banner Code: LA-PHD-CLS
Web: cls.gmu.edu
The PhD program in criminology, law and society is designed to produce top academic scholars and leaders in policy and applied settings. It brings cutting edge social science methods to the disciplines of criminology and law and society. Students coming to this program seek to make a difference in the development and evaluation of policy in these fields. The goal of this program is to provide a rigorous course of study that will prepare students to do research, teach, develop and test policies, and administer agencies and programs designed to administer law, deliver justice, reduce crime, and enhance domestic security.
The program draws on a multidisciplinary departmental faculty to teach the required core courses and electives. Students can also take a wide range of other electives from many other university faculty 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.
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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 PhD in criminology, law and society, see Application Requirements and Deadlines on the departmental web site. Master's Degree
Students admitted to the doctoral program without a master’s degree need to earn the MA in criminology, law and society. The requirements for the MA degree are included in the requirements for the PhD listed below. Reduction of Credit
Students entering the doctoral program with a master’s degree in a related discipline, including a law degree, may request that the required credits for the doctoral degree be reduced by a maximum of 24 credits with approval of the graduate director and dean and in accordance with university policy. Students who have prior graduate course work that has not been applied to another degree may request to have a maximum of 12 of these graduate credits transferred to their degree program, with approval of the graduate director and dean and in accordance with university policy. Satisfactory Progress
Each new student is assigned an advisor who helps develop a program of study. The program of study must be submitted by the end of the first year. On advancement to candidacy, the chair of the dissertation committee becomes the advisor. The advisor and faculty assess the progress of all students annually. Students who fail to make satisfactory progress may be terminated from the program or dismissed from the university. Satisfactory progress in the PhD 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. Degree Requirements
In addition to satisfying the requirements for all doctoral degrees, students must successfully complete 72 credits of required course work, pass two qualifying exams, and form a dissertation committee, after which they are advanced to candidacy. The final requirements are the dissertation proposal defense and a dissertation of original research representing a significant contribution to the field, which should be publishable in a referred journal or a quality press. Four core substantive courses (12 credits)
Four analytical methods courses (12 credits)
and one course chosen from:
Six courses (18 credits) in two substantive fields of study:
Students select two substantive fields and complete three courses within each. Students may take one non-CRIM elective course in each area or other courses in criminology, law and society with prior written approval of the director of the graduate program. Justice-related electives:
Law-related electives:
- Any selected LAW courses. Prerequiste for enrollment in LAW courses: successful completion of CRIM 720 and 721. Enrollment requires preapproval from the graduate director, law school instructor, and associate dean for student academic affairs of the Law School.
Justice Organizations, Administration, and Leadership
Two elective courses (6 credits)
Students choose courses relevant to criminology, law and society in consultation with their advisor. Students may have more than 6 credits of electives, depending on the number of dissertation credits required by their program of study. Qualifying Exams
Students must pass written qualifying exams in two core substantive fields of the student’s choosing, selected from the three fields above. Students may take a single qualifying exam at each sitting. All three qualifying exams will be offered at each sitting.
Students are not eligible to take the qualifying exams until they have successfully completed the required course work, as well as course work in the substantive area in which they intend to sit for the qualifying exam. Students have one opportunity across both exam areas to retake a failed exam. Dissertation (15-24 credits)
Once enrolled in 998, students in this degree program must maintain continuous registration in 998 or 999 each semester (excluding summers) until the dissertation is submitted to and accepted by the University Libraries. Once enrolled in 999, students must follow the university’s continuous registration policy as specified in the Academic Policies chapter of the catalog. Students who defend in the summer must be registered for at least 1 credit of 999.
Students may apply to this degree a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 6 credits of 998 and a minimum of 9 and a maximum of 21 credits of 999. They may apply a maximum of 24 dissertation credits (998 and 999 combined) to the degree. Because of the continuous registration policy, students may be required to register for additional credits of these courses. Students who take fewer than 24 dissertation credits will have accordingly more elective credits. Advancement to Candidacy
To advance to candidacy, students must complete all course work required on their approved program of study. Students must also successfully complete and pass two qualifying exams. In addition, students must have a dissertation committee appointed by the Dean’s Office and have defended their dissertation proposal. Dissertation Committee
The student’s committee is composed of at least three faculty members and a chair, at least two of whom must be full-time CLS faculty and one, a member of the graduate faculty outside CLS. The chair must be a full-time CLS faculty member. |
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